AUSTRALIA is not simply a neighbour of Fiji. It is a part of our family.

As such, Fiji will always hold Aussies close, same with Kiwis. But as Richard Herr and Anthony Bergin wrote earlier this month: "Fiji is getting on with new relationships that are less and less connected with Australia's interests in the Pacific islands region."

The reasons are practical, as well as personal. Just this week, the World Bank has again warned developing countries such as ours to begin preparing for another global economic shock as a result of the debt crisis in Europe and weakening growth in other emerging economies.

This underscores Fiji's move to grow and diversify its economy and relationships, which is what the Bainimarama government has been doing despite - and in light of - sanctions and restrictions imposed by Australia and New Zealand.

Our economic and diplomatic ties are now greater than they have ever been, an example of which is the first high-level visit to Fiji by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in the coming weeks.
So while many in Australia and New Zealand have become solely focused on personalities and the past, they have lost sight of the future and the bigger picture, and with what Fiji has been up to.

I. Kubuabola

"Australian or New Zealand media or policymakers view Fiji. To them, we are a land of coups, failed institutions and a military dictator. There exists a condescending and patronising tone to most every statement and media report that comes out of Australia and New Zealand - whether lack of acknowledgement about the divisive politics, ethnic and religious strife and corruption that Fiji faced over the years or the full dismissal of international context when viewing Fiji's laws and governance."

Standard & Poor's recently upgraded Fiji's sovereign debt rating. We have a net deficit position of 1.9 per cent (ahead of the IMF's recommended target of 2 per cent). We are aligning more closely with free-market principles, and for 2012 have cut or eliminated taxes for 99 per cent of taxpayers (putting about $53 million back in the pockets of Fijians) and have significantly cut taxes across the board for businesses.
As a result, this year our economy is projected to grow, supported by traditional sectors and now enhanced by telecommunications, ICT, audiovisual and mahogany, among others.

Enabling this growth has been our focus on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Fiji unreservedly ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2007, for which we have volunteered and undergone peer reviews by countries such as the US and France. New transparency rules will soon be put in place to ensure that all government officials disclose their assets and investments.

Sound fiscal policies and anti-corruption practices have helped encourage new trade and investment, which we have seen from private sector enterprise in Australia and New Zealand, but also China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the US, among other countries, and with new ones ahead.
In all of this we have sought to ensure that all levels of society are looked after: new roads, electricity, clean water and unrestricted internet access, most of which is being brought to places that never had them before; first-ever food voucher programs; subsidised bus fares; free textbooks; free public transport for the disabled; more legal protection for women and children; anti-discrimination laws; equal distribution of land lease monies; and more.

But none of this is representative of how the Australian or New Zealand media or policymakers view Fiji. To them, we are a land of coups, failed institutions and a military dictator. There exists a condescending and patronising tone to most every statement and media report that comes out of Australia and New Zealand - whether lack of acknowledgement about the divisive politics, ethnic and religious strife and corruption that Fiji faced over the years or the full dismissal of international context when viewing Fiji's laws and governance.
Fiji is under no misguided assumption that if oil or gas was found off Suva tomorrow our neighbours would be singing a different tune. But because Fiji's economy is based on tourism and sugar, the serious steps we are taking to realign our economy and re-establish our independence politically are not taken seriously by our historical allies.

The Bainimarama government has laid out a vision for what we seek to accomplish and a clear timeframe for getting it done. Our first priority, however, is to Fiji - ensuring Fijians have safe food and clean water, electricity, access to education and jobs, and the ability to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by our unique country. And so far the Bainimarama government has been able to deliver these services more efficiently and effectively than any previous one.

As Fiji continues to move forward to consultations for the new constitution and our first truly democratic elections, we would welcome the encouragement and participation of Australia and New Zealand.
Fiji is engaged more fully with the global community, and we aim to uphold our place as a "vital element" of regional affairs.

Ratu Inoke Kubuabola is Fiji's Minister for Foreign Affairs

Landlubber diplomacy won't work in Fiji - The Hill's Congress Blog

2012-01-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

Eni Faleomavaega (Image source: House.gov)

U.S Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega recent opinion piece "The Hill's Congress Blog" titled: "Landlubber diplomacy won't work in Fiji"

Rep. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) is the Ranking Member and former Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

In Samoa, when a tauta (landman) advances an opinion about fishing or navigation, he is met with the reply "O le va’ai le tauta" – or, "that is the opinion of a landlubber."

In response to Fiji’s 2006 coup, Australia and New Zealand have advanced a policy to force Fiji back to democracy. Based on a Eurocentric mindset that fails to take into account Fiji’s colonial history, complex ethnic mix and chiefly, provincial, religious and family rivalries, Australia and New Zealand imposed a wide range of sanctions on Fiji and cut off diplomatic channels.

Having no policy of its own, the U.S. marched in time, applying section 508 sanction law which severed U.S. aid to Fiji. U.S. sanctions, however, have had no consequence because U.S. aid to Fiji was less than $3 million per year.

Of consequence is Pakistan. In 1999, when General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the democratically-elected government of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the U.S. waived 508 sanction law, despite the fact that for nearly ten years General Musharraf never made good on his promise to resign his military commission and hold free, fair and transparent elections in Pakistan.

The U.S., like Australia and New Zealand, cooperated with Pakistan’s regime – even providing billions in aid – because we understood then like we should understand now that engagement is vital to our interests and necessary if our long-term objectives are peace, stability and democracy.

Do Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. consider Fiji vital to our interests? If not, I believe we should given China and Iran’s growing presence in the region. If so, we need a new way forward.The U.S. can no longer rely on landlubber diplomacy which seeks to force democracy by isolation. Every tautai (navigator) knows – democracy can’t be forced. Force is contrary to the order of democracy and contrary to our innate desire to choose.

To succeed in Fiji, we must start from the beginning. The legacy of Fiji’s colonial past has never been fully resolved since Fiji gained its independence in 1970. To date, Indians control many of the small businesses. Australia and New Zealand control major banking and commercial enterprises, and indigenous Fijians control much of the communal land and military establishment, with serious divisions existing between traditional leaders and lower-ranking Fijians.

So far, no resolutions have been established to provide balance and fairness to both Fijians and ethnic Indians. In the past 20 some years, Fiji has had four coups and three constitutions. In the two coups of 1987 and the political crisis of 2000, ethnic tensions played major roles.

Until we understand this beginning and begin to converse about it, democracy will not get underway. Having had several discussions with interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and dozens of others during my visits to Fiji, I believe U.S. leadership can help strengthen bilateral ties and improve regional conditions.

By employing smart diplomacy in Fiji – which has been the hallmark of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy initiative even in Myanmar – I have every hope that we can achieve equal suffrage and other political, economic and social reforms targeted under the “Strategic Framework for Change,” just as the interim Prime Minister seeks.

Club Em Designs

Stuck in Fiji M.U.D

X-Post: The Australian - Fijian Progress Muddied By The Media.

Landlubber diplomacy won't work in Fiji - The Hill's Congress Blog

X-Post from Land Destroyer: Australian Militarism in the Asia-Pacific Century