Raw Fiji News

The body language says it all – Frank and Teleni not too enthusiastic like Frank’s Military Forces brass band at the Hong Kong Sevens Tournament in March, 2011.

Esala Teleni, one of those senior military officers who planned the coup with Frank Bainimarama is doing lots of soul searching in Beijing, China , where he is Frank’s Ambassador.

Teleni was Frank’s Police Commissioner and his dedication to his Soul to Jesus evangelism role led him to direct much of his Police Force resources to the church he prophesied was the answer to Fiji’s problems.

He said he heard a voice whisper in his ears to force all his Police Officers to pray and worship his god in their offices, parks, halls and just about anywhere they see fit.

He started ostracizing Police Officers of other religion and gave orders that all officers and their family members, including those belonging to other religion, must attend his Fiji wide crusade when it comes their way.

Teleni didn’t hide his ambition to use Fiji taxpayers money via his Fiji Police budget to save a soul or two.

Aiyaz and Frank were obviously annoyed by Esala Teleni’s unfettered corruptive practices in the name of winning souls for Jesus.

They had to kick him out and they did.

They packed and shipped him out to China so he could be out of sight, out of mind.

Sources have now revealed that the evangelical Teleni  is ready to confess his wrong doings like Ului.

They say Teleni is listed as another of Pita Driti’s key witness to the sedition and mutiny charges he’s facing which means that Teleni has no choice but to spill the bean from Suva’s courtroom dock when he is called up.

Frank and his shadow Driti during happier days

Brigadier General Pita Driti invested his trust and loyalty in Frank Bainimarama leading up to the 2006 coup.

That misplaced loyalty has today come back to torment Driti as he faces Frank’s hand-picked judicial officers ordained by team Frank to confine Driti in jail.

Frank blamed Driti for inciting mutiny.

The dictator is suspicious of everyone he commands and will back-stab them when his chief informer, Aiyaz Khaiyum, tells him to eliminate them because they’re not smart or constructive like he is.

Frank and Aiyaz have woken up to another new day of deceitful scheming.

They’ve succeeded in dragging Driti and Ului to court to try and convict them, but many things they least expect can happen in between, like Ului’s fishing trip that saw him  conveniently washed up on Tongan shores.

Driti is about to step onto the Suva court dock to start his own truth-telling.

While his buddy Ului Mara chose You Tube to fire back at his ex-boss Frank, Driti’s mode of telling his version of truth for Fiji will be inside Fiji’s pro-junta compromised court room and he is very ready for it.

Frank and Aiyaz will be deluding themselves if they believe that Driti doesn’t have plenty trump cards up his sleeve.

While Frank’s big mouth-piece Sharon Smith-Johns tries her darnedest to blame overseas media journalists and “failed” politicians as those behind blogs such as this one, she has badly failed her boss Frank yet again by not telling him the truth that it is actually the Fiji based bloggers who frequent our blogs more than the overseas bloggers.

A look at our dashboard Site Stats shows compelling evidence of majority Fiji based bloggers who frequent this website and the figures from our sister C4.5 which bloggers can view on its main page, says the same story.

Does Sharon have statistics like ours to justify her claim?

Of course not because she doesn’t know how to capture such important information and is obviously envious about the visitors traffic anti-coup blogs are attracting over her unpopular regime’s website.

Simply put, her analysis and explanation is a lie because it is unsubstantiated with no statistics to prove her point.

She is also disturbed by the number of Fiji residents who read the blogs and rightfully so because it’s reflective of the many Fijians who want to know the truth beyond her heavily censored one-sided regime news from the Fijian media outlets.

She also alleges that it is “failed politicians” who are behind the blogs.

Can she name them and can she explain what she means by “failed politicians?”

Again, she can’t because of her lack of factual evidence which means that she is a liar.

She should not look any further than herself and those in her boss Frank’s regime to find the true meaning of what failed politicians really mean.

They, including herself, are not only failed individuals and failed politicians but thieves and soon to be convicts who will be made accountable for their illegitimacy and criminal activities.

Updated May 31, 2011

A former chief of staff in Fiji’s military regime who fled to Tonga says he’s still considering options for his future.

Before he fled Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara was facing charges of plotting to overthrow Fiji’s coup leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

Ratu Tevita has ruled out returning to Fiji and says he’ll decide whether he will seek refuge in Tonga or another country within days.

Presenter:Geraldine Coutts
Speaker:Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara, fugitive former Fiji military Chief of Staff

I spoke to him earlier this morning, and began by asking him why he believed an Estonian man had been linked with his departure from Fiji…

MARA: It’s a witch hunt, they’re going after me � as I said it was a normal fishing trip. Now Bainimarama he refused to accept that and he will try and find people to blame for what happened. The Estonian man is just a normal fisherman, he operates a normal fishing business out of a certain part of Fiji, and Pacific harbour. I hardly know him. So I really don’t know what evidence they have to target him. But that’s normal coming out of Fiji, they’ll try and blame someone and they’ll bring up charges that are false.

COUTTS: What is your status at the moment? We understand that you have or the authorities there have received the extradition papers. What’s happening with that?

MARA: I haven’t actually seen the extradition papers, they couriered from Fiji through the courier system, so perhaps it’s somewhere within the system, I haven’t actually seen them though.

COUTTS: So the Tongan authorities haven’t approached you about extraditing you back to Fiji?

MARA: Well they’ll only approach me if they have something. I mean talking about an extradition from Fiji, it’s a long shot in the dark, you’re talking about an illegal government that’s abrogated its constitution, you’re talking about an illegal government that currently all its standing treaties with Tonga are suspended. So what are you actually talking about?

COUTTS: What is your status at the moment? Are you seeking asylum?

MARA: It may get to that, it may get to that. I’m doing some work, working with the other democratic movements for Fiji across the world.

COUTTS: So when you have everything ready can you give us a clue as to what it is that you’re seeking? Are you seeking political asylum or are you looking to go to a third country, perhaps New Zealand?

MARA: Those are options that are available, I’m not ready to disclose yet.

COUTTS: Alright well can we get down to the military council now, you were a member, and in the beginning little was written and little was said about it, in fact it operated under extreme secrecy. What can you tell us about the military council? For instance who did it answer to?

MARA: Well if I ever was in the initial military council it was answerable only to Bainimarama, and we were the ones who advised him, if he wanted to clarify things he’d come through us, and that was the way it operated.

COUTTS: Who were the five of the initial members?

MARA: I can’t mention names at the moment now, but it was military, no civilian people were allowed into the five military council members.

COUTTS: What can you tell us about the military council though, because it has been quite secret? For instance what advice did you offer Commodore Bainimarama?

MARA: We were to ensure that the Commodore kept the roadmap that he had announced in 2007, that was one of the main works of the military council to ensure that elections were done in 2010. And also there were decisions that he had to make, if he needed clarification he brought it to us, if there were decisions for cabinet that he needed clarification or advice on, he took it to us, and normal executive help in running the country.

COUTTS: What was the pecking order though, could you override Commodore Bainimarama in his decision-making at that time, the military council I mean, I don’t mean you personally but the military council?

MARA: We would advise him, but as far as overriding that was something we really didn’t come to that stage at any time.

COUTTS: Well how long did the military council work with Commodore Bainimarama? Is it still operating?

MARA: It’s on expanded role now, but it’s lost, it has been expanded to include other military officers who are working, who have been pulled into the civil service. It’s got civilian people, in particular the AG, so after 2007, later part of 2007-2008, it was defunct, it hardly met, we were just information. Public decisions he had already made he just came to inform us. So that’s how we started to lose our effectiveness.

COUTTS: So other issues now, there’ve been allegations that you put out on YouTube that there have been some beatings of a number of people, Latia I think was one and the Young Peoples Congress also another, that you’ve named directly by Commodore Bainimarama. Can you prove that, were you actually witness to those beatings?

MARA: Yes I vented that in my release.

COUTTS: Now we have to say at this stage that we have tried repeatedly to invite Commodore Frank Bainimarama on to the program to answer those allegations along with invitations issued to interim Attorney General Aiyaz Khaiyum, but we haven’t been able to get through to the Commodore directly, but the invitations at this stage are still there, but you have also said that you want Australia and New Zealand to do more, what do you want them to do?

MARA: Obviously we all want to see a return to democracy in Fiji, clearly what’s going on at the moment it’s nothing moving in Fiji, nothing moving towards elections. Australia and New Zealand currently have measures in place, that should have brought Fiji back to democratic elections by now, five years down the line it still hasn’t happened. The issues that we’re working on we’ll touch on that when the time is right, I can’t disclose what we’ll bring up in the New Zealand and Australian government.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201105/s3231394.htm

Sharon Smith-John,

Frank is being paid by public fund and they have the right to know, so why don’t you give us the break down of how much he is being paid including all the bonuses he gave himself?

If you disagree with the figure that has been floated why can’t you prove otherwise? Perhaps you don’t even know it yourself? Why is it clouded in secrecy, we all know about his qualification and the work that he is currently carrying out so what is there to hide about his performance? You are all in the same boat, under qualified, overpaid and a bunch of good for nothing!

Blog sites are the main source of information now for most people in Fiji, no one cares anymore about your press releases. They are predictable and boring, what else can you say when your only job is to cover up Frank and Khaiyum?

Mike

Sisters Koila Mara on the right with Elenoa Mara (Ului Mara’s twin)

Sources say Frank Bainimarama is seething over his first lady’s decision to fly to Tonga while he faced a barrage of damaging reports thrown at him from that island kingdom by Koila’s brother, Lt Col Ului Mara, who absconded to Tonga some weeks ago to avoid unfair trial for trumped up charges levelled at him by his ex-boss, Frank.

These sources say Koila’s trip to Tonga is a big diplomatic slap on the dictator’s face whose extradition papers for her younger sibling, Ului, touched down in Tonga almost at the same time as  Koila’s arrival.

Koila has indirectly shown Frank that she is more powerful than he is and that he simply can not stop her from seeing his brother as and when she wants to.

The iron lady of Fiji’s white house is flexing her muscles and not even Frank can do anything about it, nor her husband Epeli Nailatikau.

With her law background and Machiavellian ways her family is renowned for, we won’t be surprised that it is she who’se helping mastermind her brother and her husband’s next move.

Frank’s President, Epeli Nailatikau, is in Fiji trying to figure out what to do to prolong his stay at the white house.

His wife, Koila Mara is in Tonga, to visit his youngest brother and fugitive Ului Mara.

Koila attended Tongan Queen Mother’s 85th birthday, a great opportunity for her to spend some quality time with her brother who’se doing lots of damage to dictator Frank’s junta in Fiji with his “Truth for Fiji” You Tube sequence.

At the palace on May 29, Lt. Col. Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara with HRH Prince Tu’ipelehake

At the Royal Palace on May 29, HM King George Tupou V (centre), with to his right, the Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata’aho, the Head of State of Samoa HH Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi and his wife HH Masiofo Filifilia Tamasese, Paramount Chief Tufele Li’amatua, Secretary of Samoan Affairs and Mrs Tofiga Tufele, Princess Pilolevu and Ladu Adi Koila Nailatikau. From far left Lieutenant Colonel Taru Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, Hon. Fifita Tuku’aho, Prince Tu’ipelehake, Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu,the Maori King Te Ariki Niu Tuheitia Paki and his wife Ariki Atawhai.

Sharon Smith-Johns

Frank Bainimarama’s Ministry of Information Chief, Sharon Smith-Johns, has finally reappeared again.

She has been under the radar for some time and has not made any public announcements or appearances until today.

She called a press conference in Suva to clear damning reports of violence, corruption, treachery and deceit by her boss, Frank Bainimarama, that was cleverly posted on You Tube by his defector 3rd Infantry Regiment leader, Lt Col Ului Mara.

Media persons present at the press conference our sources spoke to said Sharon Smith-John’s wasn’t convincing.

“You can just tell she was lying through her teeth. She didn’t have much to say at all and it was a waste of our time”, said one of the journalist.

Sharon blindly following her criminal boss Frank

Sharon focused her press conference by attacking anti-coup blogs only, which we like very much because it gives bloggers more free publicity to the Fijian people who will eventually go out of their way to find out why Sharon is saying what she’s saying.

She referred to anti-coup blogs like ours as anti-Fiji which we don’t think anyone can believe.

Yes, we are pro-Fiji and yes, we are anti-Frank for destroying our Fiji and assaulting our Fijian people among other things.

So why did Sharon refer to anti-coup/Frank blogs only and not You Tube?

After all, it was Roko Ului’s You Tube “Truth for Fiji” series that fed the bloggers with soo many re-confirmations of their reporting since December 2006.

It was also Roko Ului’s You Tube addresses that re-kindled hope for freedom in many oppressed souls in Fiji.

She alleges that blogs are not credible. So, why bother calling a special press conference to address that bloggers are not credible Miss? We must be saying the truth that’s why Sharon and the regime are reacting warranting that press conference.

Is Sharon and the junta she represents, headed by her civilian basher Frank, very afraid of the many truths Ului is now revealing to the Fijians and the world?

We believe they’re very afraid.

Noticed how Sharon refused to speak about Frank’s civilian bashing incident exposed by Ului’s truth-telling?

Very telling indeed!

—————————————————————————-

Sharon’s funny statement

Blogs Politically-Motivated: Fiji Journalists Should Counter Untruths
Tuesday May 31st 2011, No:1118/MOI. Think Frank First. Statement by Sharon Smut-Jobs, Permanent Secretary for MisInformation,

First let me take this opportunity to thank you for your attendance.
I wish to address the issue surrounding media coverage regarding Lieutenant Colonel Tevita Mara who is in Tonga. We have applied for extradition but know we are only going through the motions. As you know we have been suspended from both the Forum and the Commonwealth. Our extradition treaty with Tonga was only in place through membership of those organizations. It is so unfair that when you are an illegal government, legal options are not available any more.
The media in New Zealand and to some extent Australia have been very prominent in passing on his message of truth. I know all of you in this room don’t like to tell the truth and you are all very grateful to me and my censors for keeping you supplied with lies.
I must stress to you that all of us in Government read the blogs to find out the real situation. Even the Prime Minister would read the blogs but unfortunately he has never learnt to read. It is important for us with future political aspirations to read about our failings.
The Ministry of Information has nothing positive to contribute to the growth of Fiji. We propagate rumours and stir up emotions to bankrupt this country. Suffice to say local media have fallen into the trap of printing what I say and feeding the people of Fiji false information.
The media has been misled by these baseless reports and have been used as a tool to further the interests of the select Group of 2. Khaiyum and his hand puppet Bainimarama. These 2 are well known to be anti Fiji.
Let me draw your attention to some examples of this false reporting.
Reports have suggested that you have to be very cautious when travelling in Fiji because some of the potholes are as big as house. That is not true the biggest on record was only as big as a bus.
I also want to bring to your attention a report that Bainimarama has announced there will be elections in 2014. This is completely untrue and is as believable as when he said we would have elections in 2009 and 2010. As his permanent secretary I advise him against making false statements but he can’t help himself.
I want to thank the Australian Government for upgrading their travel advisory. There have been 132 reports of home invasion in the past 2 weeks. Crime is increasing and we do advise all tourists travelling in Fiji to be careful. You need to be like me and travel with a driver and a security guard. My security guard has a big gun and a massive ammunition pouch. He is perfect to take away for long weekends.

Why can’t journalists in Fiji counter these lies with the truth. Hold on aren’t we telling the journalists what to write. Message to self, double check what I sent to Peter Lomas of the Sun on Saturday. Did I send him the headline PM: Lies, Lies, Lies
As the case of Lieutenant Colonel Mara is before the courts there will be no further comment from government. Please put your hand up if you know the answer. How many times has the government said his departure is of no consequence and we will not mention him again because we are too busy running away with the country’s money. I can’t remember is that the fifth or the sixth time?
Let me urge the media to stop using the Ministry of Information as a credible source of information.
Let me also urge you today to put Fiji first and support the Pro Democracy movement.
Lastly let me urge you to be objective and ‘THINK FRANK FIRST’.

REASON : Frank Bainimarama will not be around by then. International Criminal Court arrest warrant for dictator Frank Bainimarama expected to be issued soon will see Fiji Police Commissioner Iowane Naivalurua  (that’s assuming that he won’t be replaced by Frank’s ex-convict brother-in-law, Francis Keen as reported) do the honors of arresting and handing over Fiji’s most wanted criminal, Frank Bainimarama, to security forces of The Hague.

Barbaric monster Frank Bainimarama

While Frank Bainimarama remain tight-lipped about his involvement in assaulting five pro-democracy Fijian civilians, three of them women, on Christmas Eve,2006, he can be rest assured that his silence will not be able to make this matter blow away.

What makes this case very significant is the naming of the dictator as the main assailant himself making exiled Lt Col Ului Mara’s confession a very important consideration in Frank’s crime against humanity case.

Unknowingly to Frank, who was drunk with power  fueled with arrogance and pride on that Christmas Eve night, his violent show against civilians has come back to haunt him.

We’ve got credible information suggesting that Ului Mara will soon reveal the names of the military officers who were there with him on that “civilians bashing show night” featuring  tyrant Frank Bainimarama as the main actor.

This is part of Ului’s truth-telling, a liberating exercise for him and one he believes other military officers should do to release them from Frank’s illegal criminal activities that is now coming to roost.

Lt Col Ului Mara

DEEPENING RIFT BETWEEN TONGA AND FIJI

Relations between the Pacific island neighbours of Fiji and Tonga remain tense following a dramatic intervention by the Tongan Navy to whisk away a senior Fijian military officer who is facing charges of sedition. 

Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara was a key supporter of Commodore Frank Bainimarama’s 2006 coup, but the two have since had a major falling out, as Asia Pacific Focus reports.

Fiji regards the removal of Ratu Tevita Maru as a breach of sovereignty

VIDEO from Asia Pacific Focus

Sean Dorney reports on the deepening rift between Fiji and Tonga

Created: Mon, 30 May 2011 08:18:05 GMT+1000

Pacific Correspondent Sean Dorney

Last Updated: 21 hours 47 minutes ago

SEAN DORNEY, PACIFIC CORRESPONDENT: The Royal Tongan Navy’s patrol boat Savea was on its way back home from refurbishing in Australia when passing through Fiji it picked up Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara who claims he was on a fishing trip, got into difficulties and fired a flare.

Fiji’s military commander and prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama is certain this was no search and rescue mission.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA, FIJIAN PRIME MINISTER (at press conference, Fiji One TV): However we can confirm that the illegal extraction of Ratu Tevita Mara took place one nautical mile north-west of Cape Washington in Kadavu.

The Fijian government takes strong exception to such breaches of Fiji’s sovereignty.

CLIVE EDWARDS, TONGA’S PUBLIC ENTERPRISE AND REVENUE MINISTER: It’s not what we have been informed. What we have been informed differently as to the distress call at sea and problem at sea where he was picked up.

SEAN DORNEY: Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara was commanding the third Fijian Infantry Regiment when Commodore Bainimarama staged his 2006 coup.

He was heavily involved and was on the military council which effectively took charge of running the country.

However earlier this month Commodore Bainimarama turned on Mara and his former land forces commander Brigadier General Pita Driti.

Driti was charged with inciting mutiny and both of them were charged with uttering seditious comments.

LT COL RATU TEVITA MARA, FUGITIVE IN TONGA: It’s a frivolous charge that was brought about allegedly when I was in South Korea last year.

I went with another junior officer from the army. We went to South Korea to look over some of the equipment that we have bought.

He alleges that I said that the words: “This is a (inaudible) government and it needs to go”.

SEAN DORNEY: One of the ministers in the government removed in the coup who has since fled to Australia Sam Speight says Ratu Tevita Mara is a significant figure both militarily and traditionally.

His late father Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was Fiji’s first prime minister and a distinguished statesman.

SAM SPEIGHT, DEPOSED FORMER FIJI GOVERNMENT MINISTER: He is quite powerful in that respect. And given his chiefly status, you know that counts for something, and his background, the family, his roots, is very obvious to all of us and highly respected.

SEAN DORNEY: Ratu Tevita Mara accuses Commodore Bainimarama of betraying the original aims of the coup.

RATU TEVITA MARA: The cause was noble. We all thought that. The cause was noble. You know we thought that what he was doing was good for the country. Of all the alleged corrupt activities by the previous government, we were going to correct it.

And we were not going to be there for long. In fact he was not supposed to be prime minister.

SEAN DORNEY: In Fiji the search is now on for those who helped Ratu Tevita Mara escape.

ANUTAISA SOKAMURI, FIJIAN POLICE SPOKESMAN: It was not a sea rescue but a planned and deliberate operation.

And right now the big question is who organised the Tonga (inaudible).

SEAN DORNEY: The Fiji Tongan relationship has soured dramatically.

Ratu Tevita Mara is related to the King of Tonga who is providing him with protection and letting him stay in one of his official residences in the kingdom.

Ratu Tevita Mara’s wife has been interrogated.

RATU TEVITA MARA: Yes I fear for my family. This oppressive regime has done it in the past. It’s targeted people who have spoken out, targeted their families.

SEAN DORNEY: It’s a fear shared by Amnesty International.

PATRICK HOLMES, CEO, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEW ZEALAND: We’ve seen recently politicians, union leaders and so on taken to the Queen Elizabeth barracks, often being physically and sexually abused and intimidated.

So we’d be very concerned about anybody being taken in for questioning by the military.

SEAN DORNEY: Fiji says it wants Lieutenant Colonel Mara extradited.

Tonga says it’s up to the courts but sedition might not be an extraditable offence under its extradition act.

CLIVE EDWARDS: But if it doesn’t, it’s not a matter that it’s cut off at the starting point because it’s not a case that can go to the court.

RATU TEVITA MARA: Why weren’t we court marshalled? That’s the proper procedure. But it seems that the AG wanted this taken to the civilian courts where he has a say.

SAM SPEIGHT: They were used. They were hoodwinked. They were lied to, the rank and file. And they are questioning where is this going to end.

And the cracks are there and they are getting wider.

JIM MIDDLETON: Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney.

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201105/3230396.htm

This is a letter from Human Rights Watch to Frank Bainimarama expressing their grave concern on his crime against the Fijian peoples.

Letter to Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and President Ratu Josefa Iloilo of Fiji
February 4, 2007

Related Materials:
Letter to Fiji’s Interim Prime Minister and President

A letter from Human Rights Watch to Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and President Ratu Josefa Iloilo sharing concerns regarding developments in Fiji since the December 5, 2006 military coup. The letter urges the interim Prime Minister and the President to ensure the swift transition to an elected government, and calls on them and their officials to immediately and publicly make an unambiguous commitment that fundamental human rights will be respected and those who exercise them will be protected.

Dear interim Prime Minister Bainimarama and President Iloilo,

We write to share our concerns regarding developments in Fiji since the December 5, 2006 military coup. We urge you to ensure the swift transition to an elected government, and call on you and your officials to immediately and publicly make an unambiguous commitment that fundamental human rights will be respected and those who exercise them will be protected. The conduct of an independent investigation into the death of a person in military custody and allegations of arbitrary detentions, beatings, and harassment of more than a dozen individuals by the military should be a first step towards helping to restore confidence. In addition, we call on you to publicly state that all legal civil society groups are free to continue with their work. Finally, we urge you to protect the independence of the judiciary and the media.

We are particularly concerned about allegations that your government has engaged in arbitrary detention and abuse of particular individuals.

On the evening of December 24, 2006, Ms. Virisila Buadromo, executive director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Mr. Arshad Daud, Ms. Buadromo’s partner, Ms. Laisa Digitaki, a businesswoman, Mr. Imraz Iqbal, a businessman and former journalist, and Ms. Jacqueline Koroi and Mr. Pita Waqavonovono, both youth activists, were taken from their homes by members of the military. No arrest warrants were produced. Between the coup on December 5, 2006 and this incident, some members of this group had received threatening phone calls from individuals who identified themselves as members of the military. The six were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks, where they were questioned and beaten by military officials. At least two were hit in the face in the course of their questioning, and one required a neck brace following her release. Another suffered a broken leg and broken ribs. Early the following morning, they were forced to run 10km in the rain to Lami, where they were made to dismantle pro-democracy banners. They were subsequently informed by the Immigration Department that they would not be allowed to leave the country.

The comment from you, Interim Prime Minister Bainimarama, that, “If we need to call [activists] in and say you’re speaking too much, we’ll do it,” would appear to be an unacceptable endorsement of this behavior.

Other detentions and assaults by members of the military are of equal concern. According to our information, at least two dozen people, including civil society activists, but also members of the business and media communities as well as private citizens, have been detained. None appears to have been detained with a warrant. Those detained include:

* Mr. Kenneth Zinck, former government minister of Labour, who was detained twice (6 December, 9 January). On the occasion of his second arrest on January 9, Mr. Zinck was taken by members of the military to the Namaka barracks near Nadi after he made comments in a publication against the military regime. He was allegedly beaten during his detention.

Kenneth Zinck
# Mr. Mesake Koroi, Fiji Daily Post General Manager (December 8), was taken to Queen Elizabeth Barracks for speaking out against the military.

# Mr. Peceli Kinivuwai, United Fiji Party (Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, SDL) National Director (December 9), was also taken to Queen Elizabeth Barracks for speaking out against the military.

Peceli Kinivuai and ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
# Mr. Robert Wolfgramm, Editor-in-chief of the Fiji Daily Post (December 14), was not given a reason for his detention and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Barracks.

Dr Robert Wolgramme
# Mr. Jagannath Sami, former Sugar Cane Growers Council chief executive (December 23, and January 18), was taken to the police station in Lautoka for making statements to discredit the military.

Jagannath Sami
# Ms. Laisa Vulakoro, Musician (December 28), was questioned by the police after voicing his criticisms of the military.

Laisa Vulakoro

We note that these actions violate Fiji’s constitution, which guarantees the fundamental rights of expression (section 30), assembly (section 31), and association (section 32). They appear to also violate the rights to be treated “with humanity and respect for his or her dignity” if arrested and detained (section 27 (1)(e)).

The death in military custody of Mr. Nakelo Verebasaga, a land surveyor, particularly merits independent investigation. Mr. Verebasaga did not appear to be suffering from any life-threatening injuries or illness when he was taken into custody on January 5, 2007 for alleged disputes with his neighbors. He too was taken to Queen Elizabeth Barracks, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the barracks hospital. His body was then taken to Colonial War Memorial Hospital mortuary at 11:30am for a post mortem examination. Military officials have claimed that Mr. Verebasaga had been injured in fights the previous week, and that he had developed breathing problems en route to the barracks. As Mr. Verebasaga died whilst in the custody of the military an independent investigation is essential to establishing a credible explanation for the cause of death and the culpability of any of the military officers in charge of him at the time.

Nimilote Verebasaga – killed under Frank Bainimarama’s command

The military’s placing on leave on January 3, 2007 of Chief Judge Daniel Fatiaki and Chief Magistrate Ms. Naomi Matanipobua also raises concerns about your present and future commitment to the rule of law. These two senior members of the judiciary appear to have been dismissed because they are likely to oppose your efforts to suspend the Constitution. An independent judiciary is fundamental to the protection of human rights, and military interference in it constitutes grave disregard for the rule of law.

Daniel Fatiaki

Naomi Matanitobua

President Iloilo’s January 4 statement supporting the extension of legal immunity to all coup members and interim Prime Minister Bainimarama’s similar statement on January 7 send a worrying signal that you intend to prevent investigations into allegations of serious human rights abuses perpetrated by members of the military. Any attempt to grant impunity for abuses will undermine efforts to re-establish a stable and democratic Fiji for the foreseeable future.

Human Rights Watch urges that you publicly reiterate your commitments to basic freedoms as guaranteed by Fiji’s constitution, and instruct your officials to conduct themselves accordingly. Finally, you must ensure that elections consistent with international standards are held as soon as possible, and that the results of those elections are honored. Should you fail to do so, the future of human rights in Fiji remains in jeopardy.

Sincerely,

Brad Adams
Executive Director
Asia Division

Below is a Fiji newspaper report on what happened on that Christmas eve night in 2006 when coupster Frank Bainimarama is reported to have tortured a group of pro-democracy civilians which included three women.

By Samantha Rina

SUVA, Fiji (FijiSUN, Dec. 27) – An outspoken Fijian pro-democracy activist who was beaten and forced to run through the capital at gunpoint with five others yesterday said she held no grudges against the military.

“I want the (army) commander (Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama) to know that I forgive him. And that is all I want to say. I just want him to know that I forgive him,” said businesswoman Laisa Digitaki.

A visibly shaken and bruised Ms Digitaki, who wore a neck brace and was in a wheelchair at the Suva Private Hospital yesterday, said she feared further assault by the military and would not elaborate on her ordeal in the early hours of Christmas Day. Soldiers detained the six – including Fiji Women’s Rights Movement executive director Virisila Buadromo and her partner, magazine owner Imraz Iqbal, Jacqueline Koroi and Pita Waqavonovono – from their homes for comments they made against the military.

One of the advocates, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of her life, said they were scared on their way to the camp but what awaited them was worse.She said they were ill-treated and amidst the physical and verbal assault, a choir of soldiers sang Christmas carols.

“We were taken to a cell where we were slapped and punched and yelled at by the soldiers. They made us run to the playground where we were ordered to lie face down on the concrete slab in the playground. The soldiers who had guns then kicked us anywhere and everywhere on our bodies and yelled and swore at us,” said the woman, who helped set up the democracy shrine which was ransacked on Saturday by a group of men believed to be soldiers.

“While we were being kicked and assaulted as we lay down, there was a choir of soldiers standing at the front entrance to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks singing Christmas carols.She said they were then told to stand up and as the physical assault continued, bullets were being loaded into the guns.”They put the guns to our ears and cocked them and terrorised us by threatening to pull the trigger. After that, they ordered us to run out to the main road. We could not resist any of their orders because we were all so frightened for our lives,” she said.

The victim said one of her male colleagues broke his leg and despite his severe injury, he was forced to run through the rain.”They were right behind us and kept on yelling ‘toso! toso!’ (move! move!). Each time we slowed down, they yelled even louder to keep us moving,” she said.The victim said another of her colleague was unable to see that night after soldiers smashed her spectacles. She said at Reservoir Road, the soldiers warned them again before leaving them to find their own way home.The other advocates have since refused to speak to the media. Yesterday, they were at democracy shrine, which was housed in a building belonging to Ms Digitaki, to remove their banners and equipment.Army spokesman Major Neumi Leweni would not confirm nor deny the incident but warned citizens not to criticise the RFMF.”The RFMF would like to reiterate its warning to anyone trying to undermine its efforts in conducting a smooth national audit,” he said.

“They have been numerous warnings made in all media outlets and to some individuals that there is an Emergency Decree in place during this period.”It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that non-governmental organisations and political commentators exercise caution when making public statements.”Whilst the RFMF wishes to allow everyone to have an enjoyable holiday, it will not tolerate anyone breaching the Emergency Drecree.”Political parties and church organisations have condemned the military’s actions, saying they are uncalled for and unnecessary.Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti told the Fiji Sun that people should take heed of the army’s warnings, adding that “it have been worse” for the six pro-democracy supporters who were beaten up

News Content © Radio New Zealand International
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http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=60893

There is no hope in Fiji today that the three women who were brutally punched up and assaulted by dictator Frank Bainimarama, will ever be able to lay charges or get fair justice against their attacker.

Laisa Digitaki, Virisila Buadromo and Jacquline Koroi can only watch as their key assailant, Frank Bainimarama, continue on with his usurped Prime Ministerial high life, while they come to terms with their reality that totally contradicts Frank, Aiyaz and Nazhat Shameem’s law, boasting a zero tolerance on violence against women and domestic violence in Fiji.

Laisa Digitaki

Virisila Buadromo

Jacqueline Koroi

The sweet-talking Aiyaz who likes to dress up Frank’s madness with his legal jargons is now faced with a real sticky and bloody issue after his puppet was identified as the main torturer who unsympathetically punched up the three Fijian women.

To make matters worse, one of the victim is Virisila Buadromo, the Executive Director of Fiji Womens Rights Movement who has good women followings.

Now with the truth out that it was none other than tyrant Frank who beat her up, it will come as no surprise then that most Fijian women will by now have absolutely no respect or faith in Frank.

Ului Mara has named ex-Judge Nazhat Shameem and Aiyaz Khaiyum as two prominent people who frequented Frank Bainimarama’s home before and after the 2006 coup.

His revelation again reinforces what bloggers have been reporting since the coup – that Nazhat Shameem is a legal schemer for Frank’s regime.

Nazhat Shameem the ex-lady Judge behind women torturer Frank Bainimarama

Ului is a credible witness and we are very sure that other members of Frank’s initial inner circle, Esala Teleni, Pita Driti, Aziz Mohammed and George Langman will come forward to give their detailed account like Ului.

Meanwhile, Nazhat is said to be worried by Ului’s confession which exposes her as a key person who was aiding and abetting Frank’s coup illegalities from day one.

Rumour has it that she may already be planning  her exit to go live with her daughter in England.

Frank Bainimarama the women basher who wants to be President

A Tongan media outlet has quoted exiled Lt Col Ului Mara saying that Fiji’s tyrant, Frank Bainimarama’s ultimate vision is to install himself as the President of Fiji.

In his interview, Ului said that Frank’s ambition is to impose a new Presidential System in Fiji similar to that adopted in Indonesia.

Our research reveal that “the President of Indonesia is both head of state and head of government and of a multi-party system. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian armed forces, and responsible for domestic governance, policy-making and foreign affairs. The president and vice president are both selected by the vote of the citizens for a term of five years. Its also the president who heads the United Indonesia Cabinet and elects the council of ministers.”

Many things spring to mind with Ului’s revelation.

1. The goal post for that 2014 election promised by Frank has not only shifted  but has been uprooted and replaced by a new goal post all together . Instead of voting for a party with a pre-determined Prime Minister, it will be replaced by a Presidential election. This will mean a complete overhaul of Fiji’s Constitution which Frank is earmarking to happen in 2012. Another round of coerced public consultation will have to take place to try and legitimize their ready-made reviewed Constitution like that ill-conceived “Peoples Charter” that got decapitated by the Appeals Court ruling of its illegality.

2. To effect this Constitutional change, Frank and Aiyaz will again look to their current President Epeli to sign off their new “Political System of Fiji” decree and others.

3. Will Epeli Nailatikau be accepting to sign off on his own removal decree to pave the way for a new and fresh Presidential Election system in Fiji?

4. If Epeli refuses to sign the decree, it means that he wants to remain President until he kicks the bucket or when he’s forcefully removed by other factors he can not control.

5. If Epeli signs the decree, then he is obviously happy with Aiyaz/Frank’s vision to open up Fiji’s President’s role to all Fijians and to lend a hand in further weakening the Great Council of Chiefs indigenous Fijian structure outlined in Aiyaz’s “Sunset Clause for the Indigenous Fijian Race” Masters Degree thesis. We doubt he stands a chance in winning the Presidential race if he’s  stupid enough to make a run for it. Which means that he will be quite happy to make a sweet-heart pay-out deal with Aiyaz and Frank for his services to them before he retires.

6. Frank is already campaigning for his President candidacy and is also digging deep into the public coffers he controls as Minister Finance to fund his campaign. Quite ironic that he is now doing exactly what he alleged previous governments to have done in a lead up to a general election.

7. How soon will he allow others to start campaigning?

8. Will Frank win the Presidential election? In his dreams cause we think not! We can confidently say that Frank lack the popular support to get him democratically elected – never was, not now and not in the future.

But with the truth-telling from Ului Mara with other senior military officers expected to also spill the bean soon, we don’t believe Frank will be able to make it to 2014.

He will crumble soon and it’s just a matter of time.

Murmurs from Fiji’s White House is that Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz are still serious in their endeavor to remove their President Epeli Nailatikau.

Sources say that both Epeli and his wife, Koila Mara, will not relinquish their roles that easily and Koila has been quoted to have said, “over our dead body!”

Such is the tension between the occupants of Fiji’s White House and their Prime Minister and Attorney General and it is only reasonable for Frank to try and down-play his attempts to remove Epeli by denying it all together.

Another occupant of a grand palace in Tonga, Ului Mara, have said that Frank and Aiyaz should be charged for sedition for spreading seditious remarks for their President Epeli, who is also Ului’s brother-in-law, to step down.

So where did Ului Mara get that information from?

Being the brother of Fiji’s first lady is a bonus and his inside knowledge of Frank and Aiyaz’s remarks is first-hand information the two partners in crime will find hard to refute.

News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand

By Pesi Fonua

Lt. Col. Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara

Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, one of the four Fijian senior military officers who with Commodore Bainimarama overthrew the democratically elected government of Fiji on 5 December 2006 has confessed that what they did was illegal.

“I want a democratic government back in Fiji. I know it is strange coming from me, since I was part of the military that overthrew the democratically elected government in 2006, but that is what I would like to see happen in Fiji. It has also been finally realised that what we did was illegal. We have to go back to democratic rule there is no two ways about it,” he said in Nuku’alofa this week.

He is talking about uniting the groups that are opposing the military regime of Bainimarama and Khaiyum and “in the coming weeks we will take a more pro-action stance.”

Lt. Col. Mara said that today only one of the military officers remains beside Bainimarama who, “no longer listens to the Military Council”.

Suva court

Ratu Tevita now on the run from the Fijian Military Regime was “rescued at sea” and brought to Nuku’alofa by the Tongan Navy on May 13.

Cmdr Bainimarama says Ratu Tevita remains a fugitive who jumped bail and is scheduled to appear in court in Suva on Monday, May 30 charged with sedition.

But in an interview with Matangi Tonga on May 23, Ratu Tevita told me that he decided to leave Fiji because he believed that the judicial system in Fiji was corrupted and he would not get a fair hearing.

“Myself and Pita Driti are both senior military officers, and our case should be heard in a Military Tribunal, but of course Cmdr Bainimarama doesn’t want that to happen, and the Attorney General Sayed-Khaiyum advised that we should be tried in a civilian court.

“In fact, both Bainimarama and Khaiyum should be charged with sedition, for they are the ones who are going around making seditious remarks, saying that the President should step down,” alleged Ratu Tevita.

Broken promises

He said that the Military Council, made up of the officers who staged the coup in 2006, had begun to question some of the decisions that were implemented by the regime toward the end of 2007 and early 2008. “Most of us in the Council realised that we were no longer working toward achieving the objective of the 2006 coup, which was to return Fiji to democratic rule.

“On February 2008 Bainimarama announced the roadmap back to democracy for Fiji, with an election to take place in 2010. But that was his first broken promise when he deferred the election to 2014.

“The roadmap was put together by the Military Council. It was a clearly defined path that we were supposed to follow, and it included all the changes that we wanted to make to the system to restore democratic rule in Fiji. But when Bainimarama abrogated the Constitution in 2009, he clearly shifted away from that roadmap; he was no longer discussing anything with the Military Council; he was no longer listening to the Military Council; it was just all between him and his AG, [Aiyaz] Sayed-Khaiyum. We by then knew that something went terribly wrong. If you look at people around him who were with him in 2006, [of the] senior military officers, there is only one left Brigadier Aziz. Cmdr [Esala] Teleni has gone to China, while myself and Driti [former land forces commander] have been put aside, and we have been charged, so there is hardly anyone left from the original group.”

Removal of special rights

Ratu Tevita said it was clear that the regime was working toward implementing the ideas in a Sayed-Khaiyum’s Master’s thesis, ‘Cultural Autonomy, its implication for the nation-state, the Fijian Experience.’ where he said that Khaiyum advocates the elimination of the special rights for indigenous people and the removal of the right of indigenous Fijians to own land exclusively.

“Khaiyum had written the thesis and Bainimarama is using the Fiji military to turn this thesis into a reality,” alleged Ratu Tevita. “He has [already] nullified the two paramount institutions for Fijians, the Great Council of Chiefs and the Methodist Church.”

Bainimarama sacked the GCC in 2007 and declared that the annual conference of the Methodist Church, the biggest church in Fiji which usually runs for two weeks has been reduced to only a day.

While the Methodist Church has been calling for a return to democratic rule since 2006. They have been the most vocal, but Bainimarama and Khaiyum further strengthened their influence in the community by removing Fijian chiefs from being head of Provincial Councils and replacing them with military people.

At Consular House in Nuku’alofa, Lt. Col.Mara is a guest of Tonga’s King George Tupou V

Ratu Tevita said that the dismantling of the Great Council of Chiefs GCC in 2007 was “the biggest insult that has been done to the Fijian race.

“He has been boasting that he had successfully put aside the GCC, and he changed the Land and the Fishing Right Acts for the betterment of the Fijian people, but it is not happening. The economic disparity between the other races and the Fijians is still widening. As I said, he is the only one that is talking about his success. People are just getting fed-up that all that they are hearing in the media is the government’s success, because of the censorship, but on the ground it is a different story.”

2014 elections

The regime has declared that there will be elections in 2014.

But Ratu Tevita said that Bainimarama had mentioned within the Military Council circle that he is not interested in running for election in 2014, but was talking about implementing a Presidential System like that of Indonesia and had alluded that he was interested in taking over the presidency.

“There is nothing in place. There are no concrete steps that have been set down in Fiji toward having an election in 2014, and now he is talking about introducing the Presidential System of Indonesia to Fiji.

“The fear in Fiji is about democracy, of letting people have democratic rights. That is why the oppression measures are in place to scare people from speaking out against the regime.

“The best solution for us is to go back to the 1997 constitution, and with the constitution we can have a system in place that can help us solve all these problems,” said Ratu Tevita.

Opposition groups

Ratu Tevita is talking to opposition groups in Fiji.

“People back home are slowly realising that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is someone who is talking about returning to democratic rule. There are various groups who are opposing the military regime of Bainimarama and Khaiyum, when we will be united we will be stronger and our voice can be heard. In the coming weeks we will take a more pro-action stance,” he said.

Ratu Tevita said he would also be making contact with overseas countries, such as Australia and New Zealand.

“I am moving in that direction and I know that the New Zealand Prime Minister is in favour of the course that I am fighting for and I am taking it up with them.”

http://www.matangitonga.to/article/spnews/pacificislands/20110527_tonga_ratutevita.shtml