Fiji military waits in vain for UN jobs

The Fijilive report on the Fiji military waiting for a reply from the UN with regards to new overseas deployment is a total CELEBRATION for us law-abiding citizens who have no direct connection with Fiji's abusive military. We celebrate because although we may want to sympathise (although we won't) with the Fiji Peacekeepers Association for their strive to also ask the UN to rethink their stand as of now, we the law-abiding citizens of Fiji who get to earn a decent living by respecting other people's RIGHTS believe that what the UN has done is FOR THE COMMON GOOD FOR THOSE WHO PROMOTE THE IDEALS OF DEMOCRACY.

So, the bottom line is, if overseas deployment is the BE ALL AND END ALL of why you want to join the Fiji military, then DENYING YOU MILITARY OFFICERS THE RIGHT to participate in UN deployments is a good lesson for you guys to learn that BULLYING PEOPLE WITH YOUR GUNS is not a good thing, really. If you want to gain power, you have to earn it. And the only way to do that is to have democratic elections. Yes, democracy has its own inadequacies but it is still the wisest and best gain for everyone to have a win-win situation. As humans there will always be people who take advantage of the situation and in some cases that will lead to corruption, nepotism, etc but there are civil, democratic ways that have been set-up to deal with these issues. And COUP is NOT ONE OF THEM.

So, go UN! Keep up the DENIAL of Fiji soldiers to join new peacekeeping missions. How stupid of them to try and think they can go and keep peace for others, when at home they're the ones trashing everyone else's determination and strive to have peace.

You can't have EVERYTHING YOUR OWN WAY. Now, that Voreqe is learning that HE IS DEFINITELY NOT AN ISLAND TO HIMSELF, the begging is just so sweet to see! Oh my!
Sweet revenge, as the saying goes. And for those of us who wait...again...

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT!

Lt. Col. Pio Tikoduadua-another OPPRESSOR of HUMAN RIGHTS

Really, as soon as another one of these military officers who are currently tasked to deal with issues of the civil-kind open their mouths, their lack of understanding and respect for civil liberties become apparent. Just because they struggled from a young age and made it overseas for military/naval training doesn't GIVE THEM THE KNOWLEDGE to be able to deal properly with issues pertaining to civil society. Especially the military kind we have in Fiji, who believe only in themselves and the guns they possess to harm people. The US, UK, Australia, NZ etc. are bigger countries with bigger military might. But their military/naval officers are REAL HUMBLE, PROFESSIONALS FULL OF INTERGRITY AND RESPECT for the
ELECTED ORDINARY CITIZENS who lead them. Not like the coward military/navy in Fiji.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=91571 (Pio Tikoduadua: An unlikely truck driver
Sunday, June 08, 200).
Here the boy Pio Tikoduadua who had a very DIFFICULT childhood, who struggled through life but because of his hardwork did well in the military, but now since he is a PS in the PM's office, he thinks...jeez, ain't i one of the IT. I had made it in life because I have worked hard. So, now I can tell the people of Fiji whatever I like.

Really...spare us the rhetoric! Maybe you should stick to your dreams of being a truck driver! (No offense to truck drivers)

Concentrate on local issues, FHRC told
October 03, 2009 11:40:14 AM (Fijilive)

We should stop imposing international rights in Fiji and concentrate on the issues locally says permanent secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, Lieutenant Colonel Pio Tikoduadua.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Fiji Human Rights Commission (FHRC) yesterday, Tikoduadua said the FHRC should focus more on promoting human values and dignity.

“Even in this government we value human rights,” he said.
REALLY PIO. IS KILLING INNOCENT CITIZENS, TORTURING THEM, DETAINING THEM FOR THE ONLY REASON THAT THEY ARE EXPOSING THE LIES OF YOUR MILITARY REGIME, ETC 'VALUING HUMAN RIGHTS'?
“We want change and we want change to happen.”

He said it is time the FHRC reassessed its work and asked itself which rights are relevant in Fiji. WHICH RIGHTS ARE RELEVANT TO FIJI!!!!??? MY GOODNESS!! PIO, A RIGHT IS A RIGHT. WE DON'T GET TO CHOOSE THE RELEVANT ONES. IT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT ACCOMPANIES IT THAT IS IMPORTANT. YOU GUYS ABUSED YOUR RIGHT TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE, THUS, YOU'RE A BUNCH OF IRRESPONSIBLE MILITARY OFFICERS.

FHRC principal legal officer Wilfred Golman told the celebration that the number of complaints addressed to the commission had grown steadily since 1999.

“Although there are several areas in which much needs to be done- modesty deters me from going into details of the many activities the commission has done and achieved results,” added Golman.

Are we guinea pigs to Voreqe's lofty dreams of a Gambling society coupled with EVR?

As reported by Fijilive (Oct. 2 2009) Fiji's Election Office has currently completed the planning phase of Electronic Voter Registration (EVR) for both national and local government elections or the establishment of voter rolls with photographs.

“One, the compilation of an accurate and reliable voter roll that bring confidence to the voters; two, the planning and administering of the new electoral system, (for) which the Peoples Charter for Change, Peace and Progress is recommending the Proportional Representative List system; and finally the establishment of a new Code of Conduct and Ethics for political candidates.”

This military regime is so hell-bent on taking our country to the abyss, that they have no real concept nor understanding of how undertakings such as this EVR business and the licensing of gambling institutions take years to implement before its proper adoption.

No, not for Fiji's power mongers. Since they didn't have to SWEAT to gain power, they would CARE LESS of the long term repercussions of their ill-conceived, shallow ideas, which they believe is going to SOLVE FIJI'S PROBLEMS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. Then there's that snakey "new" Code of Conduct and Ethics for political candidates. What "new" codes and ethics these maybe remains to be seen. But we already know what that is. It will be a direct attack on the rights of SOME citizens, as seen through Voreqe and his cohorts' square eyes, to stand for elections. They will purposely select jargon and phrases to DENY LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO STAND FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN AND LETTING THE PEOPLE CHOOSE.

Really, Voreqe for the sake of MINE and other LAW-ABIDING peoples' children, give up your GUNS, come to the discussion table and hear us out. If what you're doing is good for your children and grandchildren then go ahead and go set-up your own kingdom and country in your land, LEAVE OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR FUTURE ALONE!

EVRs in other countries take years and small steps for it to be implemented and functioning properly. As for gambling, well that is a totally different cattle of fish altogether. With your friend from Thailand in the picture, who knows, we'll be hosting LITTLE PAT-PONG customers in the future. And God forbid that happens to our beloved Fiji!

And just for some interesting reading on the Failure of EVR in a country similar to ours (in this case Uganda).

Failed Electronic Voter Registration in Uganda
http://www.egov4dev.org/success/case/iecuganda.shtml

Evaluation: Failure or Success?

This has been a total failure. Things went wrong at an early stage with the hardware, with criticism that the tenders for procurement of the digital cameras were not transparent, leading to problems with the equipment delivered, and with reports that a number of the cameras were stolen from what should have been a safe government store. Although citizen photographing did proceed, it took place within a very short time and many people were not captured by the system. There were complaints from opposition parties that security agency staff had intervened in the workings of the computer system. Suspicions were raised of manipulation of voter registrations in opposition strongholds. Opposition parties felt that names might be removed from the electoral roll in one place, in order to disenfranchise those who might vote for the opposition, and put back on in other districts, allowing soldiers to vote many times for the ruling candidates in the names of the disenfranchised citizens.

When sample voter registers were produced by the system, they were found to be erroneous, with some photographs not corresponding with names of voters. Coupled with opposition suspicions, this led the entire exercise to be suspended. Old voter registers were used to conduct presidential, parliamentary and civic elections in the country in 2001. There have been suggestions that the system may be used for the 2006 elections. However, the work of the electoral commissioners has now been wound up and - nearly two years on - no action has been taken to revive the system. Even if still available, some of the equipment is likely to be obsolete by 2006. At present, it is just going to waste.
Enablers/Critical Success Factors

The success of the electoral process in 2001 can be put down to three factors: the existence of the old voter registers; the political patience of the population, and the strong participation of the armed forces in keeping a lid on political dissent.
Constraints/Critical Failure Factors

This voter registration system failed largely because it was a technical instrument introduced into a highly politicised situation; a situation in which there was a perceived lack of political will from government to implement the system as intended; a lack of political awareness on the part of many Ugandan citizens; and a lack of capacity on the part of the Interim Electoral Commission to create conditions in which the system would not only be used impartially, but be seen to be used impartially.

Recommendations

1. Find political will . The success or failure of e-government projects - especially those involving citizens and the democratic process - is significantly determined by the political context. Unless there is a political will to see the e-government project succeed, then it is likely to fail.
2. Move incrementally . 'Big bang' approaches - that suddenly introduce new technologies and processes - are quite likely to fail. Instead, e-government projects should be implemented in a systematic but gradual manner.
3. WE NEED THE FREEDOM TO VOICE OUR CONCERNS, VOREQE BUT YOU'RE NOT LETTING US! Involve civil society . In projects that touch the broader issues of governance, the participation of civil society organisations should be encouraged from the inception. They can have longer-term objectives for improvement of the governance process that can usefully balance objectives in government that may be merely for short-term survival.