fijihumanrightswatch

Fiji Independent Institute Alleging Corruption?

2007-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Fiji Independent Institute Alleging Corruption?

The current travel prohibition slapped on Frances Herman continually brings disdain to the FICAC.

Statements by Daryl Tarte, Chairman of the Fiji Media Council and Daniel Whippy, Chairman of the FBCL questions the legitimacy, credibility and integrity of the FICAC.

No competent High Court Judge in Fiji would have issued any ex-parte Order prohibiting Frances Herman to depart Fiji without furnishing proper substantive evidence.

Daniel Whippy maintains that a reputable external auditor has always audited the FBCL’s annual accounts under the supervision of the Auditor General’s Office and no adverse findings against Frances Herman.

Yet FICAC and Bainimarama has no difficulty in accepting flimsy, uncorroborated and unsubstantiated evidence to place Frances Herman on the Immigration Black List, without his knowledge, let alone giving him a chance to respond to the allegations!

It seems apparent, that anyone with a gripe against another only has to lodge a complaint without any conclusive proof for the FICAC to act on it.

The current Fatiaki CJ debacle is a case in point, which after 6 months, no tribunal has been established and still no charges laid against him!

No competent High Court in Fiji would countenance any employer suspending an employee for over 6 months without cause and would reinstate them forthwith.

The FICAC ‘presumes everyone guilty, until proven innocent’, which is a sad state of affairs as it is contrary to section 28(1)(a) of the Constitution, which ‘presumes everyone innocent, until proven guilty.’

Frances Herman now has to deal with these baseless allegations, which neither the reputed external auditor or Auditor General’s Office have quired.

This only further delays his new appointment and could have adverse implications on him possibly affecting his new appointment.

What if Frances’s new employer was to terminate his contract on the bases on this travel prohibition and the allegations were later proven to be wholly unsubstantiated.

Is Langman willing that the FICAC compensate him for his economic loss?

What action is the FICAC going to take against those irresponsible people for making unsubstantiated allegations against Frances Herman and others in a similar situation?

Also what action is the FICAC going to take against its own Officer/s for making the decision to put him on the Black List without substantiating the allegations?

The FICAC seems to be immune from prosecution, hence their maverick attitude, which is very dangerous because these same imbeciles inevitably abuse their office as they have become a power unto themselves.

The FICAC is fraught with legal problems since its inceptions and the subject of current legal challenge.

The FICAC has lost its aura and is fast becoming an acronym for ‘Fiji Independent Commission Alleging Corruption’ because of its lower pre-requisite standards of proof than that required by a court of law.

Tui Savu,
Townsville.
AUSTRALIA

Lawyers Petition, give the CJ his Job Back

2007-07-07T03:33:00.000-07:00

From the letters to the editors column of the Fiji Daily Post. Why it is important for the lawyers to petition the president on behalf of CJ Fatiaki.

Lawyers’ petition
7-Jul-2007

Sir,

THE petition instigated by Hemendra Nagin and supported by the vast majority of Fiji’s legal fraternity is not an exercise in futility as misunderstood by Bainimarama.
To the contrary, the petition to be handed to President Iloilo later this week addresses fundamental constitutional Presidential fiduciary duties which as expected, Bainimarama and his advisors fail to appreciate.
President Iloilo pursuant to Section 85 of the Constitution is vested with the executive authority of the State of the Fiji.
Section 86 makes him Head of State and confers upon him the symbol of unity.
Section 87 invests upon him the rank of Commander in Chief of the Fiji Military Forces making Bainimarama his subordinate.
President Iloilo suspended Fatiaki CJ on 06/01/07 pursuant to section 138(3)(a)(i) of the Constitution.
This Friday marks 6 months since Fatiaki’s suspension, yet no formal charges have materialised.
The petition calls upon President Iloilo’s fiduciary duties pursuant to section 138(4) of the Constitution, whereby he can revoke the suspension at any time.
It is uncertain whether any allegation(s) of misbehaviour has been referred to a tribunal because A-G Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, continually faces great difficulty in attracting credible jurists to sit on the tribunal given Fiji’s political status.
Be that as it may, it is an undisputed fact that President Iloilo ordered Fatiaki’s suspension pending a tribunal’s finding, which after six months have not only failed to materialise, but Fatiaki himself is still kept in the dark as to the specific charges against him.
President Iloilo’s response to the petition will reveal Fiji’s true political state and the legitimacy of his presidency.
Bainimarama’s obtuse remark referred to above is premised on his willingness to resort to terror, bullying tactics and rule Fiji by the gun, whereas the Petition on the other hand seeks legal redress and exhorts President Iloilo to faithfully carry out his Presidential fiduciary duties in accordance with the Constitution and rule of law.
Should President Iloilo remain steadfast and true to his constitutional Presidential duties, then he should accept the petition, revoke the suspension and reinstate Fatiaki forthwith pursuant to section 138(4) of the Constitution.
Furthermore, he should terminate all investigations into the allegations against Fatiaki.
However, if President Iloilo wavers and rejects the petition because of Bainimarama’s influence, then he cannot be said to properly fulfilling his Presidential fiduciary duties in accordance with the Constitution and rule of law.
Either response by President Iloilo to the petition would have achieved its purpose because it will clearly show to the international community Fiji’s true political status.
I, for one support the petition and call for Fatiaki’s reinstatement forthwith and call upon all right thinking citizens of Fiji and the international community to support the petition as well.
As I had stated previously, the petition is not an exercise in futility as misunderstood by Bainimarama and his advisors, but rather something akin to Martin Luther’s 95 thesis nailed to the Wittenberg Church door and need I remind you of what transpired from the nailing of the thesis/petition?

Tui Savu,
Townsville,
Australia.

More Human Rights Abuses

2007-06-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

Villagers yesterday told how armed soldiers came at night and took them to a spot where they were forced to crawl on thorny bushes for hours.
And the men of Naqia Village in Wainibuka, Tailevu, said the soldiers tried to take the wives of men they could not find in the village. “The women were ordered on to a truck and only released when their children came crying after them,” said one of the 11 villagers that was taken by the soldiers, Lekima Koro.
He said the soldiers arrived in two twin-cab four-wheel-drive vehicles and a truck on Tuesday last week and rounded up the men, saying they had information that they smoked and cultivated marijuana.
The villagers told the Fiji Sun yesterday that the visit by the soldiers and their treatment over two days shocked and traumatised their families.
Mr Koro said about 11 men from the village were taken that night. He said he was not at home that time and when he came home he received news that his wife had been taken by the soldiers because he was not home.
"So I went to the soldiers and presented myself and my wife was released," he said.
He said when the truck reached the Nayavu Bridge they were told to crawl on their elbows down to the river bank and around thorny bushes.
“As we crawled on our elbows on the thorny bushes, we suffered cuts and scratches on our elbows and stomach. The soldiers told us to take off our clothes and repeat that,” he said.
Mr Koro said the soldiers then forced them to swim in the cold river and go under whenever they were ordered.
“On of us did not want to go under the water because of the cold and one of the soldiers threw a stone at him,” he said.
“Once we were put inside the truck, we were warned not to say any word or try to escape or we would face the butt of the gun,” he said.
He said soldiers also used wooden rods to beat them and kicked them while they were crawling around.
Tevita Veikau, one of the 11 men, said when he reached Korovou Police Station, he was numb from the cold in his body and his clothes were dirty.
He said they were not given any clothes to change into after being locked in the cell in the early hours of that morning.
“I just could not bear the cold and bruises and asked one of the policeman to take me to the hospital,” said Mr Veikau. He said the medical officer that checked him expressed concern but there was nothing he could do.
“My wet clothes were not changed from Tuesday night until the soldiers took us back on Thursday afternoon to our village,” he said.
Military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni said that the soldiers were only supporting the police round up suspects. “This is part of the joint operation between the soldiers and the police,” said Major Leweni.
He said in cases like this the police take control.
Divisional Police Commissioner Eastern Emosi Baleinuku confirmed the police had received a report regarding the incident from the villagers and that they were investigating.

And we say, shame on the Tailevu Provincial Council for being the first to declare their support for this illegal Government.

This must be Jo Serulagilagi's revenge for his election loss in 2001. And they never consulted the people before their declaration of support.

Well we say the Tailevu people will not forget come the next general election. Moce Jo!

Another Death in Custody; how many more Bai????

2007-06-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

The news broke yesterday of another death in custody of a young indigenous Fijian male who was taken in by the security force on suspicion of being involved in a number of armed robberies that had taken place recently along the Suva/Nausori corridor.

Tevita Malasebe was picked up from his home in the middle of the night by plain clothes security forces personnel and taken away. The next thing the family heard was a call from the hospital the next morning to come over and see their son. As quoted in the Fiji Times today, his Mother said when she saw Tevita's body in hospital, "his body was covered in bruises from his neck down and there were also some marks on his chest and the marks of the handcuffs were still visible on his wrists".

Another valuable human life has been lost. We had warned in one of our articles recently that the continued unlawful detention of people by the security forces was going to result in another death in custody very soon.

We are using the term "security force" because the Military and the Police a now conducting joint patrol on the police beat and soldiers are now permanently based at Police Stations around the Country.

First of all, the Military are now calling the shots at the Police Force and it is going to be calcified by the appointment of Esala Teleni (Military Deputy Commander) as Police Commissioner before the end of this week.

Secondly, soldiers cannot do police work because they are not trained to deal with civilians. They are trained for one thing only and that is to destroy and kill.

Try and pick up a book on policing and you'd be amazed at the skills required to conduct a caution interview or read non verbal reaction from a suspect during an interview. Soldiers do not have those training and would simply lash out if suspects become difficult during such interviews.

And so another sad chapter in our national history has just taken place as Fiji looses another of her son to the brutality of the security forces. If the person is a suspect, we adhere to the common law principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty and any person accused must go through the due process of the law to be found guilty. When these checks and balances are removed, thugs take over and become judge, jury and executioner all at once.

My call to fellow citizens is that we must rise up to end this tyranny. If we remain silent, one day it could be you, your children or your spouse that will end up as fodders of these murderous thugs. They will come knocking at your door in the middle of the night to take one of you away.

I touch on the conscious of mothers out there, how would you react when you become the next one to bleed from the heart when the fruit of thy womb becomes another victim of satisfaction for these blood thirsty thugs in uniform.

Please do not put yourself in the situation where you will regret not acting when you should have. Lets protest and end this now before you could become the next mother to receive a phone call from the hospital to come and identify your child's body.

The ball is now soundly in your court to ACT!

Pita Driti Threatens University Students

2007-06-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

It has finally dawned on the idiotic airheads at the Military that trying to suppress the bloggers will only be counterproductive as it generates more publicity. It has in fact directly led to more blogs springing up all over cyber. You can see it now mushrooming all over the place since the Military went public about trying to hunt us down.

Well in frustration, Driti and his mob have now gone very childish. Their latest technique is to have permanent dickheads up at the barracks entering very provocative and insulting comments to try and divert the whole centre of discussions on a topic or article that has been published. Day in day out you will see them enter into discussions and with some of these attempted insults which are kinda bizarre to the normal thinking. In Fijian we say, "e vaka saraga na vagonegonea na nodratou i tovo". That is they latest technique has become very childish that it borders on lunacy.

It makes me wonder about the mental state of those now charged with governing us.

As all these interruption on blogs by full time military dickheads (my term for military bloggers) seems to fail, Drisi Driti has now threatened to cancel the FAB scholarship of any students at USP caught blogging. Isn't he overstepping the mark here. Shouldn't that be the call of the illegal Minister of Fijian Affairs, Mr $50 to make, if they really want to start a witch hunt here. Ai lavo i Tamana nai lavo ni FAB me mai viavia lewa (Is it his (Drisi's) fathers money to want to rule on how its spent)???

Oi Drisi, if you have an IQ that is at least greater then Lewenski's bugle, you would know that a university is an academic institution where intellectual abilities are constantly challenged to bring out the best in a scholar. Therefore it is a bastion of free thinking, freedom of speech and expression, and it would be murderous (then you're used to that) to try and suppress a young minds free thinking is such an institution. Go figure, I give up on Drisi.

GCC Lawyer hurled into the Barracks by soldiers

2007-05-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Lawyer Kitione Vuataki, hired by some chiefs, to represent them in a class action by traditional chief after the Illegal Interim Government suspended the Great Council of Chiefs, was picked up by the Military and is now being detained at the Duke of Edinburgh Military Barracks in Lautoka. Their excuse was that he said something inciteful in a radio interview last night.

The possibility of the Military hurting or murdering somebody again is getting very real by the day.

People's Farcical Charter for Change and Progress

2007-05-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Illegal Interim Government's proposed meeting to discuss the People's Charter for Change and Progress is quickly turning out to become a total farce even before its set up.

Why? Because it has sent invitation to all political party, NGOs and other organisation but have excluded the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanu (SDL) Party. While the SDL may have pre-empted the issue by saying they will not participate in something unconstitutional, the Illegal Interim Government should at least show maturity and take the first step of goodwill since they are the government.

They have reacted exactly the way the SDL was expecting them to react. Like immature bullies in a school playground. Dumb and with a predictable knee jerk reaction of lashing out tit for tat against every threat they perceive coming their way.Again demonstrating that they are an illegal government full of criminals who do not know how to behave in civil manners (vei dokai kei na veivakaturaga taki)

By the way, whether they weave and duck over the issue, the illegal government cannot avoid/deny/change the fact that 85% of Taukei (indigenous Fijians)voted for the SDL party in the May 2006 General Election.

So to deny the SDL from having a voice in the shaping of the People's Charter is to deny the representation and views of 85% plus of the Indigenous Fijian people. It is going to be a useless exercise and a total waste of time and resources.

More Violence and Degrading Treatment by the Military

2007-05-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Our sources have reported that New Zealand Lawyer Janet Mason was attacked at her home recently and her husband brutally bashed by musked thugs. They then took nothing else from the house apart from her laptop computer. How strange!!! This is the same Janet Mason that the Military had suspected to have given legal advice to the Great Council of Chiefs which then resulted in the GCC's unprecedented rejection of the President's nominee for Vice President.

Also, the reporter rumoured to have been taken up to the Military Camp on suspicion of being a blogger was Fiji Times Staff Pio Rokosuka. Mr Rokosuka was also a former training officer at the Fiji Human Rights Commission. So far we have not heard what was done to him at the Military Barracks.

SDL Party Acting National Director Assaulted by the Military

2007-05-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

The acting national director of the SDL Party, Mr Ted Young, was today assaulted at the Military Barracks as a direct reaction for a press release by the Party last week.

Prior to being interrogated by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Tukaituraga at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Mr Young was attacked by another Military Officer, who laid a barrage of punches on his face. Ironically, or maybe deliberately, the Military summoned Ted Young up in relation to a press release where the SDL labeled the Military as undisciplined.

Mr Young, with a visible bruise on his face, was up at the hospital today to have a doctor examine him for the injuries he sustained.

Cruel and degrading treatment including torture and assault are some of the rights under Chapter 2 of the Constitution that cannot be derogated during a state of emergency. So all these assaults by the Military are downright criminal and illegal under the Constitution.

Please Amnesty International, EU, and the UN, take note of these assaults and do something about it.

Yeah when Chand

2007-05-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

Pramesh Chand, the illegall secretary to the Illegal Prime Minister of the Illegal Interim Government, today once again attempted to reassured the Fiji Public, as reported on Sunday Times, that all human rights abuse will be investigated................and then what Prime Minister Pramesh????.........ooops I mean Secretary Pramesh????

Btw, since when did the secretary in the PM's office start speaking on behalf of the Fiji Human Wrongs, I mean Rights, Commission. Isn't this Commission supposed to be an independent constitutional body managed by independent Commissioners. A national institution on Human Rights model on standards as outlined under the Paris Principles for NHRI. But then again, this Commission is nolonger a member of APF after it was unceremoniously booted out for non compliance of the Paris Principles, but then again I may stand to be corrected here???

Oh, and back to Pramesh Chand, we just want to repeat the often used phrase that (sic) action speaks louder than words.

Him and his sister Shaister need to understand that people are not coming forward to report human rights violation dished out to the citizens by certain apparatus of the State because they just down't trust your Commission, your illegal Government, your Police and your green uniformed thugs. The situation right now is liken to Count Dracula being appointed to watch over the Blood Bank.

The bottom line for you two and your Government is to successfully investigate, charge, prosecute and punish the murders of Sakiusa Rabaka, Nimilote Verebasaga, the assault on Laisa Digitaki, Pita Waqavonovono, Imraz Iqbal, Ulai Taioi and all other initimidation, degrading treatmentm and illegal detainment of people.........THEN...........and THEN OnLy will the PEOPLE begin to trust the Human Rights Commission and come forward to report human rights violation.