24 August 2000: Kubuabola attacks Victor Lal after joining post George Speight coup as Minister for Information in the interim Qarase led government:
“Victor Lal’s articles [in Fiji's Daily Post] all have a simple, indeed simplistic stance, restore [Mahendra] Chaudhry and impose democracy as defined by Lal and his friends. What he is advocating is an Indian supremacist doctrine, a new version of Hitlerian herrenvolk for Fiji. The racism lies in his desires, not those of us Fijians. His obsession to control Fiji, blinds him to his own ambitions.”
Kubuabola was responding to the London based Movement for Democracy in Fiji which had intensified its fight for deposed Chaudhry’s political rights.
The then Commodore Frank Bainimarama had claimed in his February 2001 affidavit before the Fiji Court of Appeal that he had abrogated the 1997 Constitution because he was satisfied that people engaged in the events of May 19 [2000 Speight coup] were of the perception that the document had watered down the interests of indigenous Fijians:
“Whether or not those perceptions accorded with reality was not my principal consideration. The perceptions were genuinely held by largely unsophisticated Fijians not equipped to adequately comprehend the niceties and technicalities of the Constitution.”
5 Comments
Fijileaks: We have noticed Fiji Labour Party press releases are increasingly reading like slapdash FACEBOOK postings, instead of their well defined and cogently argued statements in the previous years
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum labelled comments made by National Federation Party (NFP) leader Professor Biman Prasad that Qorvis Communications was influencing media organisations in Fiji to report in favour of the Government as "utter nonsense". In Parliament yesterday, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum and Prof Prasad had a heated exchange over the NFP leader's motion to remove $1 million allocated to public relations firm Qorvis Communications because of its alleged interference. The NFP leader claimed he had reliable information and evidence in writing to prove that Qorvis was meddling in local affairs and influencing governance issues and concocting public relation stunts. "It is also trying to influence sections of the local media on what to provide while covering government events on personalities, including the Prime Minister," Prof Prasad claimed during the Committee of Supply on the 2017-2018 National Budget where Parliament is debating allocations to individual heads of the budget. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum interjected and said Prof Prasad should simply say "he wants Qorvis funding reduced because he believes that there is no need for Qorvis and he wants it removed". "The honourable member is running some form of monologue diatribe about politics, meddling and all that," he said. "Not for him to give this speculation and all this I have been reliably informed Madam Chair, I can also sit here and speculate how he (Prof Prasad) is controlling the media through The Fiji Times. "He is having coffee with people from Motibhai's in Nadi, all of these things are happening — I can speculate, I have evidence too." This then resulted in a heated exchange between the A-G and the NFP leader. Speaker of Parliament Jiko Luveni called for an end to the exchange and stopped Prof Prasad from speaking any further on his motion. Prof Prasad asked Mr Sayed-Khaiyum what was wrong in having coffee with anyone. He then asked Dr Luveni why he was not allowed to continue because he was going to justify why the $1 million allocation should be removed. But Dr Luveni said the motion had been outlined sufficiently. The motion was defeated. Prof Prasad told The Fiji Times he did not need to justify why he was having coffee at a public outlet in Nadi. "It is a public place. If anyone from Motibhai happens to be there, what is wrong? It is their business. I cannot stop anyone from entering a coffee shop or talking to me. That doesn't mean in any way that I am influencing them. And in the same vein, if I have coffee with the A-G, which I have had in Parliament and even chatted to him in private functions, does this mean that I am influencing him? "This is nonsense. I respect the independence and impartiality of the media," he said. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum preferred not to comment on the justification given by Prof Prasad and said it was also silly for the Opposition to question the need to have Qorvis Communication when Fiji had local talents. In a statement, the Motibhai Group said it disagreed with the comments made against it. "Just to clarify, we have an iconic restaurant named ZigZag Cafe, which is attached to our flagship Prouds Store in Nadi and people from all walks of life come to the restaurant on a daily basis," the statement said. The statement said as a customer service, people from Motibhai Group often have tea or coffee with customers who walk into their Nadi store. "The Fiji Times newsroom operates independently without any influence from its owners - Motibhai Group," the statement said. Source: The Fiji Times, 12 July 2017 Meanwhile, the KOYA family were also listed as debtors in the NBF saga The Koyas’ were not alone, for other non-Fijians also borrowed from collapsed NBF besides the elite as well as chiefly Fijians, resulting in a loss of $372million to the taxpayers.
Vijaya Parmanandam Siddiq Koya’s side-kick, the lawyer, NFP parliamentarian and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the late Vijaya Parmanandam, owed the NBF $40,770.31. “Under the leadership of the former SVT Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka now leader of SODELPA, we lost our only National Bank. Under this PM we have regained our Fijian-owned bank HFC – that is the difference, that is the marked difference.” |
editor@fijileaks.comARCHIVES
September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 |