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NFP hits out at presidential decision over CRC
Wednesday, May 02, 2001

THE National Federation Party has lashed out at the decision by the President's Office in redirecting the Constitution Review Commission to resume it's work labelling it illegal and against efforts in returning the country to constitutional governance.The President's office has gazetted legislation yesterday to allow the review commission to continue to work who were back on the road taking submissions.

NFP general secretary Attar Singh branded the move as a blatant disregard of a High Court ruling which declared the commission illegal."And this commission has now been given the nod to continue its work aimed at drafting a new constitution despite the fact that the state's appeal against the ruling is still pending," said Mr Singh.

He says that it basically means that the State has no regard for law and order and it is unlawfully imposing its will on the majority of the law-abiding citizens of this country."The NFP has repeatedly stated that the commission is illegal and racist and its work is intended to dis-enfranchise almost half of the country's population."

Mr Singh said that it was important that any grievance, both perceived or real against the 1997 Constitution must first be identified by representatives of all communities in the country.He said the focus should be the next parliament after the August General Elections and any decision to review the 1997 Constitution must thereafter be consistent with the provisions of the 1997 Constitution itself.
"The commission, that has been tasked with formulating a report to be put before the next parliament for consideration, is nothing more than an exercise in futility and a waste of taxpayers' funds."

Mr Singh said the NFP called upon all right thinking citizens and particularly the indo-Fijian community to continue boycotting the commission in an effort to together show that the wishes of the majority cannot be suppressed by the will of a few.Meanwhile, legal sources confirmed that there was a strong likelihood in instituting new proceedings with a new court injunction to stop the work of the commission.

The source said that as the case was new with the gazetting of a new legislation by the President's office it would be "neat" to drop the initial injunction order and file a new case with the High Court to start fresh with the new order.

The Daily Post

Military promises justice
Wednesday, May 02, 2001

THE Royal Fiji Military Forces yesterday assured the nation that all those responsible for the May 19, 2000 coup would be brought to justice.Revelations recently made about the May 19 event had made organisations call on the military and police to reveal the truth.

Deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry supported the allegations made against the Commissioner of Police Isikia Savua and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka by the former president Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara that they knew about the coup.
Mr Chaudhry confirmed he was informed of their involvement by coup leader George Speight's chief security Ilisoni Ligairi himself during the last days of their forced confinement in parliament.

"Ligairi can't lie as he was very much involved and is now awaiting trial at Nukulau Island," Mr Chaudhry said.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Ilaisa Tagitupou said that it was common knowledge that recent assertions and conspiracy theories were abundant.

He said that the RFMF remained confident that the conclusion of Police investigations would reveal all those involved.
However Mr Chaudhry said that the real truth would not be revealed because Mr Savua had also been implicated.
"As long as he continues in office, there will be no real progress in these investigations and it is unlikely that anyone will be brought to justice."

Lt Tagitupou strongly refuted this statement and said the police were continuing with their investigation and would surely come out with the truth.While investigations are still continuing, the RFMF will remain committed to upholding the national security and safety and well being of all the citizens.

Replying to comments in the media by the former secretary of the President's office Joe Browne, Lt Tagitupou said that it was very unfortunate as during the crisis the army was responsible to provide security for its Commander-In-Chief.

Mr Browne claimed that some security personnel were pulled out from Government House for reasons only known to them.
"Mr Browne failed to appreciate security measures to which the platoon in question had automatically put in place for the safety of the commander-in-chief (former)," Lt Tagitupou said.

He said Mr Browne should have known that it was the RFMF's priority to protect and serve the commander-in-chief and during the May 19, 2000 crisis they stood firm in their service."The same security arrangements continues to be provided for the current President, Vice President, care-taker Prime Minister and certain members of the care-taker government," he said.

The RFMF is mindful of all recent allegations to discredit the institutions and wishes to confirm that it is confident with the Police investigations.

The Daily Post

Ligairi told us: Chaudhry
Monday, April 30, 2001

Deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry says coup leader George Speight’s head of security Major Ilisoni Ligairi had told him days before they were released that Police Commissioner Isikia Savua and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka had something to do with George Speight’s attempted coup on May 19 last year.

Chaudhry was commenting on former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara’s statement that he had told Rabuka and Savua "you two had a hand in this" on May 20 in the presence of former army commander Ratu Epeli Ganilau.

He said it was no wonder that investigations into the coup had stalled and it was important that Savua was removed as commissioner.

Chaudhry said the recent revelations would lead one to question the findings of the inquiry in Savua conducted by the Chief Justice, Sir Timoci Tuivaga.

"My assessment is the same as his," Ganilau had earlier told FM96. "I believe he had a purpose in getting me to stay on as a witness."

Asked about the two’s reaction, Mara said: "You could see it on their faces." He said Rabuka said something about being at the army camp on May 14, the anniversary of the 1987 coup.

Rabuka had called him on the day of the coup, saying he was ready to help. He has asked him to see him later that day.

Savua, he said, was at a meeting with Speight’s security man Major Ilisoni Ligairi and Jioji Konrote, the permanent secretary for Home Affairs on the Thursday before the march, but he didn’t see a heavy police presence at Parliament or on the streets during the march.

Mara said the police should have known what was going to happen through their intelligence.

Both Rabuka and Savua have denied being behind Speight’s attempted coup.

Rabuka has said his involvement was restricted to that as mediator. He said Mara’s comments were linked to reports given to him that said Rabuka has met the CRW soldiers on May 14 and that some of them had trained on his farm in Cakaudrove.

Savua said he was not involved. "I will never support a coup."

He said a lot of things were promised for Fijians when the 1987 coup was staged, but "nothing much has happened. I was in the army when the 1987 coup was carried out and I have seen what the coup has done."

The Public Service Commission has said there would be no further investigations into Savua who was cleared after the Tuivaga inquiry.

Savua should resign: Browne
Monday, April 30, 2001

Jo Browne, the private secretary to former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, says Police Commissioner Isikia Savua should step aside.

Browne was commenting on suggestions by Mara that he still does not know why he was removed as president.

"The coup was so well stage-managed. Savua should be the first person to step aside and allow someone else to run the police force," he said.

Browne said Mara, as commander-of-chief had been betrayed by the custodians of security who served under him.

He said he asked Mara to agree to be evacuated because he was suspicious of troop movements at Government House.

Browne, who has been with Mara since 1985, told the Fiji Sun the number of soldiers at Government House dropped from 29 to just six, surprising him and he decided on the evacuation when he couldn’t get a satisfactory answer.

Mara told Fiji TV on Sunday he was surprised when he was told by Browne that he was going to be evacuated. He said to this day, he isn’t sure why Browne got him evacuated. "I didn’t even have time to ask a question."

Browne said he understood why Mara may have doubted his loyalty and may have thought he was in cahoots with the rest since he also had a military background.

"My loyalty was to no one else and my conscience dictated my actions. But I do understand his position and know where he is coming from."

Who has the videotape?
Monday, April 30, 2001

Fiji is now looking for the videotape supposedly made by Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit soldiers now detained at Korovou Prison that shows footage of a presentation by army officers of a tabua to attempted coup leader George Speight and his group.

Jo Browne, the former secretary to the former President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, told the Fiji Sun such a tape does indeed exist.

Browne said the CRW soldier had told him at Parliament that they would submit the tape if there was "absolutely no way out", meaning a mandatory life sentence.

"Why are we attempting to crush the small fish when the sharks are allowed to roam free? Browne asked.

Yesterday CRW soldiers told the Sun the officers who were instrumental in initiating the civilian uprising that led to the takeover of Parliament on May 19 last year were still in the army. These officers had supplied rebel soldiers with weapons, ammunition and food.

The soldiers said these officers were not happy with the appointment of Commodore Frank Bainimarama as commander and wanted him removed. These officers will "always use covert action until their demands are fulfilled", they said.

The CRW soldiers said they have video footage of the presentation and they intend to use it when necessary.

Indo-Fijian Exodus
Tuesday, May 01, 2001

THE exodus of Indo-Fijians that gained impetus after the two military coups of 1987, gathered a new momentum after the May 19 civilian takeover last year. Research hints that the decline in the country's Indian population, that was registered by the 1996 Census, will continue.

It is very likely that the rate will increase. According to the Bureau of Statistics, a total of 4116 Indo-Fijians have migrated overseas from May 2000 to February, this year. And the trend suggests that this rate will increase. This time around, there are new factors, such as, more Indians have marketable skills for which there is a growing demand overseas.

Unlike, in 1987, this time around, many Indians also have established families overseas; there is a network which can help those Indians, who migrate, find jobs and enable them to adjust to a new social environment. The figures indicate that Fiji will continue, therefore to lose large number of skilled professionals and technical related workers.

However, another new trend that cannot be ignored is the outflow of the indigenous Fijians. A total of 436 indigenous Fijians have sought migration from May last year to February this year. Obviously, these members of the Fijian community are moving away for newer pastures.

It is expected that those Fijians, who settle abroad, will attract their close relatives. This movement, according to a Fijian politician, is a matter of concern to Fijian leadership, here at home. However, as the figure stands at 436, it is not likely that the Fijian population will decline.

The findings also suggest that those indigenous Fijians who migrate are professionals and are highly skilled workers. Meanwhile, though Indians continue to opt for migration, one Indian Movement, the Fiji Indian Summit argues that migration will certainly not be the answer to the political misery, that Indians have been stuck in since, they first came to Fiji as indentured labourers.

The chair of the Summit, Dr Biman Prasad stated Indians have to believe that Fiji is their home and continue to fight for their rights. Another Hindu orgnisation, Fiji Arya Prathinidhi Sabha secretary Kamlesh Arya also said that Indians have to learn to keep with the struggle. "If our ancestors could sustain it, then the new generation can also do it."

The Daily Post

'Former PM and police chief behind Fiji coup'

Times of India - 30 May 2001

SUVA: Fiji's deposed president Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on Sunday revealed that he believed police chief Isikia Savua and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka were the men behind the 2000 coup.

He told Fiji Television's Close-Up programme he confronted both men two days after May 19's coup fronted by failed businessman George Speight, currently in custody on treason charges.

Mara, president at the time, said Rabuka and Savua came to his Government House office.

"That Sunday morning, as soon as they sat down I said you two, I want you to know and I pointed at Rabuka and Savua, you had a hand in this thing'."

Asked what their reaction was, Mara told the programme: "Oh you could see it in their faces."

Mara's statement, made on Fiji Television's Close-Up programme, is devastating for Rabuka who led the two coups in 1987 but denied involvement in Speight's coup.

Mara said that within half an hour of Speight walking into parliament Rabuka had telephoned Government House to say he was ready to lead again.

He said he had no doubt Rabuka and Savua were involved in the coup.

Evidence he cited included the facts that Counter Warfare Revolutionary officers who joined Speight's attack on parliament had trained on Rabuka's farm estate.

On May 19, before the coup, there was also a nationalist parade through Suva, and Mara said there was hardly any police presence on the streets of Suva to keep an eye on the march. Officers should have been present to ensure that the march went smoothly.

Asked what his relationship was with Rabuka, Mara said it wasn't good "it never has been".

Mara said the coup was not in the interests of the Fijian people and added Chaudhry, the country's first ethnic Indian leader, would have done a good job.

"His party manifesto was very good for the people of this country and would have benefited the Fijian people the most."

Chaudhry would have been a great leader, he said.

Mara also spoke about the May 29 night he was taken by the military from Government House and evacuated from the city by naval vessel to his home island of Lau, east of here.

"I had heard this rumour that a group of people were coming for me. I called up the army camp and asked them about the security situation and they told me that things were okay and that 80 soldiers who were coming up to Government House.

"Shortly after that one of my staff came and said that because of these rumours my family had been evacuated to the naval ship and were waiting for me.

"I was surprised because I had just gotten off the phone to the military camp who were reassuring my security and here I was being evacuated."

He said he went to the naval base and joined his family. He added that the following afternoon he was told a naval boat was approaching.

On board were military commander Frank Bainimarama, Rabuka, Savua and four other officers.

He said they asked him to step aside.

He added that he knew they wanted to abrogate the constitution and take control of the situation.

"I told them that if my resigning would stop any kind of bloodshed then I would. But I also added that I will not return." (AFP)

Regime defies Court Order; reappoints CRC

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - May 1 2001

The Qarase regime has again defied a High Court order and convinced the President to reappoint the Constitution Review Committee.

All the commissioners, except Fred Achari who resigned and Apenisa Kurisiqila who passed away, were reappointed through Presidential warrants on 10 April and sworn in yesterday.

Earlier the High Court had ordered all work relating to the CRC to be put to a stop and the commissioners be stopped payments.

According to sources, the re-appointments done in the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office.

The terms of reference state that the Commission is to review the 1997 Constitution and provide a report to the President by 31 August.

The decision is a clear indication that the regime continues to have no respect for law and order. Earlier it had defied the Fiji Court of Appeal ruling that Qarase regime was illegal, and that the 1997 Constitution was still valid and the Parliament still in place. The Qarase regime was reappointed by the President.

Meanwhile, the NGO Coalition for Human Rights has stated that the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo is not fit to appropriately address the problems within the judiciary because of his old age and poor health.

Police says it was investigating Police Commissioner

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - May 1 2001

The Police Department claims that it has been investigating its own Commissioner, Isikia Savua, and Sitiveni Rabuka.

Today's Fiji Sun quotes the CID's Inspector Waisea Tabakau as saying:
"Rabuka and the Commissioner were always on our list of those being investigated by us for their involvement in the May 19 coup. Rabuka is being questioned and we are aware that his name came up in Close-Up again". But Tabakau implied that the Public Service Commission inquiry into Savua had cleared him and that seemed the put the matter to rest.

Numerous hostages had reportedly given statements to the Police in September last year saying that Rabuka and Savua were the leaders of the terrorists.

In another development, the former Secretary at Government House, Joseph Browne claims that a CRW soldier now charged with treason has videotapes of all political destabilisation meetings that took place before 19 May. Her says that the person will tender the tapes as evidence in the courts to defend himself if there were no other alternative than a mandatory life sentence for treason charges. Browne is quoted by the Sun as saying: "Why are we attempting to crush the small fishes when the sharks are allowed to roam free?"

Meanwhile in a statement the military said: "The RFMF is satisfied that recent statements in the media have revitalised the investigative process into the events of May 19th. It is confidence that the truth will prevail and those responsible will be brought to justice".

The military did not comment on the claims that some senior officers who were in league with the terrorists are still in the military.

Intelligence reports were deliberately withheld

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - May 1 2001

Intelligence reports on the activities of the days prior to 19 May were not given to the government.

Earlier it was reported that the failure of the Police Department to provide intelligence reports led the Cabinet to summon the Commissioner of Police to a cabinet meeting in late April. The Commissioner, Isikia Savua, and his top officers, assured the cabinet that there was no security threat to the nation, the people, or the cabinet. (see also: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_c/savua_lrv_13dec.htm).

Yesterday the former Official Secretary at Government House, Jo Browne stated that there was a conspiracy in the security forces to conceal information and to remove the president Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

Browne says that the conspiracy involved withdrawing military guards around the Government House on the day he was `evacuated' from Government House to a navy vessel.

Browne also states that intelligence reports were deliberately withheld from the President. He is quoted by the Fiji Times as saying that he was in constant communication with the dissident groups from April 20 and could sense increasing political and social tension. The Sun reports Browne as saying that the security forces.

Browne has also called for Savua to step aside. The Fiji Sun quotes him as saying: "Mr. Savua should be the first person to step aside and allow someone else to run the police force".

Browne also claims that people funded the dissidents: "At first it started with people who were against Chaudhry and gave financial and moral support. However, these people were not expecting things to end up in a coup. That's why they backed out when the cause took on a vanua face".

Browne also claimed that some senior officers who were responsible for the 19 may crisis are still in the military.

Yesterday the CRW soldiers charged with mutiny claimed that some officers who are still in the military were responsible for supplying arms to the terrorists.

Earlier the military's Commander of the third battalion, Lt. Col. Viliame Seruvakula stated that some senior officers in the army were supporters of the terrorists.

Chiefs ask military to apologise to Mara

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - May 1 2001

The Great Council of Chiefs has reportedly asked the military to formally apologise to the former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

The call comes after the revelations by Mara that he did not know the reasons why he was removed from the Government House. The revelations are contained in an interview played on Fiji TV's Close-up program on Sunday. (see: transcript of the interview at http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_o/mara_interview_29april.htm)

Media reports that each of the 14 provinces will be providing a tabua (whale's tooth) to the military for the apology.

It is understood that the military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama was not too pleased with the decision, claiming that removing Mara was the only way in which the military could impose martial law. The military's decision came after the military council deliberated on the matter. The military council, formed after the terrorists struck, comprised Bainimarama, senior officers of the army, and former army commanders (Rabuka, Nailatikau and Ganilau). Earlier in a speech in Canberra, Rabuka stated that he wanted the military council to appoint a government comprising him, military officers, and some politicians.

Coup plotters still in the army

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 30 2001

Some of the coup plotters are still with the army, reveals today's Fiji Sun.

In its lead article today, the Sun says that according to the disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, some senior officers who supplied the rebel soldiers with ammunition and weapons during the hostage crisis are still in the army.

The Sun also published a picture of members of the CRW unit, Apaitia Waqaniboro's picture prominent. Waqaniboro was found escaping the military barracks with Rabuka in Rabuka's official vehicle when the loyalist soldiers stormed the barracks on 2 November to contain the mutiny and that attempted coup.

Waqaniboro was also a prominent terrorist on the Parliamentary Complex until 13 July. Hostages claim that he used to sleep in the room next to where the ethnic Indian hostages were held captive.

Waqaniboro is related to Rabuka (see: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/archive/2000-11/no175.htm & http://www.pcgov.org.fj/archive/2000-11/no179.htm )

Meanwhile, the Great Council of Chiefs continue meeting today.

Chaudhry one of the best, says Mara

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 30 2001

People's Coalition Government Prime Minister would have been one of the best Prime Ministers of the country if he would have been allowed to run his full term.

This is the verdict of high chief, former Prime Minister and former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

In an interview for a TV documentary, extracts of which were shown last night on Fiji TV in its Closeup Program, Mara says that the People's Coalition manifesto was a good one and would have done more for the ethnic Fijians than anyone else, had it been allowed to be implemented.

When asked whether Chaudhry had gone wrong anywhere, Mara stated that he hadn't. He also stated that he had advised Chaudhry not to touch the land issue for 2 years, but other advisers advised Chaudhry otherwise.

Mara also told the program that Rabuka's 7 year stay in power showed that he could not run the government.

The full text of the interview will be found from this afternoon at: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_o/mara_interview_29april.htm

Chaudhry was arrogant: Mara
Sunday, April 29, 2001

Desposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was arrogant, former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara said on Fiji TV last night.

But he could have been one of the best prime ministers Fiji ever had if someone had given him "a stern warning not to be arrogant".

Mara said he had warned Chaudhry about land. "Don't touch land for two years. When they think you are an angel, then touch other things."

But he said Chaudhry may have been swayed later by advice from other people.

Mara said Chaudhry's manifesto was good and would have done more for the Fijian people than other races. He said people of all races had voted for Chaudhry's coalition.

"I did not think he went wrong," said Mara.

I was asked to go: Mara
Sunday, April 29, 2001

Former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara told Fiji TV last night that he was asked to step aside as president by a group of senior army officers, but he still does not know why.

Mara said there was a rumour that the mob at Parliament was going to get him after trashing Fiji TV's offices on a Sunday.

He said his son had organised a group of 80 people to protect him and "there were enough people to put on a good show".

So he was surprised when he was told by his secretary Jo Browne that he was going to be evacuated. He said to this day, he isn't sure why Browne got him evacuated.

He said his family was taken to the navy jetty at Walu Bay and put on the naval ship Kiro. The boat anchored in the passage before going towards Beqa after a boat suspected of carrying dynamite was seen nearby.

He said nothing happened the next day until late evening when a group comprising former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, Police Commissioner Isikia Savua, former army commander Ratu Epeli Ganilau and commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, and four army officers including Colonel Ulaisi Vatu and Colonel Ioane Naivalarua came to see him.

He said the group asked him to step aside. Mara said he was calm and unexcited and did not say anything because the group was giving in to Speight's demands and these were army officers.

Asked if he couldn't have sacked them as commander-in-chief, Mara asked: "Who was going to resist them? If I had sacked them, then what? It would have been an exercise in futility."

He said they knew he was the commander-in-chief and they should have known how to behave, but he went along because they said they wanted to avoid bloodshed.

He accused Rabuka and some members of the group of being behind moves to remove him. But he said he had no desire to come back.

Rabuka, Savua deny coup link
Sunday, April 29, 2001

Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Police Commissioner Isikia Savua has both denied being behind George Speight's attempted coup on May 19 last year.

They were reacting to comments by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on Fiji TV last night that he told both of them they were involved in the putsch.

Rabuka said his involvement was restricted to that as mediator. He said Mara's comments were linked to reports given to him that said Rabuka has met the CRW soldiers on May 14 and that some of them had trained on his farm in Cakaudrove.

Savua said he was not involved. "I will never support a coup."

He said a lot of things were promised for Fijians when the 1987 coup was staged, but "nothing much has happened. I was in the army when the 1987 coup was carried out and I have seen what the coup has done."

Mara implicates Rabuka, Savua
Sunday, April 29, 2001

Former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara told Fiji TV last night that he had told former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Police Commissioner Isikia Savua that they had something to do with George Speight's attempted coup on May 19 last year.

Mara said he made the comments on May 20 in the presence of Rabuka, Savua and acting army commander Colonel Alfred Tuatoko.

Asked about the two's reaction, Mara said: "You could see it on their faces." He said Rabuka said something about being at the army camp on May 14, the anniversary of the 1987 coup.

Rabuka had called him on the day of the coup, saying he was ready to help. He has asked him to see him later that day.

Savua, he said, was at a meeting with the Jioji Konrote, the permanent secretary for Home Affairs on the Thursday before the march, but he didn't see a heavy police presence at Parliament or on the streets during the march.

Mara said the police should have known what was going to happen through their intelligence.

The former president also said the 1987 coup was disgusting. Rabuka had earlier suggested Mara knew about it, but Mara denied it, saying "it was convenient for him to think so".

He said the relationship between him and Rabuka had never been good and that Rabuka showed in the seven years he was in charge that he couldn't run a government.

Friday April 27 4:21 PM ET
CIA Files Show Nazis Worked for Allies After War

By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA (news - web sites) on Friday released files on Adolf Hitler, Josef Mengele and other Nazis, including some who later worked with U.S. and other intelligence agencies and evaded prosecution during the Cold War.

``These files demonstrate as a body that the real winners of the Cold War were Nazi criminals, many of whom were able to escape justice because East and West became so rapidly focused after the (Second World) War on challenging each other that they lost their will to pursue Nazi perpetrators,'' the Justice Department (news - web sites)'s Eli Rosenbaum said of the released documents.

``And they even deemed some of the criminals to be useful allies in conducting Cold War intelligence operations,'' said Rosenbaum at a news conference at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The 20 files released included those of Hitler, Mengele, who carried out medical experiments at Auschwitz concentration camp, Gestapo chief Heinrich Mueller, Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the plan to exterminate Jews and others, and Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo chief in occupied Lyon, France.

Also included was former U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who was barred from entering the United States while president of Austria in the 1980s after accusations that he had been involved in Nazi wartime atrocities.

There were few new revelations about Hitler, except an intriguing second-hand personality analysis by a German surgeon, predicting in 1937 that the Hitler would ``end up as the craziest criminal the world had ever seen.''

The U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, got this information only in 1944, one year before the end of the war, according to the documents.

The other 14 of the CIA's formerly classified ``personality files,'' also known as ``name files,'' involve those who served Nazi Germany, survived the war and were suspected of being involved in Nazi criminal and intelligence operations.

U.S. Retained Nazi War Criminals

Of these, nine had some contact with the West German intelligence organization established by Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, which was initially under the control of the U.S. Army and was taken over in 1949 by the Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union.

``These materials show that the United States of America retained Nazi war criminals and there will be no question about it,'' said Thomas Baer, a member of an interagency group that worked with the CIA to release these papers. ``It's always been hinted at but you're going to get some specifics.''

The specifics on Mueller fail to clear up questions about whether or not he survived the Third Reich's last days or died in Berlin in 1945. Some observers believe he survived in Soviet hands, with key German police files.

But Mueller's CIA file does rule out that the Gestapo chief was ever an intelligence source for the United States. And ''strong evidence'' suggests that Mueller died at the war's end, according to the documents.

Some of these 14 less prominent individuals ``tried to use their intelligence expertise, acquired in Nazi Germany and often directed against the Soviet Union, to ingratiate themselves with the Western powers,'' historian Richard Breitman wrote in an analysis of the findings released with the files.

By Rosenbaum's count, at least six of these may have been used by U.S. intelligence agencies, with four of these implicated in Nazi crimes; five may have been involved in the Gehlen organization, with two of these implicated in Nazi crimes.

Rosenbaum said that six -- including Waldheim -- may have been used by Soviet intelligence organizations, with five of these implicated in Nazi crimes; three may have been involved with West German intelligence, with two of these implicated in Nazi crimes; two may have been involved with French intelligence, with one of these implicated in Nazi crimes; and one may have been involved in British intelligence.

Rosenbaum, who is a member of the interagency group and was formerly a noted Nazi hunter with the World Jewish Congress, said one question about Waldheim had been cleared up: he was not an intelligence resource for the United States.

These files were the latest in over 3 million pages of U.S. intelligence material released under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 2000.

The documents also indicated that OSS official Allen Dulles conducted secret negotiations in Switzerland with German officials who had committed war crimes; these officials subsequently used their contacts with Dulles, who became head of the CIA, to protect themselves after the war.

Indian summit expresses dismay over moves to de-register CCF
Saturday, April 28, 2001

The Fiji Indian Summit has expressed dismay over the move to de-register Citizens Constitution Forum (CCF) as a Charitable Trust, describing the step as immoral.

CCF has been under a microscope for some time now following accusations of politicising its function. Registrar of the Charitable Trusts Shiu Lochan earlier this week threatened the de-registering of the forum and instructed the forum to explain its activities.

The organisation had filed a civil suit challenging the powers of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo in appointing the Care-taker Government.

However, Summit chairman Dr Biman Prasad yesterday stated it was clear that the Caretaker Regime is hell-bent on silencing civil society organisations which were currently speaking against unlawful activities that were taking place.

"CCF in our view is an organisation which had been at the fore-front of propagating dialogue and consultations to create national consensus on major issues such as the 1997 Constitution.

"It is well known that it was the CCF which has since 1993 organised dialogue amongst different groups of people with different views to promote peace, stability and harmony in Fiji and it continues to do that," Dr Prasad said

He suggested that the Caretaker Administration would do well if it concentrated its efforts on the socio-economic ills that has fast engulfed the country.

"The regime should work towards genuine stability and reconciliation rather than engaging in NGO bashing," Dr Prasad said,'' he said.

"All right-thinking people in this country should condemn this act by the Caretaker regime and oppose any moves to de-register CFF.

"The CCF is led by people with integrity, dignity and above all by those who care for this country.

"These are honourable people, with honourable intentions and they must be allowed to continue with their work through the CCF," he said.

Meanwhile, the hearing of the CCF's case begins on Monday. The case will be before Justice Daniel Fatiaki. CCF lawyers had earlier slammed the Chief Justice Sir Timoci Tuvaga's decision to assign the case to Justice Fatiaki.

The Daily Post

Chaudhry warns Caretaker PM
Saturday, April 28, 2001

Deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry has warned the care-taker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase not to misguide the public on Fiji's economy.

His claim that things were sound and prosperous is quite the opposite of a Reserve Bank report issued two days ago which warned of the deteriorating state of the economy.

The bank's report shows poor performance in all major sectors of the economy and negative indicators with high inflation rates, high unemployment, low investor confidence and weak consumer spending.

This is backed by the United Nation's 2001 Report on Fiji which forecasts a 12 percent fall in Gross Domestic Product as "the deepest contraction" on record since 1961.

"If you want to know about the real state of the economy ask the factory worker, the housewife, the villager and the cane farmer," Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said.

"The worst impact of unemployment and a declining economy falls on the poor.

The Qarase regime has increased the poverty and suffering of our people by re-imposing VAT on basic food items which had been scrapped by the People's Coalition Government."

Mr Chaudhry said the interim regime was trying to hoodwink the nation into thinking all was well by providing concocted figures on visitor arrivals and the inflation rate.

"Hoteliers themselves are complaining about these cooked up figures,'' he said.

"It is well known that the tourism industry is in deep trouble. "Dark clouds hang over the future of the sugar industry with problems over leases and declining investment in cane production.

"The garment industry has been severely hit by the political crisis, with thousands joining the unemployment queue. "The Fiji dollar has been sinking against the currencies of our major trading partners.

As such our foreign reserves have declined. In real terms they have fallen markedly against the US dollar which is used as the recognised yardstick for measuring reserves," Mr Chaudhry said.

All indications are that the Fiji economy is in deep trouble and irresponsible attempts by the caretaker regime to mislead people will not help, Mr Chaudhry said.

But worse is yet to come as more people leave our shores with their capital and skills to seek security and prosperity for themselves and their families.

The Daily Post

Lodhia wants coup names
Friday, April 27, 2001

The Fiji Retailers Association (FRA) has renewed its call for an investigation into business people who were allegedly involved in last year's May 19 coup d'etat.

FRA president Himmat Lodhia in a statement yesterday said Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula had made some very interesting revelations which warranted a thorough investigation.

Lt Col Seruvakula had revealed in an exclusive interview that some businessmen, according to military intelligence, were involved in the toppling of the Mahendra Chaudhry-led People's Coalition government.

He has since resigned from the Royal Fiji Military Forces to join the New Zealand Army. Before his resignation, he was the Commanding Officer (CO) of the Third Fiji Infantry Regiment (3FIR) based at military headquarters at Nabua in Suva.

The unit, amongst others, was largely responsible for bringing a semblance of peace to the country during the period of turmoil immediately after May 19 last year.

Mr Lodhia said a lot had been said about the alleged involvement of some business people but there was no concrete evidence to lend credence to the claims.

He said it was time investigations began in earnest because Lt Col Seruvakula had been closely involved with bringing peace and stability to the country and the negotiations with the coup makers had said aloud what many were only whispering about.

"I know he knows the names of those involved, and its only fair to the business community that their names be made public," Mr Lodhia said.

The Daily Post

Friday April 27 3:19 PM ET
Six Aid Workers Shot, Hacked to Death in Congo

By Isabella Matambanadzo

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Six aid workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross, including two foreign nationals, have been attacked and killed in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (news - web sites), the ICRC said on Friday.

The six -- four Congolese staff, a Swiss nurse and a Colombian -- were shot on Thursday and their bodies hacked with machetes, Bony Mpaka, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the town of Bunia, told Reuters by telephone.

ICRC spokesman Michael Kleiner in Nairobi said the attack occurred some 30 km (20 miles) north of Bunia close to the Ugandan border.

``We are not 100 percent sure of the circumstances that surround the events but we know that six of our colleagues have been killed,'' said Kleiner. ``This is a great shock to all of us.''

The dead who had been on a routine mission to hand out aid were identified as Rita Fox, 36, a Swiss nurse, Julio Delgado, 54, a Colombian relief worker and four Congolese ICRC employees, Veronique Saro and Unen Ufoirworth and drivers Jean Molokabonge and Aduwe Boboli.

Mpaka said the two vehicles of the six had been burned. He added that aid workers would not venture outside Bunia for the time being.

``All humanitarian operations in the area have been Suspended,'' Mpaka said. ``I think it is natural before we know what happened, why and by whom.''

Fighting between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups have left thousands of people dead in the area in the last two years, with many of the victims hacked to death with machetes or killed with spears in a conflict over land and natural resources.

However the area has been relatively quiet since the Ugandan-backed Congo Liberation Front (CLF) rebels convinced local chiefs to sign a peace agreement earlier this year.

Congo Envoy Blames Uganda

In New York, Congo's U.N. envoy Atoki Ileka said his government believed the aid workers ``more than likely were murdered by the elements of the Ugandan Army who discovered the bodies.''

``This shocking tragedy took place in a zone under the effective control of Uganda, which is the principal source of arms in the region,'' Ileka said in a letter to British Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock, this month's U.N. Security Council president.

ICRC said the incident, the first fatal attack on ICRC staff in Africa for several years, would inevitably force the relief organization to review its operations in the area.

``It's much too early to say what consequences this event will have on ICRC operations in the region, which are of course on standby,'' Kleiner told Reuters.

``Obviously those who will suffer are as usual the civilians, who are the most affected, who are in need of humanitarian assistance and who will not be receiving it from us for now for a certain period.''

In Washington, the State Department said in a statement that the United States was shocked and saddened by the deaths.

``The U.S. strongly condemns this attack and urges that its perpetrators be brought to justice,'' it said.

``The United States remains gravely concerned about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and calls on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, abide by the Lusaka agreement and seek an end to the conflict,'' it added.

ICRC said that the victims, part of the ICRC's delegation in Bunia, had been on a routine trip to distribute medical aid in an area they knew well.

ICRC officials said the six bodies were found by officers of the Ugandan army which is backing the CLF rebels in the northern part of the vast, mineral-rich country.

More than two million people have fled their homes and hundreds of thousands more have died as a result of the war in the Congo, which has sucked in half a dozen foreign armies.

The conflict pits the Congo government, supported by forces from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, against rival rebel factions who control large swathes of the north and east with the help of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The deaths were the first ICRC fatalities in Africa since five aid workers were killed in Burundi in 1996.

(Additional reporting by Richard Wadddington in Geneva and Gavin Pattison in Kampala)

Economy decline
Thursday, April 26, 2001

Fiji's economy is estimated to have contracted by around 8.2 percent last year, the largest decline in the country's history ever.

This was revealed in the Annual Report of the Reserve Bank of Fiji tabled by Caretaker Finance Minister, Ratu Jone Kubuabola at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.

A development economist at the University of the South Pacific, Dr Mahendra Reddy said the contraction will have serious implications on Government and society at large.

Dr Reddy yesterday said Government will be affected by its inability to finance its expenditure and thus have to resort to borrowing, which would escalate its debt levels.

Dr Reddy said: "Furthermore, the society is also suffering due to the withdrawing of investment and thus loss of jobs. In such scenario, unless the economy pulls up, the country should brace up for increased crime and other social problems.

"The down-turn of the economy can only be arrested by boosting investor confidence of which the prerequisite is political stability, upholding of the rule of law and adherence to property rights.

" The report however said the contraction was broad-based with exception of the non-sugar agricultural sector and fisheries sector that continued to perform well.

The Daily Post

Police corruption highlighted

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 25 2001

The last three days has seen numerous cases of corruption within the police force.

Leading the case is the reluctance of the police to charge Salaseini Gardiner with drunk driving offences after she crashed into the gates of the Government House on early Sunday morning with a car reportedly owned by former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. The Mercedes was later taken by the police, but released under suspicious circumstances. The police also initially refused to release any information to the media about the reasons for the driver not being charged and for the release of the vehicle. All questions were directed to the office of the Police Commissioner. But after public pressure, yesterday the police spokeswoman stated that the driver would be charged.

In another case, highlighted by today's Fiji Times, the police failed to attend to a report of a car robbery in Suva. A police post is located less than 5 minutes from the scene of the robbery. When the car was found, the police also did not attend to the scene and failed to find fingerprints.

Yet again, yesterday a TV report stated that the police failed to apprehend a thief who had stolen from a business outlet in Suva. The theft was recorded on surveillance video. But upon reporting, instead of viewing the video and apprehending the culprit, the police allowed the thief to go. The spokesman for the company said that the police released him because he may have been a `kaivata' - a relative or of the same stock. He also stated that a similar tape of another theft in February was given to the police but the police failed to asrrest the thief. He stated that the business community has lost confidence in the police force.

The morale in the police force has deteriorated since the reinstatement of the Police Commissioner Isikia Savua. Savua was alleged to be one of the masterminds behind the attempted coup of 19 May.

PM issues warning
Blueprint will only be successful through dedication
Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Affirmative action to support indigenous Fijians will be useless unless Fijians match it with commitment and effort.

The warning came from caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, the main architect behind the controversial Blueprint for Fijians.

Speaking at the opening of the new Crest Chicken processing plant at Colo-i-Suva on Monday Mr Qarase said the indigenous Fijians have everything to become successful in business especially in the agricultural sector.

"How long will it take for more rural Fijians to become successful commercial farmers?" Mr Qarase asked.

He said Fijians had the land and manpower and with Government's help, advice and finance were available.

However, with all that's available all to their advantage, still the output languishes and diversification is slow.

"We need to conduct an urgent and thorough appraisal of this problem and give attention to the marketing side - how to get produce from remote areas to the consumer," he said.

The care-taker Prime Minister said there had been talks around the grog bowl in regards to the success of the Chinese farmers.

In some places the current trend is the Chinese farmers are dominating all phases of the agricultural sector while Fijians are just spectators.

Chinese farmers had shown what could be done with intensive cultivation in places like Nasinu, Waibau and Sawani and in most of these places the landowners are employed as farm labourers.

"Their success comes down to the sweat of the brow, sheer consistent effort and determination," he said.

Mr Qarase said that just recently one of those successful Chinese farmers provided an insight into what makes for success: "You must work from sun-up to sunset. Each member of the family assists.

When the children come-back from school, they too must go down to the farm - and still find time to do their homework.

Some of the farm earnings must be saved. There is a need for patience.

The living is frugal and hard, but ultimately there is a reward."

The care-taker Government wants Fijians to excel in the business sector and had provided financial help.

However, the hard work done by Government in putting in place affirmative action programmes for indigenous Fijians will go down the drain, if there is no dedication, commitment and hardwork.

The former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara warned during the Lau Provincial Council meeting that the blueprint for affirmative actions for indigenous Fijians had received high praises but it should be known that it would only be successful if we put in our contribution faithfully.

"It is not a hand out and if we're not careful about it, it can be a cause of more problems in the Fijian society.''

Daily Post

Fijian unity in limbo
Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Despite calls from the President and the Bose Levu Vaka Turaga for Fijians to unite, fragmentation within the community seems to escalate as preparation begins for the August polls.

Six major Fijian-dominated political groups have emerged so far, all in the name of Fijian unity or disunity, to contest the elections.

The six are Combined Fijian Political Forum, Conservative Alliance, Taukei Civilian Forum, the group led by Naitasiri Provincial Council, Bai Kei Viti and the Moderates led by Adi Kuini and Sitiveni Rabuka.

And it is likely that the Caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase will form a new political party if the other Fijian political parties don't take the `unity issue' seriously.

However, one of the groups, the combined Fijian political party met yesterday to discus the way ahead for the forum.

Spokesperson Esira Rabuno said forum members couldn't reach on anything concrete on the elections as they were still talking among their individual parties.

The Forum is made up of the largest Fijian political party Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, one faction of the Fijian Association Party, Christian Democratic Alliance (VLV) and the Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party.

Mr Rabuno said the forum was confident of achieving unity.

"We did discuss some election strategies, which we would like to keep confidential,'' he said.

"The two resolutions that was put forward in the last meeting, the step to contest the elections under the same umbrella but sharing the preferences and the other was putting a forum candidate in each constituency.

"These two recommendations are still with the groups to discus with their respective members and come back."

The VLV, on the other hand is preparing for the courts following legal action by the former leader Poseci Bune .

Daily Post

Indians move to Guyana?
Wednesday, April 25, 2001

An indo-Fijian rights group has warned Indians thinking of moving to Guyana that it could be a case of jumping out of a frying pan into the fire.

Peoples Organisation for Indo-Fijian Rights and Land Resolution chairman Dr Niraj Yadav said Fiji farmers should not give in to such offers.

Dr Yadav said that the visiting lawyer recruiting indo-Fijians to migrate to Guyana could be led to another period of slavery and indenture for unfortunate Indians who were lured there.

Dr Yadav said farmers have to know that conditions in Guyana were tougher than Fiji.

The lawyer known as Mishra is currently in the country, recruiting displaced sugar cane farmers to be taken to Guyana.

And it is expected that some indo-Fijian farmers may be lured by the offer as Guyana is known to have sugar-cane farms and Indians, who were brought to Guyana from India on an indentured system.

Guyana is situated on the northeastern tip of South America and has torrential rain-storms.

It is also known as a slave colony which has long-term ethnic conflicts; it's population comprises of East Indians, whose ancestors were brought from India to work on sugar plantations with Blacks whose ancestors were brought from Africa to work as slaves.

Research shows that growing ethnic violence has led many Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese to seek migration from South America. "The evicted farmers have to know that Guyana is not the answer for their future,'' Dr Yadav warned.

"The Indians should seriously look into small scale business outlets for their survival and at the same time, the evicted farmers should concentrate on educating their children so that they have a good future.

"The struggle for democracy and human rights should be a continual battle." Dr Yadav said Guyana was famous for major racial attacks on the Indians by the Blacks.

Daily Post

Columnist reveals more coup plotters

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 24 2001

Daily Posts Acting Editor Mesake Koroi has named Sitiveni Rabuka, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Apisai Tora, Ratu Osea Gavidi, Adi Litia Cakobau, Ratu Epeli Kanaimawi, Ratu Talemo Ratakele and Jim Ah Koy as persons who are associated with the attempted coups of last year.

He stated in his column yesterday:
"You know when people talk about the alleged perpetrators of the May 19 coup 2000, somehow or rather, it's the same names which usually come up - Sitiveni Rabuka, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Apisai Tora, Ratu Osea Gavidi, Adi Litia Cakobau, Ratu Epeli Kanaimawi, Ratu Talemo Ratakele and Jim Ah Koy."

"Now don't get me wrong. I am not at all suggesting that these men and woman were the instigators of George Speight's coup that toppled [Chaudhry's] Coalition government. Let me make it very clear at the outset, I am not at all saying that. What I am simply saying is that in almost all the discussions around the tanoa that my guru Daucina and I have attended, these names keep cropping up in the course of conversations regarding the coup and politics in general."

"But of course there is no concrete evidence at all to support these claims or put any flesh tot he skeletons of the numerous coup theories being bandied around. Pure speculation I suppose."

"The other school of thought is that because some of these people were also associated with Rabuka's coup in 1987, naturally, people take it for granted they were also involved in the civilian takeover in May 2000. Again pure speculation."

"Regardless of the death of concrete evidence, the question still remains, how innocent are these people? I suppose we will never know until that man on Nukulau Island, George Speight decides to write book and tell all. However, that may take a long time yet."

"But if anyone of these people had left himself wide open for speculation its' Rabuka. The events that took place soon after the civilian take over prominently featuring military men and equipment and the filed mutiny at the military camp on November 21 last year, got people talking about the possibility of Rabuka's involvement."

"Within minutes after George marched into parliament, Rabuka appeared on the scene wanting to talk to George. Soon after that he went to Government House and asked the then President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, to appoint him as the new army commander in place of Commodore Frank Bainimarama who was away overseas. Of course Ratu Sir Kamisese as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces refused the request. Instead, he asked Rabuka to be the go-between parliament and Government House as the stand-off intensified. But that sort of died a natural death when Ratu Sir Kamisese agreed to stand aside while the army took control of the situation."

"He was the one who advised Commodore Frank Bainimarama's military council that the 1997 Constitution could be abrogated when the military council had wanted to only suspend the constitution until the stand-off in parliament was resolved. According to Daucina, Rabuka at a meeting between Police Commissioner Isikia Savua and senior military officers, called aside a senior officer and asked him where he stood in all these. He repeated his desire to be the army commander. It became obvious that Rabuka knew that to resolve the parliamentary siege, a military solution was to be found. He saw himself as the saviour of democracy and in the process a way to regain power. Even his movements immediately after the November 2 mutiny at the army camp, Rabuka seemed to know everything that was going on. Was he innocently/conveniently being at the right place at the right time? I suppose so. But he was lucky to get out of that situation alive. The rest is history."

"Again, I say he may be as innocent as a baby's bum. And he offered his services to mediate through the goodness of his heart. If that is the case and if he gets rewarded or something out of it, all well and good."

"As I have always maintained, Rabuka is a strategist and a good one at that. But he seems to heave over played his cards in this entire exercise. If he was indeed involved, he was too eager and the process became careless and left himself open to criticism and became a subject of rife speculation."

"But I say don't write the man off, not yet anyway. Hunters know a wild boar is at its most dangerous when it is wounded simply because it's a matter of survival. It doesn't fight, it dies. Rabuka is a fighter. He will come back time and again to win back lost pride. His latest move to solicit support and perhaps help through the "moderate forum" between Adi Kuini Speed, Dr Baba and Ponipate Lesavua is the start of his come-back trail. You will now see a different Rabuka - a Rabuka that is preaching moderation, the upholding of the law and the 1997 Constitution - the very document he had advised the military council to abrogate."

"The big question then is how innocent his man really is?"

Coup plotters still free-says militaryman

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 24 2001

The military has found that there were 7 main plotters of the attempted coup of May last year.

This was revealed in a TV interview by the Commander of the Third Fiji Infantry Regiment (3FIR) Lt.Col Viliame Seruvakula.

Lt. Seruvakula stated that the 7 included people of all ethnic groups, including ethnic Indian businessmen, ex-army officers, and some serving army officers. He stated that one thing which was common amongst them was that they had huge debts - in some cases requiring 2 generations to repay them, and were tax evaders.

Seruvakula also sated:
· The attempted coup had nothing to do with indigenous rights.
· George Speight was recruited only 3 weeks before the attempted coup to provide a face to the coup;
· The military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama was to be abducted by CRW men on his arrival at Nadi Airport just days after the attempted coup.
· Some senior officers in the military were ready to betray their oaths and join the terrorists. They only refrained when Seruvakula's unit refused to support the terrorists.
· Some officers in the army now are still ant- 3FIR
· The terrorist case was handed over to the military too late by the authorities.
· The military was never trained to face its "own people" [ethnic Fijians]
· The creation of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit was a wrong decision
· Some chiefs failed in their duties by being part of the terrorist plans
· The call for the release of the terrorists is wrong
· If future coups are to be avoided then the plotters of this attempted coup have to be brought to justice.

Seruvakula also stated that there was a strong likelihood of a confrontation between him and some other officers with pro-terrorist leanings if he stayed longer in the military, hinting that his own personal safety could have been at stake if he remained in Fiji. He has left for a military job in New Zealand.

The revelations confirm every piece of information on the persons behind the attempted coup which this website has carried over the past 6 months.

CCF discusses notice
Tuesday, April 24, 2001

The Constitutional Citizens Forum sees the notice of cancellation as a clear threat to victimise, limit and suppress the rights of NGO's and certain citizens of the country in freedom of speech and expression and access to an impartial court of law that are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

Forum executive director Reverend Akuila Yabaki said the trustees and members of the CCF executive committee had met and discussed the notice of cancellation.

The forum has written to the Registrar of Charitable Trusts Shiu Lochan informing him that a reply to his notice will be made in due course within thirty days.

The response from forum to the registrar will be in terms of the objects of the CCF which were accepted by the registrar when CCF was registered in July 1996. The objects are:

• to raise public awareness of the issues and options in the constitution review process and to explore ways of dealing with them both through constitutional and other civil society initiatives;
• to create an environment where fear and suspicion are lessened and where respect for others is encouraged.

Rev Yabaki said the CCF response would be made after taking legal advice on the options that they have.

"We regret that the CCF trustees were not privately notified first before the public notice was published," he said.

Rev Yabaki said the whole episode reminded him of the words of the German pastor, Martin Niemoller during the initial period of Nazi rule in Germany in the 1930's who said:

"In Germany, the Nazi's came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I was a Protestant so I didn't speak up.

Then they came for me. By that time there was no one to speak up for anyone."

The Daily Post

Millions Suffer in Sex Slavery

NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, April 24, 2001

CHICAGO (UPI) - Two million women and children are being held in sexual servitude worldwide, and the easing of border restrictions and other trade barriers has exacerbated the problem, researchers say.

A recent report by DePaul University's International Human Rights Law Institute finds 80 percent of those sold into sexual slavery are under 24, with some as young as 6. An estimated 30,000 die annually from abuse, torture, neglect and disease.

"The phenomenon is fueled by poverty and indifference to the rights of women and children, as well as conflict and political upheaval in various parts of the world," reports the institute, engaged in a three-year study of worldwide sexual exploitation. "The advent of globalization has exacerbated the problem by creating what some call market opportunities for traffickers in human beings and for their exploiters.

"Liberalized borders and ease of movement of people across them have made international trafficking in persons a profitable criminal activity."

About half of those sold into servitude were sold internationally, the report said, but the countries to which they were taken do not consider them victims. Rather, they are considered illegal aliens subject to imprisonment and deportation.

"The victims have no one to turn to for help," the report found. "Law enforcers are frequently in collusion with the traffickers and exploiters and victims who seek to escape are returned to their captors by those from whom they sought protection. Their despondency and despair is beyond description."

The researchers said the victims often are addicted to drugs as a means of controlling them and forcing them to perform certain acts.

The researchers found trafficking patterns differ in different areas of the world.

Statistical estimates indicate 300,000 women have been sold into the sex trade in Western Europe in the last 10 years, and since 1990, 80,000 women and children from Myanmar (formerly Burma), Cambodia, Laos and China have been sold into Thailand's sex industry.

Among the other findings:

As many as 7,000 Nepali girls as young as 9 are sold annually into India's red-light districts, 200,000 in the last decade.

New Constitutional Review group?
Sunday, April 22, 2001

A new-look Constitution Review Commission will carry on the work of the previous one had its work stopped via an injunction.

Attorney-General Alipate Qetaki told the Fiji Sun today the new members will be sworn-in soon by the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

He said Iloilo had dismissed the old commission and a new one would be appointed this week. He said most of the old commissioners are expected to be retained.

Qetaki said the injunction only applied to the old commission headed by Professor Asesela Ravuvu.

The decision has been criticised by the Citizens Constitutional Forum which has threatened new applications for injunctions.

Rev Yabaki clears air
Monday, April 23, 2001

Citizen Constitutional Forum executive director, Reverend Akuila Yabaki has said their current high court case regarding the exercise of the President's power is purely a constitutional legality issue and not to be misinterpreted as being disrespectful to the President. Rev Yabaki was speaking in response to Methodist Reverend Manasa Lasaro's accusations who called for an investigation into the activities of CCF late last month.

"No one is above the law which also includes the President," Rev Yabaki said. Rev Yabaki stated that CCF is not a mouthpiece of the Fiji Labour Party and some members of the deposed government are co-applicants in the case because they have a legitimate interest in the issues. "Had elected politicians from other political parties wanted to join the case, we would have welcomed them on the same basis, as Ratu Kinijoji Maivalili from the SVT." Rev Yabaki assured that the activities of CCF particularly those viewed as political were consistent with the objectives and functions of CCF as stated in its constitution.

"Our mandate is to facilitate and encourage dialogue between different political parties and other organizations on constitutional and other issues of concern about the best way forward of the national crisis in which we find ourselves in." The CCF director said their financial supporters British Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) was a separate organization from the CCF which has its own trustees.

"A member of the staff from MRDF visited CCF recently and expressed satisfaction with what we are doing for good governance, human rights and multi-culturalism," he said. Rev Lasaro said last month that the Methodist Church in Fiji is very concerned about the activities of the CCF because it felt they were being used by foreign agents in a move which could cause instability in the country.

The Daily Post

CCF defends new party
Monday, April 23, 2001

Accusations by other organisations and the call for an explanation regarding activities of the Citizens Constitutional Forum by the Registrar of Charitable Trusts, Shiu Lochan yesterday is only a hindrance in one of the major objectives of CCF which is trying to bring about stability in the country. CCF Trustee, Doctor Vijay Naidu said they originally did not plan to engage in political debate but had to go into politics because of the instability the May 19 coup created.

"Our goal was towards human rights education, multi-culturalism and strengthening of political institutions such as the Human Rights along with the Ombudsman's Commission in the country but after the coup our objectives had to change to political issues," Dr Naidu said. According to Dr Naidu CCF is only working towards defending the 1997 Constitution and is not a "political party organisation". "The call by Mr Lochan is not getting any of us panic, there will be a meeting held soon and the matter will be discussed by all trustees before we respond to Mr Lochan."

Dr Naidu also said that he felt the CCF had not breached the Charitable Trust Act as stated by Mr Lochan because CCF so far was responding to a set of circumstances, a task which it was established for. "CCF is a transparent organisation which has been around for quite some time and we're not going to leave because some people do not agree with what we do," he said. Mr Lochan has given the trustees of CCF, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Dr Vijay Naidu and Jane Ricketts 30 days to show cause why the cancellation of CCF from the Charitable Trust Act should not be executed. According to Mr Lochan, CCF's involvement in the high court case against the exercise of the President's power and media statements on constitutional and political developments in Fiji amounts to political activity which is a breach of the Charitable Trust Act. "The incorporation of CCF under the Charitable Trust Act was made by mistake," Mr Lochan said.

The Daily Post

Regime plans another contempt of court

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - 23 April 2001

The Qarase regime has planned another contempt of court. This time the regime says that it will get the President to appoint a "new" Constitution Review Commission comprising most of the members of the "old" CRC. The High Court has ordered that the CRC stop meeting and that its members not be paid. A member of the CRC, Apenisa Kurusiqila died earlier this year. Another members Fred Achari resigned a month ago claiming illegality and racism.

The regime's announcement came through its Attorney-General Alipate Qetaki. Qetaki is quoted in the newspapers as saying: "In am not in a position to release the names of the new commissioners but the old commission has been dismissed by the President and a new one will be appointed early this week".

In March the regime had played a similar game when it resigned following the Fiji Court of Appeal decision, but only to be reappointed within a day. The reappointment has been challenged in the High Court by the Citizens Constitutional Forum and some members of Parliament.

Such blatant disregard for law has become a major concern for the people of Fiji. Many people have expressed shock at the decisions of the regime which violate the law and court orders.

It is known that the regime has decided to form a political party of its own. It is using its Blueprint as its manifesto. The Blueprint says that the Constitution needs to be reviewed to ensure ethnic Fijian political supremacy in the nation. The plan to re-gazette the CRC is intended to woo the right wing ethnic Fijians to the new political party. The intention for the restart of the CRC work was made known by Ratu Josefa Iloilo in his address to the nation when he was sworn in. The address was drafted in the Prime Minister's office by officials.

Meanwhile the Great Council of Chiefs meets within the fortnight. It is understood that the illegal actions which the President's Office has taken so far will be discussed at the meeting. One analyst claims that it is likely that Ratu Josefa may be asked to step down for bringing disrepute to the Office of the President, and to the Great Council of Chiefs for nominating him and entrusting him with decisions on the future of the nation.

In another move, the Citizen's Constitutional Forum has stated that it will issue a legal challenge to the regime if it establishes a new Constitutional Review Commission. The regime has responded by directing that the CCF be reregistered as a charitable trust.

Regime directs that CCF be deregistered

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - 23 April 2001

The Qarase regime has taken steps to deregister the Citizens Constitutional forum as a charitable trust.

Following the directive from the regime, the Registrar of Charitable Trusts placed an ad in the papers giving the CCF 30 days to show cause on why he should not deregister the CCF.

The ad listed the following grounds for deregistration:

* That its objects are outside the meaning of "charitable purposes" as defined by Section 2 of Cap 67, and therefore its incorporation was made by mistake;

* That the objects and activities of CCF amount to political objects and goals and activities and as such are not within the meaning of "charitable purposes" as defined in Section 2 of Cap 67 for example CCF's activities leading up to the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1997, CCF's active role in Chandrika Prasad .v. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice - Civil Appeal No. ABU 0078/2000S and in Civil Action #199 of 2001 - CCF & Ors .v. His Excellency the President of Fiji & AG. CCF's media statements on constitutional and political developments in Fiji amounts to political activity as CCF is attempting to influence the political developments and political decision making process in Fiji.

* That CCF's involvement in CA$119 of 2001 filed in Suva High Court tantamounts to a breach of trust as its activities were outside the trust objects as defined in Section 2 of the Act, or its registered objects.

The Registrar stated:
"AND TAKE NOTICE that in the light of the complaint, I am of the view that the incorporation of CCF as a charitable trust under the Charitable Trust Act was made by mistake AND TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that I am also of the opinion that CCF is no longer a charitable trust within the meaning of Cap 67 given its political involvement and activities and the TRUSTEES are therefore required within 30 days of this Notice to SHOW CAUSE as to why I should not cancel the incorporation of CCF pursuant to Section 13 of the Charitable Trust Act."

The regime made known its dislike for the activities of the CCF when the CCF refused to lend support to the regime.

It is understood that the directive came upon advice by the government lawyers in light of the law suit filed by the CCF challenging the re-appointment of the Qarase regime. The regime's intention is to show that the CCF has no standing in the court, thus the case should be thrown out.

The CCF's trustee, Professor Vijay Naidu stated that the trustees will meet and issue a response later. The CCF is the only NGO in Fiji involved in education on constitutional matters.

40 year old gets 4 years in jail for incest

April 13 2001 - FijiVillage.com

A 40 year old Lautoka man has been sentenced to 4 years in prison after he was found guilty of incest.

The man was having sex with his 11 year old daughter since last year.

In mitigation he asked for forgiveness, saying he has realised his mistakes. He said the devil had told him to commit the criminal offence.

Economy weak: Reserve Bank
Monday, April 23, 2001

Weak consumer spending, lower investment and rising unemployment reflect the weak state of the economy, says the Reserve Bank of Fiji.   And the projected growth for 2001 is expected to be lower than the 4-5 per cent earlier forecast.   The RBF made the statement today after a meeting with the business community in the West.   It blamed the weakening global economic conditions and poor performances in the tourism, sugar and garment sectors for the decline.   Tourism arrivals remain weak while the sugar sector is hit by problems of land tenure, burnt cane and mill capacity. Closure of garment factories has also caused some decline.   The RBF said there were some bright spots such as copra, timber and fishing sectors, and it remained hopeful of better days for tourism.   Economic fundamentals were intact, the RBF said, pointing out that foreign reserves remain at a comfortable level of $815 million, sufficient to cover 5.3 months of imports.   The RBF said inflation in the year to March was 4.9 per cent and is expected  to decine further.   It said the exchange rate remains stable as is the government's financial position while the budget deficit was at a manageable level.

Minister condemns Qarase's Blueprint

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - 21 April 2001

The Minister for Regional Development and Multiethnic Affairs in the People's Coalition Government, Manoa Bale, has condemned Qarase's Blueprint for ethnic Fijian development.

Bale stated that the regime was soliciting support from ethnic Fijian traditional institutions by showing the promises of funds to them through the Blueprint. He condemned the racist nature of the Blueprint, and said that the Blueprint will result in further waste of funds. He stated that this was not the first time that a regime had adopted measures to pump in millions of dollars of funds for supposedly ethnic Fijian development. He said:
"The results speak for themselves and on that is not too proud of its long term benefits like the Native Lands Development Corporation, Fiji Development Bank's EIMCOl Project, Fijian education schemes and the list goes on".

Bale said that all races in Fiji must be included in affirmative action programs.

Meanwhile the regime has revealed that 90% of ethnic Fijian students drop out of school by the seventh form age. Ethnic Fijian students receive from the state any financial assistance they seek for their education.

In another development, the regime's Minister responsible for ethnic Fijian Education has stated that the ethnic Fijian community places more emphasis on churches than on schools. Ratu Semi Seruvakula stated that more emphasis must be placed on building schools than on building churches.

CJ given ultimatum

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - 21 April 2001

The Fiji Law Society has given the Chief Justice a week to withdraw the ban he placed on five lawyers from his court.

The CJ, Sir Timoci Tuivaga, had banned the member s of the Fiji Law Society Council from appearing in his court. The Society has called for the CJ to resign for subverting justice in the country.

The Law Society said that the if the CJ does not withdraw the ban, it will institute legal proceedings against him.

Another judge, Michael Scott has also banned the lawyers. Proceedings against him are also expected to be filed if he doesn't withdraw the directive.

The judges were involved in the attempts to abrogate the Constitution. The CJ was also involved in judge shopping.

We have nothing to fear:Chaudhry
Saturday, April 21, 2001

Despite internal party wrangling and disagreements deposed prime minister and Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry maintains the Party (FLP) has nothing to fear. Mr Chaudhry yesterday refuted claims that the party's support had shifted. Deposed co deputy prime minister and long time FLP member Dr Tupeni Baba had earlier claimed the party would experience a swing away from its power base, the indo-Fijians, in the August polls.

Dr Baba has entered in a political partnership with Fijian Association Party leader Adi Kuini Speed and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka. However, Mr Chaudhry said the FLP is a party of the `have nots' and grassroots and its future lies with them. He said no one else has the right to decide about it. "When the time comes, we will see for ourselves the support for the party.

" Another FLP member, deposed education minister Pratap Chand said the party still enjoyed support from the grassroots, the working class and young educated members of all communities living in the country. Mr Chand said the party's policies and socialist zeal will again win peoples' hearts. "Labour policies are such that attracts support."

Mr Chand also expressed dismay over Dr Baba's decision to join Mr Rabuka and Adi Kuini, describing it as a sudden take-off. "Dr Baba has not mentioned anything about it. I think it is wrong to jump parties." Mr Chaudhry, however, didn't say if Dr Baba still qualified to be a FLP member. When asked if Dr Baba will be disciplined, Mr Chaudhry said that was something for the Party Council to decide. On the matter of FLP being represented by Dr Baba in the new political group, Mr Chaudhry said: "FLP has not been approached. No individual has the right to commit the party to any group."

The Daily Post

Recognise other races Fijians agree
Saturday, April 21, 2001

A meeting to politically unite Fijians yesterday at Tamavua Village agreed indo-Fijians and other minority groups should be given due recognition if meaningful reconciliation is to take place. The motion was put forward by Caretaker Assistant Minister George Shiu Raj and endorsed at the meeting which was organised by the Naitasiri Provincial Council.

Council chairman Solomone Naivalu said the idea of the joint meeting was floated at last month's provincial council by the Qaranivalu Ratu Inoke Takiveikata. He had requested chiefs to remain after that meeting to discuss the issue. Mr Naivalu said:

"Concerns were raised about the disunity among Fijians and a small committee was formed which was then to report to the Bose Vanua." Mr Naivalu said it was then agreed to invite representatives from the 13 other provinces including chiefs and members of different political parties. "It was more or less an exploratory meeting because we did not have clear objectives when we started off but just an aim at uniting Fijians." Mr Naivalu said the motion for reconciliation was passed provided an indigenous remains the president and prime minister.

The Daily Post

Baba's all for unity
Saturday, April 21, 2001

Deposed co-deputy prime minister Dr Tupeni Baba on Thursday maintained that `unity in diversity' was the best solution for Fiji. Dr Baba, one of the founders of the Fiji Labour Party, joined hands with former prime minister and Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party stalwart, Sitiveni Rabuka and Fijian Association Leader, Adi Kuini yesterday, with the aim of bringing about a politics of compromise and moderation. Dr Baba, however, claimed that he remains a Fiji Labour Party member but would work with other moderate politicians with common goals to take the country forward.

"I am still a Fiji Labour Party member but I have joined the group of moderates as a significant individual. The principles, which the moderates are working with, are all shared by the Fiji Labour Party," Dr Baba said. "I was invited as an individual member and am here to move people along. I hope that I will be able to persuade the people who work with me to come together, here." He said people should look for leaders who believe in dialogue, multi-racialism and cooperation rather than the message of exclusiveness and confrontation.

"That is politics of yesterday. The politics of today and tomorrow will be consisting of politics of moderation, bringing people together and that's where I hope to play a role." Dr Baba stated that it was likely that a grand coalition, one similar to the Peoples Coalition, would be formed to contest the coming general elections. "But if we don't form a coalition then we form a group of like-minded parties whose principles and policies will be based on fundamental principles such as respecting the Constitution, law and perhaps some kind of arrangement will be made but that is for the future." Dr Baba also indicated that a bulk of the indo-Fijian population would consider supporting politics of moderation. Meanwhile, Fiji Labour Party leader and deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said the Fiji Labour Party had not been approached by the group.

The Daily Post

Housewife murdered
Friday, April 20, 2001

Police are investigating the murder of a 37-year-old housewife at her Togomasi home in Nadi on Wednesday. This is the second murder case in the area.

According to Police Public Relations Officer, Sergant Unaisi Vuniwaqa, Sandhya Devi was discovered by her husband, Narayan Prasad, when he returned home from work.

The deceased was found lying in a pool of blood with deep slashes on her neck. The body was removed from the house late yesterday evening after forensic experts carried out their work at the site.

According to a source the weapon used for the murder has not been located. "Also there was no sign of theft and neither were the clothes of the victim torn however there was a very deep wound on the victim's neck.

"We are working around the clockfor evidence and we appeal to the public for any information they have". Mr Prasad and his two children could not come to terms with the death. Mr Prasad, who is tailor, was at work when the incident occurred.

"I knocked off from work at about 3.30pm yesterday and went to Nadi College to pick up my daughter and son before heading home. "What was unusual for me and my children was that my wife did not come to ope nthe gate as she usually did."

He added that with the spare keys, his daughter opened the gate and while he parked the car, the children entered the house from the back, which was open.

Priya went inside to find her mother dead on the floor in a pool of blood. "I ran to where she (Priya) was and found my wife in that condition and reported the matter to the police."

"I can't think of anyone committing this senseless crime as there was absolutely no reason for this as we were on good terms with our neighbours."

The Daily Post

Council to decide alliance: Chaudhry

By Imran Ali - Fiji Times - April 20 2001

FIJI Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry says any decision to enter into an alliance or coalition for the general elections must be made by the party's national council.

He said the party would not form an alliance for the sake of winning the elections.
"The Fiji Labour Party has certain principles that it values. It is not a party of political expediency and will not form an alliance just for the sake of winning elections,'' Mr Chaudhry said.

He was replying to the editorial comment in on Wednesday that Labour might consider a three-way alliance with Sitiveni Rabuka and Adi Kuini Speed.

Mr Chaudhry said he was surprised by claims that "the hint by FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry that the party might be willing to consider the new party in a coalition will surprise even more people''.
"There has been absolutely no hint or otherwise from me that Labour is considering such an alliance, or has even been approached,'' he said.

"As for Fijian support for the FLP, editorial writers should go out in the field and find out the truth for themselves instead of propagating untruths through armchair journalism.''

Mr Chaudhry added that the support for the party from grassroot Fijians had grown since the last elections and this was evident from the overwhelming expressions of support and goodwill shown everywhere he went.
Mr Rabuka has joined forces with Adi Kuini in a political initiative to be launched this week.
According to Adi Kuini, the move was initiated by a "group of people extremely concerned about the state of the country''.

Knife wound kills mum

By Seema Sharma - Fiji Times - April 20 2001

A STUDENT is in a state of shock after discovering the partially hacked body of her 37-year-old mother in their home.
Priya Devi, 15, returned from school on Wednesday to see her mother lying in a pool of blood with a knife wound on the neck.

Nadi police were at the scene yesterday trying to find leads to the murder. The farming community of Togomasi, outside Nadi, was in a state of shock yesterday. They described the dead woman, Sadhya Devi, as a very good neighbour who was friendly with everyone.

Her husband, tailor Narendra Prasad, left home at 6.55am with Priya and her brother, Rajesh. A neighbour said Ms Devi had spoken to a friend on a mobile phone at 10.30am. This was the last time anyone knew she was alive.

Priya said she returned home with her father and brother at 4.15pm. She entered her mother's room after not finding her anywhere in the house. Priya cried out after seeing her mother lying in a pool of blood on the floor. A neighbour, who was one of the first on the scene, said nothing in the house or bedroom was disturbed. He said immediate neighbours did not hear any noise during the day as they were watching television. Nadi police questioned a number of people yesterday evening. They combed the bushes beside the house for clues. No one was charged when this edition went to press yesterday.

Newspaper condemns racism; wants terrorists prosecuted

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - April 20 2001

A leading newspaper in Fiji has condemned racism and wants the terrorists and those who funded the terrorists to be prosecuted.

The Fiji Sun gave a strong editorial today asking for urgent action on this front. It stated:
"It is time people who are genuinely concerned about the state of the nation set aside their differences and look for a solution to our problems."

"And since May 19, 2000, we've been tolerating the wrong kinds of political alliances formed to try and dominate or influence the running of this country."

"All of them say that they have a way to enrich the nation. All of them saying they have the answer to the peoples problems."

"George Speight and the rebel government, which was sworn-in at the parliamentary complex on May 21, last year, said they had an answer to Fiji's problems."

"Ratu Epeli Kanaimawi's group who smoothly tried to broker a deal with Speight and his rebels also said they had a solution. The Fijian Political Parties Forum formed by ultra nationalists and extremists say they've got the answer."

"Even the interim administration-turned caretaker government say they have a solution."

"The fact is, the answers, most of which were vociferously and violently offered, are not a lasting panacea. They're either lopsided or plain racist."

"This paper thinks we must start by making an appeal to everyone to respect the rule of law, remove everything that is illegal or unconstitutional, compensate the people who have suffered and prosecute all who initiated and acted out the coup on May 19."

"If this does not happen, there will always be an excuse for someone to think that he or she has been hard done by society and that in some future date that someone has or thinks he or she has a genuine reason to disrupt society. And so the cycle of violence continues. Like any preparation to an election, anyone who wants to lead must tell the people what he's going to do when he's up there. We want to see their manifesto."

"For example, they could say they would focus on the wholesome development of our children rather than just educating them like the present system does?"

"Those who are interested to lead this country must tell us what they're going to do to take us out of this mess and how they're going to do it."

"So far all the loud solutions offered have sounded the clarion of ultra nationalists or extremists. And their message has always been racist and instilling instability and fear."

Ironically, however, the newspaper endorsed a grouping initiated by coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka. Rabuka has been implicated in the two attempted coups of last year by military officials.

Unity, the best solution
Friday, April 20, 2001

DEPOSED co-deputy prime minister Dr Tupeni Baba yesterday maintained that `unity in diversity' was the best solution for Fiji. Dr Baba, one of the founders of the Fiji Labour Party, joined hands with former prime minister and Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party stalwart, Sitiveni Rabuka and Fijian Association Leader, Adi Kuini yesterday, with the aim of bringing about a politics of compromise and moderation.

Dr Baba, however, claimed that he remains a Fiji Labour Party member but would work with other moderate politicians with common goals to take the country forward. "I am still a Fiji Labour Party member but I have joined the group of moderates as a significant individual.

The principles, which the moderates are working with, are all shared by the Fiji Labour Party," Dr Baba said. "I was invited as an individual member and am here to move people along. I hope that I will be able to persuade the people who work with me to come together, here."

He said people should look for leaders who believe in dialogue, multi-racialism and cooperation rather than the message of exclusiveness and confrontation. "That is politics of yesterday. The politics of today and tomorrow will be consisting of politics of moderation, bringing people together and that's where I hope to play a role."

Dr Baba stated that it was likely that a grand coalition, one similar to the Peoples Coalition, would be formed to contest the coming general elections. "But if we don't form a coalition then we form a group of like-minded parties whose principles and policies will be based on fundamental principles such as respecting the Constitution, law and perhaps some kind of arrangement will be made but that is for the future."

Dr Baba also indicated that a bulk of the indo-Fijian population would consider supporting politics of moderation. Meanwhile, Fiji Labour Party leader and deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said the Fiji Labour Party had not been approached by the group. Mr Chaudhry said that FLP was not part of the group of moderates. "No individual member has a right to commit FLP to any group," Mr Chaudhry said.

The Daily Post

Fijian student drop-out alarming
Friday, April 20, 2001

AN alarming 90 percent of Fijian students dropped out of the school system between 1988 and 2000. This was revealed by the care-taker Minister for Education, Naelesoni Delailomaloma, at the Lau Provincial Council meeting while presenting the Blueprint for affirmative action on Fijian Education.

In 1988 about 11,000 Fijian students enroled in Class One but 13 years later only 1247 students were in Form 7, the minister said.. In comparison the Indo-Fijians' drop out rate was 70 percent. There were also numerous drop-outs from the Fijian Affairs Board (FAB) scholarship programme.

Since the inception of the FAB scholarship scheme, 6252 were given out to students furthering their studies at the University of the South Pacific, overseas universities, Fiji Institute of Technology, Fiji College of Agriculture, Corpus Christi College, Fiji Advanced College, Fulton College and the pilot school at Nadi.

Statistics in 1999 stated that only 2466 successfully completed their course of studies while 3766 dropped out. Those who went to the University of the South Pacific were the worst offenders - from the 3133 who were given FAB scholarships only 774 graduated.

Since 1910, indigenous Fijians have lagged behind other ethnic groups in terms of academic achievement at secondary and tertiary levels and this is basically a Fijian education problem. An Education Commission was appointed by the People's Coalition Party but the commissioners, most of whom were foreigners, left the country after the May 19 coup last year.

However, their report had been compiled and one of their suggestions was affirmative action for Fijian education. This gave birth to a Fijian education committee to work on a blueprint for affirmative action on Fijian education and was chaired by the Assistant Minister for Education, Ratu Semi Seruvakula.

Their terms of reference were to put together a Blueprint for the advancement of the education of indigenous Fijians by means of affirmative action policies (AA) They had finished their work and had compiled a blueprint.

The poor state of many Fijian schools and the `special' difficulties they experience, call for increased government intervention in terms of funding, management and monitoring. In the long-term affirmative action is intended to assist Fijians to achieve other expectations from the school system.

These expectations include the need for a school system to prepare Fijian children for good citizenship in a modern society and also to facilitate their participation in the indigenous Fijian community. Fijians also expect that the school system will not alienate the Fijian students from their land, fishing grounds, forests, flora and fauna, but will redirect them so that the effective and sustainable use of these resources become a viable option for their livelihood.

The Daily Post

Multi party group prepares for election
Friday, April 20, 2001

POLITICS of compromise and moderation may be the way forward for the racially-wounded Fiji. Five prominent politicians, all members of different political parties yesterday established a political alliance to determine ways to return the country to democratic and constitutional rule.

They are: Fijian Association Party leader and deposed co-deputy prime minister, Adi Kuini Speed; former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka; deposed deputy prime minister and Fiji Labour Party member, Dr Tupeni Baba; Leader of Party of National Unity (PANU), Ponipate Lesavua; and president of United General Party (UGP), Mick Beddoes.

According to members of the group, other politicians are yet to join them, particularly a prominent indo-Fijian politician who is backing the move. The group has made it clear that those who have come together are doing so as `significant' individuals and not representing the different political parties they belong to.

However, it is likely this Forum will form a grand coalition to contest the August polls. But spokesperson for the group Adi Kuini said their "coming together shouldn't be misunderstood as a birth of a new political party". Adi Kuini said they have established a working group that would allow political parties and certain individuals to work towards achieving common grounds.

"It is time for leaders to make a firm commitment to Fiji's future as a multi ethnic society that is united in diversity," Adi Kuini said. "We must harness the goodwill and skills of all our people including the landowners, farmers, workers, business community and the professionals, if we are to build a secure and stable nation."

Adi Kuini said the group was not set up for any particular community but for all the communities, particularly the indo-Fijian members. "All those who belive in dialogue and consultation can be with us."

Meanwhile, the basic principles the group will work to uphold are:

• Respect for the Constitution and the rule of law;
• recognition of the rights of all our citizens;
• recognition and protection of the rights and interests of indigenous Fijians;
• promoting a caring, just society;
• providing honest, transparent and accountable leadership in the governance of the country; and
• promote economic development and create employment to improve the quality of life of people. Adi Kuini said their common goal was to make attempts to maintain unity and stability in the country.

"A central feature of the 1997 Constitution is the cooperation of all political parties in the formation of a multi-party government.

We are committed to working with all parties and individuals represented in the next Parliament to achieve a stable government for all the people of Fiji."

The Daily Post

Sexual abuse case increases
Friday, April 20, 2001

THE youngest reported victim of sexual abuse in the country is a toddler and such offences on children is increasing rapidly. Assistant director of Social Welfare Ana Delana yesterday confirmed that six cases of abuse have been reported every month since 1998. "We usually have one or two cases every month way back in 1990 but now the number has increased rapidly to six every month," Mrs Delana said.

"Incest tops the list with the majority abused by their own fathers in a normal family surroundings, with their mothers around also," she said. With the youngest vitim reported as young as two-years-old, most victims don't get to tell someone what they go through until they are in their mid-teens.

The first time a two-year-old was sexually abused was way back in 1997 when she was abused by her father. A similar case was again reported last year and another early this year. The younger the child (has been abused) and the slower they confide with someone determines the length of time they get over their experiences.

But then none have ever fully recovered from their ordeals as the experiences are always at the back of their minds. Abusers are known to the victims for they are either relatives, neighbours or someone they have met earlier. Some of victims contract sexually transmitted diseases and some get pregnant or both in some cases.

Their children are given up for adoption - then again not many locals are into adopting. Fiji is popular to New Zealand and Australian couples who have adopted children born out of such cases. Children join their new parents overseas as early as six months. According to Mrs Delana, victims are removed from their environments once their cases are reported.

They are referred to institutions like Saint Christopher's Homes, Dilkusha Girls and the Suva Girls Home outside the city. Expatriates who are experienced foster parents provide foster caring where the children are later encouraged to return to society. Police spokeswoman Sergeant Unaisi Vuniwaqa said sexual abuse cases, once reported, are referred to the Social Welfare Department and the Fiji Women Crisis Centre.

"They are more professional to handle the cases for counselling and education." Latest FWCC statistics indicated that of the 27 abuse cases, 22 were sexual abuse on children whose ages range from two years to 23 for last year. On record, one of the six-year-olds was abused by a neighbour while the other was abused by her father. An eight-year old was sexually abused by a priest while a nine-year-old was abused by an uncle. The teenagers' ages ranged from 10 to 18 while the oldest was 23-years-old.for yet another year.

The Daily Post