The 'Generals' – Where to Now?
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Rotuman Educational Resource
Fäeag Rotuam Rotuman Language Educational Resource THE LORD'S PRAYER Ro’ạit Ne ‘Os Gagaja, Jisu Karisto ‘Otomis Ö’fāat täe ‘e lạgi, ‘Ou asa la ȧf‘ȧk la ma’ma’, ‘Ou Pure'aga la leum, ‘Ou rere la sok, fak ma ‘e lạgi, la tape’ ma ‘e rȧn te’. ‘Äe la nāam se ‘ạmisa, ‘e terạnit 'e ‘i, ta ‘etemis tē la ‘ā la tạu mar ma ‘Äe la fạu‘ạkia te’ ne ‘otomis sara, la fak ma ne ‘ạmis tape’ ma rē vạhia se iris ne sar ‘e ‘ạmisag. ma ‘Äe se hoa’ ‘ạmis se faksara; ‘Äe la sại‘ạkia ‘ạmis ‘e raksa’a, ko pure'aga, ma ne’ne’i, ma kolori, mou ma ke se ‘äeag, se av se ‘es gata’ag ne tore ‘Emen Rotuman Language 2 Educational Resource TABLE OF CONTENTS ROGROG NE ĀV TĀ HISTORY 4 ROGROG NE ROTUMA 'E 'ON TẠŪSA – Our history 4 'ON FUẠG NE AS TA ROTUMA – Meaning behind Rotuma 5 HẠITOHIẠG NE FUẠG FAK PUER NE HANUA – Chiefly system 6 HATAG NE FĀMORI – Population 7 ROTU – Religion 8 AGA MA GARUE'E ROTUMA – Lifestyle on the island 8 MAK A’PUMUẠ’ẠKI(T) – A treasured song 9 FŪ’ÅK NE HANUA GEOGRAPHY 10 ROTUMA 'E JAJ(A) NE FITI – Rotuma on the map of Fiji 10 JAJ(A) NE ITU ’ HIFU – Map of the seven districts 11 FÄEAG ROTUẠM TA LANGUAGE 12 'OU ‘EA’EA NE FÄEGA – Pronunciation Guide 12-13 'ON JĪPEAR NE FÄEGA – Notes on Spelling 14 MAF NE PUKU – The Rotuman Alphabet 14 MAF NE FIKA – Numbers 15 FÄEAG ‘ES’ AO - Useful words 16-18 'OU FÄEAG’ÅK NE 'ÄE – Introductions 19 UT NE FAMORI A'MOU LA' SIN – Commonly Frequented Places 20 HUẠL NE FḀU TA – Months of the year 21 AG FAK ROTUMA CULTURE 22 KATO’ AGA - Traditional ceremonies 22-23 MAMASA - Welcome Visitors and returnees 24 GARUE NE SI'U - Artefacts 25 TĒFUI – Traditional garland 26-28 MAKA - Dance 29 TĒLA'Ā - Food 30 HANUJU - Storytelling 31-32 3 ROGROG NE ĀV TĀ HISTORY Legend has it that Rotuma’s first inhabitants Consequently, the two religious groups originated from Samoa led by Raho, a chief, competed against each other in the efforts to followed by the arrival of Tongan settlers. -
1 EXPLANATORY NOTE This Is the Report of the Commonwealth
EXPLANATORY NOTE This is the Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group which was present for the General Election in Fiji Islands, held from 6 to 13 May 2006. The Group’s report is reproduced here in the form in which it was signed by the Observers prior to their departure from Suva on 21 May 2006. It was transmitted to the Commonwealth Secretary- General on Friday 2 June 2006. During the following week he sent it to the Prime Minister of Fiji Islands, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, the Supervisor of Elections, the leaders of the main political parties and Commonwealth governments. It was placed on this web-site and released to the media on Monday 12 June 2006. Printed copies are available from: Democracy Section Political Affairs Division Commonwealth Secretariat Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 207 747 6407/6397/6398 Fax: +44 207 930 2189 • Please note that the page numbers shown on the contents page relate to the printed version of the report. Only Annexes II and IV are shown. The others will be added at a later date. 1 Fiji Islands General Election 6-13 May 2006 REPORT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OBSERVER GROUP 2 CONTENTS Page Letter of Transmittal CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 1 Invitation 1 Terms of Reference 1 Activities of the Group 2 CHAPTER TWO – POLITICAL BACKGROUND 4 Brief Historical Background 4 Political Overview 4 The Development of the 1997 Constitution 5 1999 Elections 6 2000 George Speight Coup 6 Commonwealth Engagement 7 2001 Election and Section 99 (5) of the Constitution 7 Talanoa Process 8 CMAG Meeting -
Reflections on the First Anniversary of Fiji's 2006 Coup
30. One hand clapping: Reflections on the first anniversary of Fiji’s 2006 coup Brij V. Lal The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. Montesquieu Acquiescence is the friend of illegality. Justice Roger Coventry The first anniversary of Fiji's December 2006 coup passed uneventfully, without any rallies, protest marches or vigils ± merely an exhausted, scarcely audible mutter from the populace hankering for some semblance of normality. A Fijian political activist once likened Fiji to a swimming duck: All calm on the surface but furiously churning underneath. Just how much turbulence there was among indigenous Fijians is difficult to gauge, but its existence was beyond doubt. To forestall any organized opposition, the interim administration slapped on several states of emergency. Overall, 2007 remained a depressing and miasmic year, with much movement but little change. The military's much heralded `clean-up' campaign, the principal reason for the coup, was stalled, mired in controversy about its legal validity and true purpose. No one was successfully prosecuted for the misdemeanours for which they had been unceremoniously sacked from office. The judiciary, to everyone's disappointment, remained as divided and demoralized as ever. The constitution remained intact, but often `ignored or bypassed as deemed necessary'.1 International vigilance, manifested in travel bans on members of the interim administration, remained despite official pleas for sympathetic understanding and assistance. Fundamental changes to the electoral system were mooted, including a common non-racial electoral roll, a common name for all citizens, and reform of important institutions of indigenous governance, but there was reservation among many who were already distrusting of the interim administration's motives and its counterproductive confrontational approach to sensitive issues. -
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2002
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2002 Reviews of West Papua and Solomon mined, circumvented and ignored by Islands are not included in this issue. the highest in the land including those who were sworn in to uphold it” Fiji (Times, 19 May, 10). During the final The political and economic highlights months of 2002, the Fiji Labour Party in Fiji in 2002 have again brought and some quasi-political civil society into sharp focus a lesson painfully movements like the Citizens Constitu- learned after the 1987 military coups: tional Forum (ccf) questioned why it takes years to recover from the neg- some members of Parliament had been ative ramifications of any national permitted to continue serving in Prime political upheaval. The economic and Minister Qarase’s cabinet despite sociopolitical fallout of the May 2000 videotaped evidence of their close civilian coup in Fiji continued to involvement in the May 2000 civilian impact major events in both the uprising. The extensive video footage politico-legal and economic domains of siege activities at the Veiuto Parlia- of the nation during the year. The mentary Complex emerged during the path to economic recovery and socio- first treason trial of Josefa Nata and political normalcy was generally shaky Timoci Silatolu, which commenced on and fraught with difficulties. The local 26 November and featured deposed tabloids regularly featured major Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry scams within the civil service, exacer- as a key state witness (Post, 27 Nov, bated by gross fiscal mismanagement 2; Times, 29 Nov, 1). Following the by the state and a general lack of 14 November conviction of fifteen political goodwill between the major former Counter Revolutionary War- political parties—the ruling Soqosoqo fare Unit soldiers who had been found Duavata ni Lewenivanua (sdl) and guilty of the November 2000 mutiny the opposition Fiji Labour Party (flp). -
Elections and Politics in Fiji
i ii iii Co-Published by ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press The Australian National Unversity Canberra ACT 0200 Email: [email protected] Website: http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Lal, Brij V. Islands of turmoil : elections and politics in Fiji. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0 7315 3751 3 ISBN 1 920942 75 0 (Online document) 1. Fiji - Politics and government. 2. Fiji - Social conditions. 3. Fiji - Economic conditions. I. Title. 996.11 This work is copyright. Apart from those uses which may be permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 as amended, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publishers. The views expressed in this book are those of the author and not necessarily of the publishers. Editor: Bridget Maidment Publisher: Asia Pacific Press and ANU E Press Design: Annie Di Nallo Design Printers: University Printing Service, The Australian National University Cover photo, Nukulau Prison, is copyright and used with permission (www.fijilive.com). Author photo by Darren Boyd, Coombs Photography. First edition © 2006 ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press For the people of the Fiji Islands There is a dawn at the end of the darkest night v Contents Abbreviations vii Preface viii 1. The road to independence 1 2. Continuity and change 24 3. Things fall apart 49 4. Back from the abyss 77 5. Rabuka’s republic 100 6. Charting a new course 126 7. A time to change 155 8. George Speight’s coup 185 9. In George Speight’s shadow 206 10. -
Rotuma Wide Governments to Deal with the New Threats 14 May That Government Was Overthrown in a Mili Failed
Rotuma wide governments to deal with the new threats 14 May that government was overthrown in a mili failed. Facing the prospect of continuing instability tary coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka (FIJI COUPS). Fol and insistent demands by outsiders, Cakobau and lowing months of turmoil and delicate negotiations, other leading chiefs of Fiji ceded Fiji to Great Britain Fiji was returned to civilian rule in December 1987. on 10 October 1874 (DEED OF CESSION). A new constitution, entrenching indigenous domi Sir Arthur GORDON was appointed the first sub nance in the political system, was decreed in 1990, stantive governor of the new colony. His policies which brought the chiefs-backed Fijian party to and vision laid the foundations of modern Fiji. He political power in 1992. forbade the sale of Fijian land and introduced an The constitution, contested by non-Fijians for its 'indirect system' of native administration that racially-discriminatory provisions, was reviewed by involved Fijians in the management of their own an independent commission in 1996 (CONSTITUT affairs. A chiefly council was revived to advise the ION REVIEW IN FIJI), which recommended a more government on Fijian matters. To promote economic open and democratic system encouraging the forma development, he turned to the plantation system he tion of multi-ethnic governments. A new constitu had seen at first hand as governor of Trinidad and tion, based on the commission's recommendations, Mauritius. The Australian COLONIAL SUGAR was promulgated a year later, providing for the rec REFINING COMPANY was invited to extend its ognition of special Fijian interests as well as a consti operation to Fiji, which it did in 1882, remaining in tutionally-mandated multi-party cabinet. -
Rotumans in Australia and New Zealand: the Problem of Community Formation
NZPS 2(2) pp. 191-203 Intellect Limited 2014 journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies Volume 2 Number 2 © 2014 Intellect Ltd Article. English language, doi: io.i386/nzps.2.2.i9i_i JAN RENSEL AND ALAN HOWARD University of Hawai'i at Manoa Rotumans in Australia and New Zealand: The problem of community formation ABSTRACT KEYWORDS As members of the Fiji polity, people from the isolated island of Rotuma have beenRotum a able to move freely about the archipelago, leading to stepwise-migration interna diaspora tionally, with Australia and New Zealand as primary destinations. Rotuman men cultural preservation engaged in the pearl-diving industry in the Torres Strait in the late nineteenth cultural identity century, who married local women, were among the first documented migrants to Australia Australia. Following World War II, a steady stream of Rotumans, many of them New Zealand married to white spouses, emigrated and formed communities in urban settings like Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and elsewhere, where they have been remarka bly successful. Their very success in the workforce, along with high rates of inter marriage and dispersed households, makes getting together a challenging prospect, requiring strong motivation, effective leadership, and a commitment to preserving their Rotuman cultural heritage. Tire island of Rotuma is located on the western fringe of Polynesia, about 465 kilometres north of the main islands of Fiji. Politically, Rotuma was governed as part of the Colony of Fiji since its cession to Great Britain in 1881 and has been part of Fiji since the country's independence in 1970. Although its linguistic affiliations remain somewhat of an enigma (see Grace 1959; Schmidt 1.999), the culture of the island reveals a closer affinity with Samoa, 191 Jan Rensel |Alan Howard Tonga, Futuna and Uvea than with Fiji or the Melanesian islands to the west. -
The State Department Web Site Below Is a Permanent Electro Information Released Prior to January 20, 2001
U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999: Fiji Page 1 of 11 The State Department web site below is a permanent electro information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see w material released since President George W. Bush took offic This site is not updated so external links may no longer func us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be co endorsement of the views contained therein. 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor U.S. Department of State, February 25, 2000 FIJI Fiji continued to make progress toward a more representative and democratic government following peaceful and democratic elections in May. The amended Constitution that came into effect in July 1998 encourages a multiethnic government while protecting traditional Fijian values. Under the amended Constitution, the Prime Minister and the President can be of any race, and for the first time, in addition to the communally allocated seats, there are open seats not allocated to any racial community in the lower house of Parliament. The judiciary is independent. The Constitution also includes a strengthened bill of rights and a compact designed to protect the rights of all citizens. It alters the official name of the country to "Republic of the Fiji Islands" and designates all citizens "Fiji Islanders," avoiding designations specifying ethnicity. However, it preserves the paramountcy of indigenous Fijian interests, which cannot be subordinated to the interests of other communities. Peaceful and democratic elections were held in May and resulted in a change of government and the election of a Labor Party-led coalition administration. -
Rotuma As a Hinterland Community
Home Page Howard-Rensel Papers Archives 2. Rotuma as a Hinterland Community Alan Howard [Published in Journal of the Polynesian Society 70:272-299, 1961] The island of Rotuma lies about three hundred miles to the north of the Fiji group, on the western fringe of Polynesia. [1] At present there are approximately three thousand Rotumans living on the island, and well over a thousand others reside in Fiji, with which Rotuma has been politically united since its annexation to the Crown in 1881. The island's geographical location places it very near to the intersection of the conventional boundaries of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, and traces of influence from each of these areas can be found in the racial composition, language and culture of the people. The bulk of the evidence points to a Polynesian orientation, however, and it may be regarded as an anomaly of history that Rotuma should have become politically united with Fiji, instead of with islands like Samoa, Tonga, Futuna and Wallis, to which a large number of Rotumans can still trace their heritage. Nevertheless, the Rotumans have made a successful adjustment to these circumstances and have managed to become an integral part of the social, economic and political life of the Colony of Fiji. From the standpoint of an anthropologist interested in the processes of urbanization, the Rotuman population offers an excellent opportunity for research. For one thing, the island is isolated, so that movement of people and goods is not continuous, but dependent upon ships which call at irregular and often widely spaced intervals. -
Issues of Concern to Rotumans Abroad
ISSUES OF CONCERN TO ROTUMANS ARROAD: A VIEW FROM THE ROTUMA WEBSITE Alan Howard Jan Rensel University of Hawaii at Manoa THE ISLAND OF ROTUMA is relatively remote, located 465 kilometers north of the northernmost island in the Fiji group, and only slightly closer to Futuna, its nearest neighbor. Rotuma has been politically affiliated with Fiji for more than a century, first as a British colony following cession in 1881 and since 1970 as part of the independent nation. Rotuma's people are, however, culturally and linguistically distinct, having strong historic relationships with Polynesian islands to the east, especially Tonga, Samoa, and Futuna. Today, approximately 85 percent of those who identify them selves as Rotuman or part-Rotuman live overseas, mostly on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji, but with substantial numbers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and England. Although this article is based primarily on postings from the Rotuma Website, which was created by Alan Howard in 1996, it is informed by research begun by Alan in 1959 over a two-year period on the island of Rotuma and among Rotumans in Fiji. Jan's first visit was in 1987, and we have returned ten times since then for periods ranging from a week to six months. For the past two decades, we have also made multiple visits to all the major overseas Rotuman communities in addition to keeping in touch with Rotuman friends from around the globe via home visits, telephone, e-mail, and, most recently, Facebook. Over the years, we have published a number of articles concerning the Rotuman diaspora and Rotuman communities abroad (Howard 1961; Howard and Howard 1977; Howard Pacific Studies, Vol. -
~~~ Iii) A/67OO/Add.5* ASSEMBLY 3 November 1967 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
~ UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ~~~ iii) A/67OO/Add.5* ASSEMBLY 3 November 1967 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH Twenty-second session Agenda item 69 REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE SITUATION WITH REGARD TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECLARATION ON THE GRANTING OF INDEPENDENCE TO COLONIAL COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES (covering its work during 1967) Rapporteur: Mr. Mohsen S. ESFANDIARY (Iran) CHAPTER VII FIJI CONTENTS Paragraphs I. ACTION TAKEN BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE IN 1966 AND BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT ITS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION. 1 - 2 2 II. INFORMATION ON THE TERRITORY 3 - 41 4 III. CONSIDERATION BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE 42 - 89 12 IV. ACTION TAKEN BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ... 90 - 101 26 * This document contains chapter VII of the Special Committee's report to the General Assembly. The general introductory chapter will be issued subsequently under the symbol A/6700 (part I). Other chapters of the report are being reproduced as addenda. 67-25641 I .•. 30 P. A/6700/Add.5 Engl.ish Page 2 I. ACTION TAKEN BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE IN 1966 AND BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT ITS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION 1. In 1963 and 1964 the Special Committee adopted resolutions concerning Fiji.1/ After considering the question of Fiji at its meetings in 1966, the Special .Committee adopted a resolution_g_/ in which it reaffirmed the inalienable right of the people of Fiji to freedom and independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, and called upon the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as the administering -
Elections and Politics in Contemporary Fiji
Chiefs and Indians: Elections and Politics in Contemporary Fiji Brij V. Lal 1he Republic of Fiji went to the polls in May 1992, its first election since the military coups of 1987 and the sixth since 1970, when the islands became independent from Great Britain. For many people in Fiji and out side, the elections were welcome, marking as they did the republic's first tentative steps toward restoring parliamentary democracy and interna tional respectability, and replacing rule by decree with rule by constitu tionallaw. The elections were a significant event. Yet, hope mingles eerily with apprehension; the journey back to genuine representative democracy is fraught with difficulties that everyone acknowledges but few know how to resolve. The elections were held under a constitution rejected by half of the pop ulation and severely criticized by the international community for its racially discriminatory, antidemocratic provisions. Indigenous Fijian po litical solidarity, assiduously promoted since the coups, disintegrated in the face of the election-related tensions within Fijian society. A chief-spon sored political party won 30 of the 37 seats in the 7o-seat House of Repre sentatives, and was able to form a government only in coalition with other parties. Sitiveni Rabuka, the reluctant politician, became prime minister after gaining the support of the Fiji Labour Party, which he had over thrown in 1987, and despite the opposition of his predecessor and para mount chief of Lau, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. In a further irony, a consti tutional system designed to entrench the interests of Fijian chiefs placed a commoner at the national helm.