Rajendra Chaudhry's STAGED outburst

Rajendra Chaudhry has been making the news in recent times.

And no, its not for creating a fracas at his local squash court after the other 5 members voted 5-1 against him.

And its not at the local FLP branch either where his nomination for Assistant treasurer was voted down unanimously. He took exception to being offered the Grog Mixer role.

This time Chaudhry Jr has decided to take on the military.

Head on. In the media.

Now, this is not something that you do everyday.

So, whats up?

Rajendra Chaudhry is positioning himself as the Man Who can take on the Machine.

He is trying to rebuild his image as the guy who is known for being thrown out from Traps bar, to the Fearless Leader.

It is probably a sure bet that we will see Rajendra contest the next election.

He wont have any trouble getting a ticket, all he has to do is apply to the FLP headquarters.

Rajendra is setting his sights high.

Dear Leader in the making.

It remains to be seen how the boys at the barracks go with this.

The present indications are that they are willing to let Rajendra beat his chest.

How much harm can he cause.

They know what game he is playing.

After all, they know they can edit the script as and when they choose.

Operation Flashpoint - Next Stop Nadi - Part 2

In late 2006, a foreign power set in motion a chain of events that would have culminated in the invasion of Fiji. Codenamed Operation Flashpoint, the ADF deployed its sea-borne and air assets to positions inside Fiji waters within striking distance of the capital Suva. Additionally, elite Special Forces infiltrated the country with communications equipment and weapons.

How close did we come to being invaded? Who among us who encouraged this act of aggression against their own country?

This is a fictional account of what may have happened in the days leading up to one of the most dramatic chapters in our history.


The boys were excited. Fiji was a popular holiday destination for Aussies. But as we all knew, there was always the potential of the place going up in smoke. The country had seen 4 or 5 coups and inter-race tension boiled under the surface.

The recent developments in Fiji had the politicians in Canberra worried which meant we had to be ready.

Its funny how that works. Politicians worry, soldiers prepare!

Anyway, I knew all this as we had been briefed on our return for the mountains around Dili hunting for the renegade East Timorese guerrilla, Alfredo Reinado. Alfredo had spent 6 months in training with the ADF and was a guest at the Campbell Barracks.

I remembered meeting him and thought he was a straight up and down type of guy. Never thought we would be chasing him through the jungles and mountain of Same around Dili, but we were.

Expect the unexpected, they say. Damn Right.

As it turned out, Alfredo gave us the slip and was hiding in Jakarta under the protection of Indonesian officers of the elite unit set up by Tommy Sueharto, known as the Kopassus . Im sure his knowledge of ADF methods helped him immensely.

I ditched my short barrel M4, the CQB weapon I preferred and ammo I was carrying and headed to the Regiment mess which doubled as our planning room. Georgie put on the kettle to prepare some tea, a good source of nicotine which we needed for the hours ahead .

Right, what do we need?

The suits had begun our pre-deployment preparation by collecting as much intelligence as we could on Fijian military strength and posture, updating our information with latest shots from Echelon satellites of Suva Harbour, Nadi Airport, Vuda oil refinery and other LZ's that we would have to secure if the go ahead was given for deployment of large numbers of forces.

The SM had already pulled the "Fiji File" and put it in on the table. All ready reaction forces place great emphasis on Contingency Planning.

A large part of this is a bank of information that the spooks collect and maintain from all sorts of sources. The High Commissions briefs on who the major players are and how the situation is involving is a part of this, but the boys get bored with this sort of stuff.

We also had some Candidate Files (CF) which had been put on the table for us to go through. Every officer who passes through Duntroon or other ADF sanctioned course has a Candidate File (CF) done. To be continued…..

The Charter Debate

The Peoples Charter is all the buzz at the moment.

You have the Charter detractors who see this as a back door attempt to put in a new framework under which future administrations will be set up.

Then you have those who are in favor of having such an exercise as a form of nation building and consensus.

Firstly, the exercise to have a Charter created in not new.

After every coup, we have had similar exercises.

The LF High Command believes that it is for the people of Fiji to decide whether they wish to adopt the Charter or not.

If the people wish to participate and offer their views, then they must have the freedom to do so.
They should not fear any retribution from anyone or any group.

If someone does not wish to offer their opinion or support to the Charter consultations, then they have the right to do so.

Any coercion would be contrary to the principles enshrined in the Charter.

We must allow people to debate and disagree.

Just because we have different opinions, doesn't mean that we pick up the cane knife and crow bar and start smashing each other.

No, disagreements are the essence of democracy.

Lets have a fair debate and attempt to come to a consensus. Lets learn from the past. It is obvious to one and all that since independence, something is amiss which has led to such tension in society.

Lets identify what it is. Is it ALTA? Is it communal voting? Is it the dominance of one community in the business sector?

Lets fix it .

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

Operation Flashpoint : Invade Fiji - Part 1

In late 2006, a foreign power set in motion a chain of events that would have culminated in the invasion of Fiji. Codenamed Operation Flashpoint, the ADF deployed its sea-borne and air assets to positions inside Fiji waters within striking distance of the capital Suva. Additionally, elite Special Forces infiltrated the country with communications equipment and weapons.

 

How close did we come to being invaded? Who among us who encouraged this act of aggression against their own country?

 

This is a fictional account of what may have happened in the days leading up to one of the most dramatic chapters in our history.

 

 

It was good to be back in Swanbourne. It is a beautiful location with the sandy beaches to the West, rolling hills to the East, giving it the feel of an idyllic holiday location.

 

Time to refresh and  recharge. East Timor had been a challenging assignment. Alfredo Reinado had proved more elusive than perhaps the top brass calculated.

 

But for now , it was time to get some rest and some time on the range.

 

Only, that the life of a Special Forces soldier is never dull, yes there are periods when you are just itching for some action but, it is never dull.

 

The call came from the Sergeant Master just as Troop A finished our second run in the Killing House.

 

"Whose up for a Pacific holiday" he asked. The Sergeant Majors dry humour was legendary.

 

The boys knew better than to say anything in case he was having a joke, as it well could be with the SM.

 

"C'mon you boys, Im talking sandy beaches, palm fronds, and whatever else you lot get up to on your time away from here"

 

Again no one spoke.

 

"Alright then", realising that we were not going to take the bait. " Word came through earlier this morning, we might be needed in Fiji. We need to go and have a look see and get the ground game going".

 

"Its all hush-hush so get your best bula shirts out, Im sure you'll have plenty of those from your last assignments in Dili"

 

" Troop A will take the lead" Enjoy the holiday boys"

 

With that he was gone.

 

I took a look around what was the core of Troop A. SF teams are not large, given the task that the Regiment performs mainly involves surveillance behind the enemy lines.

 

It was surveillance that we would be performing. Have a look see as the SM had said.

 

It was an open brief but as in such assignments we would be looking to secure the Australian High Commission and the Aussie staff in case of trouble as well as carry out surveillance on possible naval landing sites, poorly protected landing strips for our helicopters and on Fijian troop strength and posture.

 

It was basic stuff. We trained for this day and night. To be cont…………….

Im In, Im Out

Im in, Im out
Go ahead, cry and shout

Im the man who saved the economy
Look in your pockets, you all have more money

I joined to save the country
So all of us can live in a better Fiji

You say I supported a coup
I did my duty, who are you?

You say I sold my principles
I got a job for my son,my cousins, my in-laws and my uncles

I did what had to be done
After 3 coups, aren't I entitled to some fun?

I didn't pull out, my party told me to
Just after I dropped a hint on what to do

They know where the power lies, they all can count
They all know I have $1.6 m in my account

Isnt it funny, how we do this everytime
How we get all this to be so funny and even rhyme

"Free Poets Society"

No Death Threats
No incitements to attack Tourists\
No Bomb Making Instructions
No instructions to deny soldiers families their food..

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.