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TOSO VITI FLYING FIJIANS as HALF of Fiji will be singing with you the MEDA DAU DOKA. Who wrote it? Our research reveal it was the late Sir Josua Rabukawaqa before he became High Commissioner to London

10/9/2023

Ratu Mara and Josua Rabukawaqa receive copies of the cassette tapes of Ratu Mara's own song Ciri Koto from South Pacific Recordings managing director Ravindra Patel.

Sir Joshua Rabukawaqa in his office in 1977 as Fiji's roving regional ambassador - photo, Fiji Times

It was Sir Josua Rabukawaqa who wrote the MEDA DAU DOKA before he left for London to become Fiji's first High Commissioner.
Rabukawaqa joined the Fiji Colonial Civil Service and was Commissioner Central from 1968 to 1970. He was knighted in 1977.
*In 1970, the late Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara sent Rabukawaqa to set up Fiji's High Commission in London. As expected, Rabukawaqa became Fiji's first High Commissioner to London.

He hailed from Bua. Besides being a civil servant, Rabukawaqa was the leader of the famous local i-Taukei choir called The Phoenix Choir, and the Choir's recordings can still be found on cassette tapes today.
It was Rabukawaqa who wrote the MEDA DAU DOKA before he left for London to become Fiji's first High Commissioner.
In 1980, Rabukawaqa and his Phoenix Choir also provided music and sung Ratu Mara's song Ciri Koto e Loma ni Wasaliwa* that Ratu Mara had written as a tribute to Fiji soldiers serving in the Middle East. In his autobiography The Pacific Way: A Memoir, Ratu Mara writes:
'On a plane journey to London, my thoughts were with our soldiers on peacekeeping duties in Lebanon and Sinai. The idea for a song came to me, but I had nothing to write on until, rooting around, I found the usual sick bag in the pocket in front of me. On this unlikely manuscript paper, I put down my thoughts in a matter of 15 minutes. The song tells of the thoughts of a Fijian soldier as he stands ready to give his life if need be. The chorus tells of the silvery sea ruffled by the cool surf, the bright sunshine followed by the light of the moon, his far away island with its long beach of gleaming sand. For that sacred land and its good name he would give his life, as his thoughts ever return to his homeland.'
*When Ratu Mara arrived back in Fiji, he handed his song to Rabukawaqa, to write the music to his lyrics. In 1980 the song was sung by the Phoenix Choir under the leadership of Rabukawaqa. It was one of 14 songs by the Phoenix Choir released on cassette tapes by South Pacific Recordings in Nadi.

"I don’t know who wrote it (Meda Dau Doka, does anyone?) but it seems to me to have been someone who was not a native speaker. Incidentally, who if anyone has been getting the royalties?"

Dr Paul Geraghty, USP, Letters to Editor,
The Fiji Times, 26 August 2023

By Paul Geraghty, USP, Letters to Editor, Fiji Times, 26 August
PLEASE allow me to contribute to the discussion on a Fijian version of the national anthem. As I’ve pointed out a number of times in these columns, ‘Meda dau doka’ is not the Fijian version of the anthem. There is no Fijian version, it was written only in English.

Since some seem to be under the impression that it represents the spirit of the national anthem, let me give an English translation so more people can judge:

Let us all respect and want the land
Where clean people now live
A time of peace and harmony has been achieved
Unclean behaviour has been abandoned
May Fiji flourish and continuously advance
May the leaders be good men
May the people be led in good things
So bad behaviour will be eliminated.
You young men in Fiji are to blame
Act so the land will be clean
Do not put up with filthiness
And let us now abandon it forever

This is in my opinion not only unidiomatic (‘let us want the land’) but inappropriate in apparently blaming all young men of Fiji for filthiness.

I don’t know who wrote it (does anyone?) but it seems to me to have been someone who was not a native speaker.

Incidentally, who if anyone has been getting the royalties?

If we want a national anthem in Fijian – and clearly I think there should be one, as do many others – I suggest we have a competition to find the best.

Also we should consider following South Africa in having a multilingual anthem.

PAUL GERAGHTY USP, Suva

FLP: 'The $350,000 to political parties is a ruse to help Coalition parties clear debts, amass funds to fight next election. It was kept secret from voters, smacks of corruption. What about Girmit celebration accounts?

8/9/2023

"Under the Political Parties Act, political parties can only be funded from the proceeds of membership fees, investments, or donations from individuals who are citizens or former citizens of Fiji. The donations are not to exceed $10,000 per individual per annum. The huge grants of $325,000, in addition to the special annual payment of $5000 per MP, do not fall under any of the lawfully authorised source of funding of political parties, and are thus unlawful. I see it as nothing but a ruse to enable the parties in the Coalition to clear their election debts and amass funds to fight the next elections. It was kept a secret from the people until revealed by the general secretary of the Fiji First Party this week. Not only is it illegal, it smacks of corruption. The taxpayers are being taken for a ride by this self-seeking government. There is a glaring lack of transparency. We are still waiting for the long promised accounts of the Girmit Celebrations and the National Economic Summit. The funneling of State funds to political associates, and now to partner political parties, has become a hallmark of this government."

Labour says $325,000 payment to parliamentary parties unlawful

Fiji Labour Party has written to the Supervisor of Elections to investigate the payment of annual parliamentary grants of $325,000 to each of the four political parties in Parliament in breach of the Political Parties Act.

“The payment is unlawful,” says Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.

"Under the Political Parties Act, political parties can only be funded from the proceeds of membership fees, investments, or donations from individuals who are citizens or former citizens of Fiji. The donations are not to exceed $10,000 per individual per annum.

"The huge grants of $325,000, in addition to the special annual payment of $5000 per MP, do not fall under any of the lawfully authorised source of funding of political parties, and are thus unlawful”.

“I see it as nothing but a ruse to enable the parties in the Coalition to clear their election debts and amass funds to fight the next elections, said Mr Chaudhry.

It was kept a secret from the people until revealed by the general secretary of the Fiji First Party this week.

“Not only is it illegal, it smacks of corruption. The taxpayers are being taken for a ride by this self-seeking government. There is a glaring lack of transparency.

“We are still waiting for the long promised accounts of the Girmit Celebrations and the National Economic Summit.

“The funneling of State funds to political associates, and now to partner political parties, has become a hallmark of this government,” Mr Chaudhry said.

The filthy and run down Global Girmit Institute - Worse than PIG STY.
We repeat: Biman Prasad, wife and Ganesh Chand must be arrested and questioned over the $200,000 Girmit Fund Scam. In the annals of girmit we don't find our girmitiyas as BAIMAANS. Shame on the TRIO.

The New Zealand Ranjit Singh inspecting the Global Girmit Centre

CRY BELOVED GIRMITIYAS – THE NEGLECTED AND RUN-DOWN FIJI GIRMIT CENTER -A SHAME TO THE MEMORIES OF THE GIRMITIYAS

I had written previously in Facebook as well as in The Fiji Times about the neglect of this monument, and lack of efforts by government or Girmityas descendants to add value to this 12.5 Prime land very strategically located on the road to Nadi Airport from Lautoka. This land was donated by Fiji Government in 1979 and the centre was opened by the then Indian PM, Indira Gandhi some 45 years ago.

And this place still needs some dignity and attention by Fiji Indian descendants of Girmit.

But it seems I am whipping up a dead horse. You just saw the indignity of Professor Brij Lal and Dr Padma Lal Library in a derelict shopping centre up the road in Saweni. Why cannot this Girmit Global Institute work with Fiji Girmit Council, and work jointly in memory of the Girmitiyas? How long will it be directly or indirectly fuelled by government funding to open up a rival body.

I visited the Girmit Centre on 31 August, 2023, and am delighted with its potential, but shocked with its neglect. What a shame and pity that this grand monument in memory of the Girmitiyas has been lying unutilised to full potential for some four decades. Shame on us. For how long will I remain the lone voice to cry for this centre.

The place is now partly run down, the land allocated to people to plant cassava, and is a shame to the memories of my forebears.

I just hope the Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Affairs will take some interest to whip this dead horse to life.

CRY BELOVED GIRMITIYAS – your hope now is in three hands: Minister Charan Jeath Singh, and Permanent Secretaries Yogesh Karan and Parmesh Chand.

Hope this is read by some millionaire Fiji Girmitiya descendant in the Fiji Indian Diaspora, who may have some dignity, honour and respect for Girmitiyas that surpass Fiji’s interest in this place.

In my primary school Hindi ki teesri pothi (third year book), I read a poem, which said:

Parvat par jo charna chaho, pahle charho Pahari. Translated it means, IF YOU WISH TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN, FIRST, ATTEMPT TO OVERCOME A HILL.

That is the story with this dubious organisation, GLOBAL GIRMIT INSTITUTE. What have they done locally, on the ground, within Fiji before becoming GLOBAL?

Have they held any Girmit functions locally, apart from a questionable International Girmit Conference, using taxpayer money, given by well-connected politicians, and flushed down the toilet. What is the outcome of that conference? Any links, communique or benefits worth some $250,000? What will the new generation learn or benefit from this publicly-funded price tag? Doesn’t Fiji have an accountability system?

AND DUBIOUS AND SHAMEFUL PROFESSOR BRIJ LAL AND DR PADMA LAL LIBRARY IN A DILAPIDATED, RUNDOWN AND NEGLECTED CORNER OF RURAL SAWENI

Well, come down to Saweni Shopping Centre on the way to Nadi Airport from Lautoka, up the Saweni hill, near a service station, with potholes that can hide an anaconda. At the end of this dirty, messy, unkept area, you have a wooden shack, with a signboard, Global Girmit Institute. At the entrance is a dairy-type shop, maybe for nightly sales. This is supposed to house PROFESSOR BRIJ LAL AND DR PADMA LAL LIBRARY, that reportedly the then leader of PAP, and now PM, Sitiveni Rabuka opened or inaugurated sometime in 2018.

Well there are no signs indicating it is any library, named after anyone-as there are no signs to, or sign of any respectable library.

I hazarded to venture in this shack, “jhopar patt”i-type of structure, negotiating up a risky stairs, overgrown with grass, scattered with rubbish and an area which delivers no respect to any library, especially the one named after the distinguished Professor. Some statues of elephants outside seem to be struggling to run away from this shameful environment.

And just some ten minutes’ drive to Lautoka, near Lautoka City is government-donated 12.5 acres of land known as FIJI GIRMIT CENTRE, which could have housed such a library with dignity. But who can beat individual egos?

I ventured there with my wife, Shashi Shankar Singh, who fell and hurt her knees which was bleeding, in negotiating up the dirty, hazardous and unkept driveway, on her way out. I have a word of caution for Dr Padma Lal if she gathers courage to visit this derelict supposedly named after her husband and her. Fortunately, there are no signs saying this, hence, it saves their dignity.

I visited the library on Thursday 31 August, 2023, and enquired about the following books, which any library worth the name of Professor Brij Lal needs to house:

Professor Brij Lal's: CHALO JAHAJI, IN THE EYE OF THE STORM (Autobiography of Jai Ram Reddy), and TULSI'S STORE, among others.

Rajendra Prasad's TEARS IN PARADISE and ENSLAVED IN PARADISE

Totaram Sanadhya’ s MY 21 YEARS IN FIJI - FIJI MEIN MERE IKKIS SAAL
.
Reportedly, NONE OF THESE BOOKS ARE IN THIS LIBRARY, and there appears to be no catalogue.

Then, one may question, what the hell does Professor Brij Lal and Dr Padma Lal Library hold?

I will stop talking, and let the photos I took speak, and hope the Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs can speak something about this and the neglected Fiji Girmit Center, where the books could be housed with dignity, and we can have one central Girmit Library and memory to Girmitiyas instead of this shameful, breakaway division, promoted by Government Assistance directly or indirectly.

One day PM Rabuka may have to explain this.

NUTTY PROFESSOR, 'Speaker of Parliament has decided that each of the four parties in parliament will receive $325,000 grant annually (equally) to perform their functions effectively.' Biman Prasad, Maths Don't Add UP

5/9/2023

Fijileaks: Who is Speaker Naiqama Lalabalavu to decree the payment.
His own subjects rejected him at the polls. It is quite likely that the grant is being distributed equally so that SODELPA with 3 MPs can PAY OFF their $200,000 debt that PAP had promised to pay off during the coalition negotiations.
The NFP, with five MPs, is also wagging its tail for the $325,000.
Yet, the chiefs and thieves have rescinded the FFP decree that all
i-taukei should receive equal share of the lease money. Blood Hypocrites.

AIYAZ SAYED KHAIYUM RESPONDS TO BIMAN PRASAD'S GARBAGE. Prasad did not distribute equally money he obtained for the Girmit Celebrations. He gave the vast majority to his wife and his chamcha Ganesh Chand to organize the Girmit conference

"In fact, Biman should not have commented on the SGP letter at all. It was correspondence between the SGP and FF. With his usual quest to politically malign others (especially when he gets caught out) and not focus on governing and being a minister for all Fijians and thinking of ways to stop the carnage which he wrought upon a very healthy economy, inherited from FF, he also dragged in Parliament and the Honourable Speaker of Parliament in his charade. He should have waited for the response from the SGP to our letter."

I am compelled to put up this post since Biman Prasad and Vijay Narayan/Fijivillage have made comments on an ongoing correspondence between the Secretary General of Parliament (‘SGP’) – for whom we have a great deal of respect – and the General Secretary of FijiFirst (‘FF’).

As usual, Fijivillage provided the platform for Biman to make a number of scurrilous and truly ad hominem comments. There is no point in responding to each and every one of his personalized comments, but all Fijians have to be aware of what is happening regarding the back door way of giving all 55 MPs an increase of $10,000 per annum in cash, which Biman, who will benefit from it, is defending.

On 8 August 2023, the Secretary General of Parliament (‘SGP’) wrote to me as the General Secretary of FijiFirst, and this letter was copied to the Leader for FijiFirst, FijiFirst Opposition Whip, PS Finance, Acting Registrar of Political Parties and Ropate Green, Solicitor General.

The letter, which was not made public by the SGP, stated that after consultations between the Ministry of Finance and the senior executives in Parliament, the SGP’s office decided to disburse $2,125,000 as “grant to Political Parties”. The letter stated that all political parties that are in Parliament, irrespective of the number of members they have in Parliament will all receive $325,000 each. Each political party is to spend that money without any acquittals to Parliament, which simply means, the parties do not have to tell Parliament how they spent the money. However, as per the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act, all political parties have to, on an annual basis, provide to the Fijian Elections Office their annual audited accounts which includes source of revenue, including any parliamentary grants.

This $325,000 grant is a new allocation, that is, such money was previously never given to political parties.

What was given by Parliament to political parties previously, during the term of FijiFirst Government, was a grant based on the number of members a political party had in Parliament. The formula was that a political party would get $15,000 per member it had in Parliament on an annual basis. In other words, if a political party had 20 members in Parliament, it would receive $300,000 (20 x $15,000), or if they had 3 members, they would receive $15,000 x 3 which is $45,000. Again, this money would be spent by the party as it saw fit to conduct its affairs.

The 8 August letter by the SGP stated that apart from the new allocation of $325,000 per political party in Parliament, the previous allocation of $15,000 would now be paid differently. Now only $5,000 would be given per member to the political party. In other words, if a political party had 3 seats, they would now get $15,000 as opposed to $45,000. The letter also said that the balance of the $10,000 from the $15,000 would be given to each member of Parliament, as a new personal benefit which will be called “Parliamentary duty allowance”. According to the letter, the “Parliamentary duty allowance” would be payable to all individual Parliamentary members, right from the Prime Minister, to the three Deputy Prime Ministers, the Ministers, the Assistant Ministers, the Leader of Opposition and all Members of Parliament. The letter also stated that the $10,000 will be paid to each member of Parliament at approximately $833.33 per month which will go directly into their individual bank accounts. Individual members would not need to provide any acquittals – in other words they can spend as they like and not provide receipts or invoices to Parliament. And even more significantly, the $10,000 increment they will get, will be tax exempt.

FijiFirst, including all its MPs, was deeply concerned about this 8 August letter for two critical reasons:

1/ Under the scheme of this allocation, all political parties will receive the same amount of 325,000, despite their size. Two political parties, SODELPA and NFP have no more than 5 seats, while Peoples Alliance Party and FF both have more than 20 seats but would get the same amount as SODELPA and NFP. The disparity of course is stark, but this allocation to the political parties is the prerogative of the SGP which cannot be interfered with.

We did, however, question the anomaly in the SGP’s 8 August letter, which on one hand stated that the party did not have to provide any acquittals and could spend the funds as it wished, but on the other hand stated that the party was to spend on ‘Parliamentary expenses such as staffing and other recurring expenses whilst in Parliament.” This on one hand appears to put restrictions on what the funds could be spent on but on the other hand says that it could be spent on other expenses while the party is in Parliament. We asked for clarification on this anomaly. We are yet to get that clarification.

2/ The second critical issue dealt with the new $10,000.00 allocation, tax free, to individual members of Parliament. In our response of 21 August (which we also copied to the General Secretaries of all political parties in Parliament for their information, as it was a legal matter that affected all of these parties) we pointed out that under the Parliamentary Remuneration Act (‘Act’), any remuneration, which includes salaries, allowances and benefits (see section 2 of the Act), pertaining to those office holders (which include the President, Prime Minister, other Ministers and Assistant Ministers, Leader of Opposition, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and members of Parliament – see section 3 of the Act) that fall under the Act, must have Parliamentary approval.

We noted that the SGP’s 8 August Letter purported to introduce the Parliamentary Duty Allowance for individual members which includes the Prime Minister, Ministers, Assistant Ministers, Leader of Opposition and other members of Parliament. This new proposed ‘Parliamentary Duty Allowance’ has not been approved under the Act and Part B of the Schedule to the Act (which sets out the specific amounts of the benefits) has not been amended.

It also for these very reasons that FF including all its MPs decided not to benefit from the $10,000 increment and that is also why FF recommended that if Parliament wanted to disburse the $10,000 allocation then it should be disbursed to the individual political parties which the parties could use for their operations including of course reaching out to its constituencies.

It is rather apparent that Vijay Narayan/Fijivillage which slavishly tells all that Biman Prasad says, without proper analysis, reported on 25 August 2023 remarks that Biman Prasad had made regarding the letter which FF wrote to SGP. Biman Prasad did everything but focus on the legal issues. He misrepresented that I wanted to ‘usurp parliamentary authority and the independence of the office of the Speaker’. He also was quoted as saying that I insisted the monies should not be given to the MPs, when clearly I did not. Biman Prasad did not address the legal issues at all. In fact, he said that ‘there is absolutely nothing illegal about the disbursement of the Parliamentary Duty Allowance to the 55 MPS…’. He obviously is wrong. He is either extremely woeful in his understanding of the law or has chosen to ignore the law. On both counts his rabid unchecked utterances are of deep concern. Just because one is a Government Minister it does not give one the authority to do anything they choose to do or say anything they like without regard to facts, without regard to the law. Every person right from the President, Prime Minister, Ministers, Assistant Ministers, Leader of opposition and members of Parliament are bound by the law and need to uphold the law, which includes the supreme law which is the constitution. If you also read my letter to the SGP you will clearly see that what Biman alleges I said, is not true.

In fact, Biman should not have commented on the SGP letter at all. It was correspondence between the SGP and FF. With his usual quest to politically malign others (especially when he gets caught out) and not focus on governing and being a minister for all Fijians and thinking of ways to stop the carnage which he wrought upon a very healthy economy, inherited from FF, he also dragged in Parliament and the Honourable Speaker of Parliament in his charade. He should have waited for the response from the SGP to our letter.

In the 31 August response from the SGP to the FF letter, the SGP says that the legal matters that I raised pertaining to the new benefit for individual members of Parliament will be addressed and until such time the $10,000 per member benefit will be put on hold. This demonstrates that the SGP seeks to adhere to the law after we raised it.

The upshot of all of this is, the law provides that any increase in benefit for members of Parliament whether it is an allowance, a salary or other benefits, must be approved through the Act which includes an amendment to the Schedule that sets out all the benefits. This has to be done by way of a Parliamentary motion. This has not been done. This new allowance for MPs, as we have said in the letter, gives MPs a pay rise, through the backdoor, while ordinary Fijians have not had a pay rise. The whole purpose of having an independent committee deliberating on an increase and followed by a debate in Parliament is so that members of the public can participate and have a say in whether or not their MPs should get a pay rise/benefit or not.

An increase of $10,000 for each member of the 55 members of Parliament in such a manner - the back door way - without following the process and the law is an abomination. It is more of an abomination because today, ordinary Fijians, and in particular the poor, the low income, the working class and the waning middle class, are having to pay 15% VAT, increase in duties, increase in bus fares, pay school levies and have limited if any access to the free GP scheme and an overall increase in cost of living.

The increase in pay/benefits for MPs must not only have a legal basis to it but must also have a moral and ethical justification.

QOLIQOLI and RFMF GOLI (BULLET). Biman Prasad should remind his Coalition partners Qarase's Qoliqoli Bill played right into hands of RFMF. FLP: 'We urge Government to move with extreme caution on Surfing Bill'

4/9/2023

Fijileaks: Regulation of Surfing Areas Decree 2010
Comment: It is not clear that ‘used’ and ‘utilised’ have different meanings, and the terms ‘surfing’ and ‘water sport’ are not defined. Does it include e.g. sportfishing? Also, does the definition extend to future use of areas of water? There is no Gazetted list, which leaves the definition very unclear. This Decree can therefore be challenged for vagueness as to its exact scope.

Labour cautions govt on Qoliqoli-related review

Fiji Labour Party has urged the government to move with extreme caution on any review of the Surfing Areas Act 2010 which could impact adversely on tourism and people’s access to foreshore and coastal waters.

“There needs to be wide and thorough consultations on this. The Coalition government must not repeat the mistakes made by the SDL government in 2006 over its predecessor the Qoliqoli Bill,” said Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.

A government appointed committee is currently carrying out public consultations on its intention to amend the Surfing Areas Act 2010 which opened up Fiji waters to surfers.

Government argues that the 2010 Act does not provide for protection and fair compensation to landowners for the use of their resource nor does it demarcate specific surfing areas thus overriding traditional qoliqoli rights.

Mr Chaudhry reminded the government of the widespread controversy which had arisen when the Qarase government tried to push through the contentious Qoliqoli Bill in 2006.

It had met strong opposition from the tourism industry, the RFMF as well as human rights and civil society groups. Opposition had also come from ordinary citizens who were owners of residential or agricultural properties located close to the foreshore or on the banks of inland waterways.

“Attempts to demarcate such areas could interfere with the free passage of people and vessels through our foreshores and coastal waters. It could also curtail people’s right to freedom of movement to enjoy rivers and oceans for recreational purposes.

“While one is sympathetic to the rights of resource owners, in a modern nation these rights must be balanced against the rights of minority groups and the economic and social interests of the nation,” Mr Chaudhry said.

In My Father's Methodist House are TWO Mansions, One for the i-Taukei, another for Rabuka's VULAGIS. Reverend ANIL Reuben despite 43 years of dedicated godly service remains Deputy General Secretary of Church

1/9/2023

The 'Tagi ni i-Taukei' sermon must be smashed to smithereens

Fijileaks: It is high time ROTUMA is removed as conjoined twin of the Great Council of Chiefs and the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma.

The Rotumans cannot and must not be allowed to stand in the front queue, ahead of the Reverend Anil Reuben who has dedicated over 43 years of his service to the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma.

RABUKA'S 1987 METHODIST RACISTS are back in full GLORY:

From Fijileaks Archives

SITTING IN JUDGMENT IN THE FIJI COURT OF APPEAL TODAY
We were shocked to learn of this 1987 RACIST back as a JUDGE in Sitiveni Rabuka's Coalition government
"Some other bogus nationalist taukeis would later crawl out of the shadows, among them Isikeli Mataitoga, a legal officer under the Director of Public Prosecutions and a Captain in the Territorials. He is today ensconced in the Foreign Ministry, charged with making the world understand another coup – “Frank’s 2006 Coup”. Looking back at the 1987 television tapes from Britain’s Channel Four television, in which he (a spokesman for Rabuka) and I prominently featured during the 1987 coups on the opposite sides of the racial divide, I had asked one forthright question:
“How many generation does it take for one to become a native?”

“Sit down everybody, sit down. This is a takeover. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. You are requested to stay cool, stay down, sit down and listen to what we are going to tell you. Please stay calm, ladies and gentlemen,” announced a man cowardly hiding behind a mask. Another man who was sitting down quietly in the public gallery soon joined the masked man: “Mr Prime Minister, please lead your team down and remain calm. Mr Prime Minister, Sir, will you lead your team down to the right…”

One Captain X (Isireli Dugu), and a 38-year-old Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, twenty years ago, at 10am on 14 May 1987, spoke these treasonous words as a “hit squad” of ten soldiers toppled Dr Timoci Bavadra’s NFP/FLP Coalition government in the first military coup in the South Pacific.

As the parliamentarians were being detained, one Cabinet minister Dr Tupeni Baba, related to Rabuka, naively but defiantly, shouted, “What kind of a joke is this?” What was being played out in Parliament was no joking game; it was part of a fulfilment of an obnoxious prayer, “The Tagi ni Taukei – Cry of the Taukei”, that had been earlier recited in the home of Methodist Church minister (once the head of the Methodist Dilkusha Indian Circuit), Reverend Tomasi Raikivi, a cousin of Rabuka’s: “Save us, and save our land. You saved the Israelites, when foreigners took their land from them. Dear God, please answer our prayer and do the same for us. Amen”.

Although the prayer ended with “Amen”, what should have been intoned was “Amin” – for the plan was to hunt and hound out fellow Indo-Fijians like Idi Amin did in Uganda.

The other so-called “Man of God” beseeching his Heavenly Lord for guidance was Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, a cousin of the late President Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. Kubuabola was President of the Fiji Council of Churches and Secretary General of the Bible Society of the South Pacific. It was Kubuabola, who had first termed the extreme Fijian nationalist organization that had sprung up following Dr Bavadra’s election victory as the Taukei Movement, and he was its direct link with Mr Rabuka leading up to the coup.

The two men of the robe were not alone. At the prayer meeting were others, who would later carve out respectable standing and careers from the debris of the 1987 coups: Ratu Finau Mara, the son of the late President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara; Ratu George Kadavulevu, son of the Paramount Chief of Fiji, the late Ratu George Cakobau; Ratu Keni Viuyasawa, the brother of Brigadier Ratu Epeli Nailatikau; Daniel Veitata, Apisai Tora, the late Jone Veisamasama, Qoriniasi Bale and Filipe Bole. There were other countless and faceless chiefs, thieves, and others who were part of Rabuka’s Operation Kidacala (Surprise) plan to seize power.

Some other bogus nationalist taukeis would later crawl out of the shadows, among them Isikeli Mataitoga, a legal officer under the Director of Public Prosecutions and a Captain in the Territorials. He is today ensconced in the Foreign Ministry, charged with making the world understand another coup – “Frank’s 2006 Coup”. Looking back at the 1987 television tapes from Britain’s Channel Four television, in which he (a spokesman for Rabuka) and I prominently featured during the 1987 coups on the opposite sides of the racial divide, I had asked one forthright question: “How many generation does it take for one to become a native?”

I had angrily pointed out to the world television viewers in 1987 that most of those running around beating up Indo-Fijians and claiming to be “indigenous” were themselves “bloody foreigners” – from outer islands of Fiji, from Lau and Bau, which are not connected to the mainland, and from Vanua Levu. “These Fijians have been the cause of all our racial and political problems on the mainland which houses the Parliament. Just look at the western division of Viti Levu – a model of peaceful existence to be emulated by the world.”

Of course, it was an exaggeration to blame all the so-called “bloody foreigners”, but the backgrounds of most of the key players surely pointed to in that direction, except maybe for the backgrounds of Apisai Tora, Sakiasi Butadroka, and the assistant Roko Tui Naitasiri, Ratu Meli Vesikula. An examination of the key players in the 1987 coups does reveal that the majority had come from Navatu-Natewa in Vanua Levu. Dr Baba later observed: “A lot of them, when we were released, took off their masks and came over and actually shook hands with me. They come from my part of the island.”

“They arrive on the mainland of Viti Levu, and in order to stay put, raise the chant – the Cry of the Fijians”, I told Channel Four and BBC television viewers. Their principal target has always been Indo-Fijians, as expressed by coup executioner Rabuka, I said.

"Just listen to his racist nonsense about his coup: “It was a matter of cultural survival. Sink or Swim. There was no way we were going to go down. The Indians had become an unbearable presence in Fiji. The Hindus and Muslims are pagans who must be converted to Christianity.” We could say the same about him and other non-Viti Levu born Fijians, I told BBC: “Send these bloody foreigners, including their paramount chiefs, back to their islands and villagers, like the British did in the old colonial days. Rabuka should swim back to his village, Nakobo, or wherever he has come from, in Vanua Levu. He has become an unbearable presence and a disgrace on mainland Viti Levu. But no, we believe that Fiji belongs to all. We should be judged by the content of our character, and not by the colour of our skin.” Race, I argued, was a mere smokescreen for Fijian chiefs, thieves, and other taukei who just want to reach the economic and political mountaintop.

Meanwhile, if the coup was planned in a pastor’s house, it was to be eventually sanctioned in the house of the chiefs – the Great Council of Chiefs - all in the name of “Tagi ni Taukei”. Shockingly, the prominent chiefs had other racial agendas, including Ratu Mara and Ratu Penaia. Instead of criminalizing the coup, they constitutionalized post-coup racism in the new 1990 Constitution that was now being drafted to ensure Fijian paramountcy, irrespective of the fact that the coup was introducing a culture of violence and violations, and terror and terrorism. To be sure, their own chiefly, political, and economic survivals, was their primary agenda.

In fact, Mr Rabuka would later argue that Ratu Mara, despite his protestations, had sanctioned Rabuka’s coup. It seems poor Babu Singh, an Indo-Fijian and life-long personal bodyguard to Ratu Mara, had been more faithful to his oath than his boss to parliamentary democracy, multi-racialism, and the rule of law. In the interim, Fiji would become another country, for the taukei to plunder and prosper from the blood, toil, tears, and taxes of non-taukei, all disguised under the rubric of affirmative action and chiefly rule.

The Tagi ni Taukei slogan again found expression in the 2000 Speight coup, with Ratu Mara, now as President, sacking Mahendra Chaudhry as Prime Minister and appointing a caretaker administration. While describing George Speight and his gang as terrorists, Ratu Mara however noted the concerns of those holding the Chaudhry government hostage, stating “These will be thoroughly examined and solutions considered to further protect and enhance the position of the indigenous Fijian community”.

In the late 1960s Ratu Mara notoriously claimed that if the Indo-Fijians ever gained political power in Fiji, then “Suva would burn to the ground, and all the indigenous Fijians would lose would be the Indians’ records of their debts”. He had never envisaged that he might be consumed in those bogus nationalist flames. Forty years later, in 2000, the Fijians did burn down Suva. Ironically, he lost his own presidency, with the looter’s leader George Speight remarking that, “From where I sit he [Ratu Mara] has no legal claim to the title of president”. In the end the great chief was forced to make a humiliating exit to Lau, a broken and bitter man, blaming among others, the coup godfather Sitiveni Rabuka, for being involved in the 2000 coup.

And yet Ratu Mara’s downfall did not discourage another of his clansman Laisenia Qarase to once again take up the “Tagi ni Taukei” slogan, as he told the UN General Assembly in 2000 in his capacity as the military installed Prime Minister: “The crux of our political crisis in Fiji is that indigenous Fijians and Rotuman communities felt threatened by certain policies which non-indigenous leadership of the Peoples Coalition Government had implemented following their decisive victory in our national elections in May 1999. It was this fear and anxiety about their future that led to mass demonstrations and ultimately the coup d’etat on May 19th this year. It manifested itself also in the mass looting of shops, destruction of property, and threats to people and their families, and unfortunately and tragically, the victims were mainly members of our Indian community.”

The Rotumans had also joined in the unmusical Tagi ni Taukei hymn.

Even Commodore Bainimarama had been temporarily sucked into the nationalist cause, for he had refused to allow Mr Chaudhry and his Peoples Coalition government back into power after ending the hostage crisis. His court affidavits to the High Court had similar nationalistic tune. He had even signed away Speight’s freedom, subject to conditions, in the Muanikau Accord. The military high command, supported by the chiefs, went on to openly embrace Mr Qarase’s racialist demands for political and economic supremacy for the taukei. His regime, despite his racist rhetoric, became the darling of Australia, New Zealand, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the United States.

As for Mr Rabuka, the godfather of the coup culture in Fiji, he should be expelled from the Great Council of Chiefs, which had made Mr Rabuka its only life member to honour him for staging his two military coups in 1987. It will be a fitting punishment, although it is twenty years too late. After all, the chiefs are now saying that they do not recognise Commodore Frank Bainimarama’s coup because they do not believe in coups.

To recall Mr Rabuka’s own words in his book “No Other Way”: “I respect chiefs. I do not like the composition of the Great Council of Chiefs. There are so many non-Chiefs there who will try to dictate the resolutions of the Great Council of Chiefs. The Chiefs are so humble, their personalities and their character do not make them forceful enough when they discuss matters. They will agree, they will compromise…whereas those who are not Chiefs in there tend to very, very selfish.” Whether Mr Rabuka sees himself as one of those self-seeking commoners is another matter, but he only recently indicated that he was willing to lead any reconstituted Great Council of Chiefs.

A complex set of domestic and foreign variables account for the 1987 and 2000 coups. The most prominent has been the Tagi ni Taukei slogan from the chiefs, the church and a vast majority of native Fijians. Now when they are at the receiving end, the mantra of the day is the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and elections. The way forward, as I proposed previously, is Government of National Unity, made up of those who genuinely have Fiji and not merely taukei Fijians, at heart.

There is also no room for the obnoxious views of Mr Rabuka who told his official biographer in 2000: “My hope is that Indians will migrate. We tighten the controls, then Fiji is no longer attractive to the Indian settler as it has been over the last 120 years.”

Reflecting on the 1987 coups he declared: “I have no regrets about the coup. I apologised in the recent (1999) election campaign for the suffering it caused and I am sorry for that, not for the coup. If I was in that situation, I would do it again. It was right. I conducted the coup to seal off the threat of sustained and widespread violence, and to move the country to a form of civilian rule that would be acceptable first to the Fijians. I am at peace with the coup. The history of Fiji would have been tragically different had I not “lanced the boil”.

Let us hope that never again will we hear the Tagi ni Taukei nonsense, that has been the root of all evil and coups in the country, beginning with the 1987 Rabuka coups, which took place on 14 May, 108 years to the day the Indians were introduced as indentured labourers to toil the sugar, copra and tea plantations of Fiji.

Bible bashing racists Rabuka and Inoke Kubuabola

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IS BACK ON THE AGENDA:
BUT BEWARE OF THE CHIEFS, THIEVES AND I-TAUKEI ELITES

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