This poignant photo by Max Vosailagi captures Fiji’s fixation with rugby sevens, with winning a second Olympic Gold last night by beating New Zealand 27-12 in the men’s final.
Two young boys, glued to what is apparently a TV screen through a neighbourhood front door during the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers, oblivious to their surroundings.
Covid restrictions could have prevented the boys from getting closer to the action.
Fiji is also playing in the women’s rugby sevens Olympic competition which begins today and ends with the gold medal match on Saturday.
Dr Shailendra Singh is senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific. This comment is from Dr Singh’s social media posts and is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.
The dream of putting a smile on his mother’s face on his graduation day from university has become one that will never happen for Gabriel Gade, after his mother succumbed to the coronavirus that has killed dozens of people in Fiji.
“My ultimate dream was to make her proud of all her sacrifices, battles in life and the love she gave me over the last 21 years of my life,” he shared with Asia Pacific Report.
“My mother had to work all the time to pay off the mortgage, and I could tell that she was exhausted most of the time, but I think it was her love for her children that kept her going every day.
His mother, Suliana Bulavakarua, worked as a registered nurse at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH), the largest healthcare facility in the country, where his family believes she contracted the virus while pregnant.
After she tested positive for covid-19 on July 16, she was transported to the Covid-care facility in Suva, leaving behind Gade and his sister at home as their father was working outside of the mainland.
Her children also tested positive for the virus but have recovered. Gade was vaccinated with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while his mother was awaiting the Moderna vaccine that was to be administered to pregnant women.
Her daughter was not eligible for the vaccine as she was under the age of 18.
Her condition worsened
Her condition got worse on July 18 and was advised by attending physicians to deliver her baby by caesarean section.
The 44-year-old gave life to a baby girl but the battle with covid-19 was so intense that it soon ended her life.
“It was late at night on Wednesday [July 21] when my phone rang and I did not answer because it was a new number and it was late as well. However, little did I know the hospital was calling me to inform us of our mother’s passing,” says Gade.
Gabriel Gade with his mother, Suliana Bulavakarua, and sister at the time of his 21st birthday last year. Image: Wansolwara
“A team from the hospital knocked on our doors on Thursday morning and relayed the news that broke my sister and I into tears. The world suddenly stopped as I lost the one person I owe everything to.
“My mind ran wild but hours later I had to compose myself for my family, especially my sisters who will now grow up without a mother.
The Lau native said the teachings of his mother was something he would hold dear to his heart and would use in the upbringing of his sisters.
“My mother taught me to be generous, loving and to care for people that needed my help.
“I remember a night where I would do my assignments on my study table in our living room and during her days off she would sit on the couch and then she would try and make small talk.
“My mom and I had this relationship where she would always be pressed to do things like for me to graduate. My mom was always supportive of my endeavours.
“I love you so much mom.”
The “fallen hero” is survived by her husband and three children.
Fiji has recorded 715 cases of Covid-19 and 11 deaths – including an unvaccinated health worker – in the last 24 hours to 8am yesterday. https://t.co/CcvTZsXk1n
Healthcare workers remember fallen hero
The loss of Bulavakarua was not only for the family but for healthcare workers around the country as they took to social media to express their feelings.
A nurse posted on Facebook that Bulavakarua was the talk of the operation room at the hospital she worked in as they all reminisced her dedication to saving lives in the country.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong, in a televised address, announced the passing of the healthcare worker and said she was one of the many who risked their lives to save people from the deadly delta variant of the virus.
“This current crisis is demonstrating the essential, tireless, innovative and too-often undervalued role of health workers and our frontline colleagues in ensuring strong, resilient health systems for everyone, everywhere,” he said.
“They work long hours, sacrifice time with their families, and endure the stresses that this pandemic places upon them as individuals, professionals, and upon the entire health system.
“Delivering health services in an environment of constraint resources will often mean providing access to life saving care at the expense of comfort.
Fiji’s covid-19 case count stands at 24,424 since March 2020 with 6191 recoveries.
Josefa Babitu is a final-year student journalist at the University of the South Pacific (USP). He is also the current student editor for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s student training newspaper and online publication. He is a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.
It has been more than three months since elections in Sāmoa produced an election result that would change a government, and, eventually, bring to office Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afu.
What is remarkable about this is not so much the change, but the forbearance and patience of the Sāmoan people; there has been no violence of any kind.
It would be challenging to think of other countries in such situations where people waited quietly, peacefully.
But it would be of no surprise to any student of Sāmoan history – and a particular quote.
The first is in 1887 when the Imperial Germans were trying to capture Malietoa Laupepa.
German ships were bombarding villages in a bid to catch him. He was in the jungle of ‘Upolu. A letter was sent by the Germans Malietoa telling him that if he did not surrender, great sorrows must befall his country.
He surrendered, fearing the bombardment of villages.
‘Do not let us weep’
Malietoa’s tulāfale Lauaki Namulau’ulu Mamoe, said there was no shame in surrender: “Do not let us weep. We have no cause for shame. We do not yield to Tamasese, but to the invincible strangers.”
Malietoa responded with a ringing farewell: “To all Sāmoa: On account of my great love to my country and my great affection to all Sāmoa, this is the reason that I deliver up my body to the German government.
“That government may do as they wish to me. The reason for this is, because I do not desire that the blood of Sāmoa shall be spilled for me again. But I do not know what is my offence which has caused their anger to me and to my country.’”
He named his provinces: “Tuamasaga, farewell! Manono and family, farewell! So, also, Salafai, Tutuila, Aana, and Atua, farewell! If we do not again see one another in this world, pray that we may be again together above.”
Malietoa was taken by German gunboat to Sydney and onto the German colony in Cameroon in Africa.
The other event, of course, where revenge and counter-attack was expected was 1929s Aso Pogisa in which the Mau had been attacked by New Zealand police on Beach Road, killing a number, including Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III.
Mortally wounded
He was mortally wounded. He was taken to hospital for surgery.
After surgery, he spoke with those gathered around him: “Sāmoa filemu pea, ma si o’u toto ne’i ta’uvalea, a ia aoga lo’u ola mo lenei mea” (‘My blood has been split for Sāmoa. I am proud to give it. Do not dream of avenging it, as it was spilt in maintaining peace. If I die, peace must be maintained at any price.’)
He died soon after.
Resisting violence, keeping peace, plainly is Sāmoa’s heritage and this year we have seen a variation on it play out.
Michael Field is a co-publisher of The Pacific Newsroom. This article is republished with permission.
About 35 people joined an Auckland rally last Sunday in solidarity with a Mā’ohi Nui Lives Matter demonstration by thousands of Tahitians happening in Pape’ete, the capital.
With the live feed from Tahiti in the background, the message was clear to those who attended:
French nuclear tests were wrong, killed people, and destroyed the environment; and
France must now pay reparations.
The organisers wanted to remind the audience about the important date of July 17, 1974, as the largest radioactive nuclear test named Centaur — a test that contaminated more than 100,00 people which was nearly the entire population of Mā’ohi Nui at the time.
Nine takeaways from the event
This rally is the start of more solidarity action for Mā’ohi Nui people. We hope to engage more members of the Mā’ohi Nui community living in Aotearoa in this work.
It is reassuring to have the support of rally speakers in Auckland who represent different peoples of Oceania.
The nuclear issue in Mā’ohi Nui is being commemorated in other ways in Aotearoa. The Auckland Museum launched an exhibition on Remembering Moruroa and the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū is celebrating the artistic vision of one of Aotearoa’s most significant artists, the late Ralph Hotere. His collection includes the Moruroa watercolours — which has a fitting title, Ātete! (to resist).
The organisers plan to have further meaningful discussions with the Green MPs concerning the Mā’ohi Nui issues. They hope to work with Green MPs to develop concrete proposals so that the issue of nuclear waste in Mā’ohi Nui can be tabled in Parliament.
The organisers intend to reach out to the Department of Disarmament and Arms Control. They plan to talk to Nuclear Disarmament Minister Phil Twyford about this issue.
In the same vein, the organisers will approach the Ministry of Education to propose changes to the new school curriculum emerging in 2022 — changes that would include the teaching of the history of the anti-nuclear stand that New Zealand took in Oceania.
Rally organisers Ena, David, James, Mua, and Tony acknowledge the support of Greenpeace, former members of NFIP, and Peace Movement Aotearoa.
The organisers thank Mahealani Coxhead, Tasha Dalton, Ma’ara Maeva, Sally Manuireva, and Jos Wheeler for their invaluable contributions to the rally.
The organisers thank the Auckland rally audience and express solidarity to Oscar Temaru over the continuing struggle in Mā’ohi Nui.
The MC and speakers
Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua. Image: Jos Wheeler
Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua is an activist, educator, and poet. He was the master of ceremonies for the rally and event co-organiser. He introduced all the speakers.
Ena Manuireva. Image: Jos Wheeler
Ena Manuireva is a Mangarevan-Tahitian, Mā’ohi Nui activist whose story started back on his native island of Mangareva. Mangarevans were the first people in French-occupied Polynesia to be used as guinea pigs and contaminated during the first so-called “clean” French nuclear tests on July 2, 1966. Ena narrated the personal story of how his mother became sick and vomited as her lips bled after she unknowingly ate contaminated fish; of how his older sister had weak bones as a baby, and how she developed a vulnerable body that forced his family to flee to Tahiti to save her life and find refuge. Manuireva challenged France to restore truth and justice through reparations and to return independence to Mā’ohi Nui.
The generation that paved the path for activism in Aotearoa and around the Moana-Nui-a-Hiva:
Hilda Halkyard-Harawira. Image: Jos Wheeler
Hilda Halkyard-Harawira is a distinguished Māori activist, community worker, educator, and founder of the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement (NFIP). She shared some rich impressions regarding her work as a Māori activist working in the NFIP movement from 1980. Hilda told the moving story of travelling with Māori activists to Mā’ohi Nui in 1995; of witnessing the vibrant anti-nuclear struggle in Tahiti, and of meeting Mā’ohi anti-nuclear protest leaders Charlie Ching and Oscar Temaru. She read extracts from an important address she presented at a 1995 anti-nuclear activist gathering in Tahiti. Moreover, Hilda spoke of her great friendship with Oscar Temaru while expressing her abiding support for Mā’ohi Nui’s struggle for nuclear justice and for independence from France today. Hilda Halkyard-Harawira’s rich address reminded the audience of the profound whakapapa interlinking Māori activists with Mā’ohi Nui, the wider Pacific, and the NFIP Movement.
Maire Leadbeater. Image: Jos Wheeler
Maire Leadbeater is of Pākehā heritage. She is an activist, former Auckland city councillor, historian, and writer. Maire is a member of West Papua Action Auckland. Maire expressed solidarity with Mā’ohi Nui in her oration. She explained why West Papua is not on the United Nations list of territories to be decolonised. Maire provided an important update on the contemporary West Papua struggle. Maire Leadbeater’s speech allowed the rally audience space to consider the significance of the West Papua struggle alongside that of the noble Mā’ohi Nui resistance in wider Oceania.
David Robie. Image: Jos Wheeler
Dr David Robie is a Pākehā environmental activist, editor of Asia Pacific Report, and retired founding director of the AUT Pacific Media Centre. He sees events during his career around the Pacific, including French-occupied Polynesia, as a “game changer”. Those events include the publication of the book Moruroa Mon Amour in the 1970s by Bengt and Marie-Therese Danielsson, Tahiti-based activists, describing their outrage regarding the use of Moruroa as the testing site, leading up to the recent publication of the book Toxic and its damning revelations about France’s persistent lies over the nuclear tests. (He also mentioned his Blood On Their Banner on Pacific independence struggles, first published in Swedish in spite of censorship thanks to the Danielssons’ contacts, and his inspiration from meeting Oscar Temaru which contributed to his commitment to the Mā’ohi Nui cause.) David demands compensation for the harm done by the nuclear tests, a formal apology to the Mā’ohi Nui people, and a return of their independence.
Political support to the cause shown by the Greens:
Teanau Tuiono. Image: Jos Wheeler
Teanau Tuiono is of Māori and Atiu heritage. He is a member of parliament for the Green Party and a long time indigenous environmental activist. Teanau articulated the story of the abiding relationships interconnecting the peoples of Atiu and Mā’ohi Nui. He spoke powerfully about the visits of Atiu men to Mā’ohi Nui to work in the phosphate industry in years gone by. Teanau affirmed Oceanian solidarity towards the peoples of Mā’ohi Nui in his korero. Further, he acknowledged that Oceania’s peoples are bound together by the twin whakapapa of both genealogy and shared struggle. Teanau narrated the story of how he marched in support of the Mā’ohi Nui people as a student activist in 1995. Moreover, he spoke of being part of the group who hosted Oscar Temaru at Waipapa Marae at the University of Auckland after the march. Tuiono’s oration provided the audience opportunity to understand the solidarity Māori and Pacific Island peoples have extended to Mā’ohi Nui in Aotearoa since the 1990s.
Golriz Ghahraman. Image: Jos Wheeler
Golriz Ghahraman is of Iranian descent. She is a member of parliament for the Green Party, a lawyer, and a community advocate for migrants and refugees. Speaking as a former refugee to Aotearoa, Golriz extended her solidarity to Oscar and the Mā’ohi Nui people in her speech. She illuminated the connections between Mā’ohi Nui; struggles in the wider Pacific; refugees, and migrants. Golriz spoke of the importance of the Palestinian struggle in her labours. She provided the rally audience with the ability to reflect upon the interconnections between the Mā’ohi Nui struggle — and that of the Palestinian, refugee, and migrant communities within and beyond Oceania.
The emergence of the young generation of activists:
James Hita. Image: Jos Wheeler
James Hita is a Māori Greenpeace activist and coordinator for Greenpeace Deep Sea Mining. His message was unequivocal: nuclear tests are not isolated threats; they are part of the many perils that are directly impacting our Ocean. Climate change, nuclear tests, and deep-sea mining all negatively impact upon our most important natural food supply, Te Moana-Nui-a-Hiva. His message was a constant call to awareness for all of us that we must stand united and fight together against the many wrongdoings inflicted upon our Moana-Nui-a-Hiva.
Anevili. Image: Jos Wheeler
Anevili TS is a Samoan activist and media worker who represents Indigenous Pacific Uprising (IPU) and Te Ara Whatu activist organisations. A link for her oral presentation at the conference can be found here. Anevili critiqued French colonialism in Mā’ohi Nui. Further, she reminded her audience that the climate change and nuclear issues cannot be separated in Mā’ohi Nui or in wider Oceania. Anevili extended solidarity to Oscar and the Mā’ohi Nui people and invited the French to get out of the Pacific. Anevili’s powerful address articulated the message that younger people in the Moana in Aotearoa stand in solidarity with Mā’ohi Nui today.
India Logan-Riley. Image: Jos Wheeler
India Logan-Riley is a Māori climate change activist, an Indigenous rights campaigner, and a member of Te Ara Whatu. She talked about the whakapapa (genealogy) that the Mā’ohi Nui people have with their land and how France is trying to steal and destroy the land. She highlighted the difficult position New Zealand occupies at the UN- New Zealand is in alliance with other colonial powers such as France. However, she commended the resilience of the Mā’ohi Nui population after more than a quarter of a century since the last nuclear tests were done. She reiterated her support for justice and reparations for the Mā’ohi Nui people. India’s talk reminded the audience of the immensely strong relationships between indigenous Pacific peoples and their lands.
The panel of speakers included young activists as the organisers wanted to acknowledge the increasingly vital role that young people will play in the future by standing up to all kinds of challenges — while acknowledging the vital role of our activist elders who have come before us.
Emerging young activists will be the ones to hold the New Zealand government to account for their lack of action on environmental issues.
Younger activists will also have to stand up and reprimand other countries when other nations’ actions threaten the people and the planet.
Acknowledgements The Auckland rally was only one expression of solidarity for the Mā’ohi Nui people beyond Tahiti: Messages of solidarity from Fiji (Claire Slatter), Micronesia, and the wider ‘Sea of Islands’ were presented to the people of Mā’ohi Nui via video message and social media.
On behalf of all the organisers, Reverend Mua Strickson Pua:
Acknowledged the kinship linkages connecting all of the peoples of Oceania.
Affirmed the continuing struggles of the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, Australia, Hawai’i, Kanaky, Mā’ohi Nui, Micronesia, Rapa Nui, West Papua, and others.
Upheld the work of tangata whenua protectors and supporters in Aotearoa in the struggles at Aotea Island, Ihumātao, Pūtiki, and Shelly Bay.
Affirmed the interconnections between climate change, nuclear issues, and deep-sea mining as oceanic issues requiring collective responses from all peoples of the “Sea of Islands” together.
Most of the participants at the Auckland solidarity rally for Mā’ohi Nui Lives Matter. Image: Jos Wheeler
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
She has given evidence to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care’s Pacific inquiry being held in South Auckland.
Dr Taufa quoted author Albert Wendt:
”I am called a Pacific Islander when I arrive at Auckland Airport. Elsewhere I am Samoan.”
Dr Taufa said lumping everyone together robbed people of their true identity.
‘Constructed by palagi’
”We did not name ourselves Pacific Islanders, we did not name ourselves Polynesian. These are terms that were constructed by palagi within a colonial context.”
She said preconceived ideas around being called a Pacific Islander or Polynesian influenced the way Pacific people self identify.
”While the umbrella term Pacific is useful when making global comparisons, it’s futile when applied to actual people and groups of people who consider themselves not Pacific or Polynesian, but Samoan, Tongans, Fijians, Cook Islanders and so on.”
Researcher Dr Seini Taufa … preconceived ideas around being called a Pacific Islander or Polynesian. Image: UOA
Dr Taufa said that in a New Zealand context Pacific people had been marked for as long as they had settled in Aotearoa whereby the Pacific embodiment was interpreted differently from context to context.
”On the rugby field and among the All Blacks, Pacific male bodies are celebrated. In a crime and punishment context, Pacific male bodies are associated with racist discourses of violence, rape, gangs, fear and danger,” she said.
”Pacific people thus construct their identities and live their lives at the intersection of positive histories, language and culture and negative and stereotypical ideas and beliefs produced by the dominant group.”
Dr Taufa said many abuse survivors experienced racism and discrimination first hand.
Told he wasn’t Samoan “One young man asked about his ethnic background responded with Samoan, but was told by someone in authority that he wasn’t, as he was born in New Zealand.
”As a young boy who relates being Samoan to Christianity, to family and to his mother, he is forced to adopt an identity that doesn’t belong to him — a New Zealander — and, with it, the trauma of what he was exposed to in state care as a New Zealander.”
She said it spoke to the power held by a dominant group.
”To label another with little consideration of the detrimental nature of such actions.”
Dr Taufa said the importance of ones ethnicity should never be doubted.
”I hope that it raises questions amongst those in the system to be more cautious of how they record, how they document and the fact that it can and has, through our survivor voices, had an impact on their well being.”
Dr Taufa said there were inadequacies of ethnic classification and data collection in New Zealand, both past and present.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The government refused to listen to advice. It arrogantly refused to lock down.
And now this disaster is upon us.
There is a video circulating about a dead patient being left in a temporary hospital ward for hours. Everyone knows a story about ambulances being called which never turn up.
We hear about a case where a person’s body stayed in a car for five hours in the hospital car park because no one had time or resources to help.
We were warned – by our own officials
Tragically, people affected by non-covid conditions are now dying because they cannot get into hospitals for care.
These were all things we were warned about, by our own health officials.
Up to now the bulk of our cases has been in the Central Division, which is serviced by the best hospitals. As the disease spreads around Viti Levu, the situation will get much worse.
This damage is now too late to fix. These desperate stories will continue.
We all know that deaths from this outbreak will be measured in the hundreds, and the horror of this is just beginning.
And yet, our leaders are silent. They offer no support, no information. They do not want to talk about this crisis because they have difficult questions to answer about their utter failure to lead.
Do your best to protect yourselves
Where were they when their own officials were warning them?
And where are they now?
We plead with people to do their best to protect themselves.
Wear masks, follow the physical distancing rules. Please get vaccinated, if not for yourself for the health and safety of your nearest and dearest around you.
We have a government that cannot lead and which is too ashamed and cowardly to lead.
It is now up to each of us to look after and care for each other until we rid ourselves of this failed leadership in the next elections.
Professor Biman Prasad is the leader of Fiji’s National Federation Party.
RNZ Pacific reports that Fiji has recorded 1054 new cases of covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8am yesterday. That compares to 784 cases and 15 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.
The government also confirmed 12 more deaths between 13 and 19 July, taking the death toll to 125 with 123 of these from the latest outbreak that began in April.
“The stupid, stubborn, ego-driven policies of this government and the leadership of this government has been utter failure, you know, complete nonsense.”https://t.co/5gB4V9L5e4
I wasn’t invited to the inaugural Vanuatu media awards a couple of weeks ago. Nor was I asked to participate.
Instead, I spent the weekend preparing the final draft of the Media Association of Vanuatu’s Code of Ethics and Practice. I am proud to say it was adopted by the MAV executive last Friday.
If I had been there, and if I had been asked to say something, this is what I would have said (seriously: when did I ever wait for someone to ask me for my opinion?): Journalism isn’t just a profession; it’s a public service. It consists of sharing, broadcasting or publishing information in the public interest.
That’s the first paragraph in the new preamble of an updated Media Code of Ethics and Practice.
This code is integral to our work. It guides us from day to day. It tells us what we must do, what we should do, and what we should aspire to. It will help us serve the community better.
By describing how we should report the news, it helps us to decide what is news, and what’s not.
I agreed to help with this final draft because I know how important it is to think carefully about these things. Agonising over each word of this code has been an invaluable process for me. It’s taught me new things. It’s reinforced others. And it’s led me to do the one thing required of every reporter:
Challenge assumptions
Challenge every single assumption.
Reporting starts with asking questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Socrates, one of humanity’s most famous inquiring minds, reportedly said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
The professional journey of every reporter begins with that phrase.
The Media Association of Vanuatu awards 2021. Image: MAV
In that spirit of examination, I want to take a moment to consider where we are as a media community, where we’ve come from, and where we need to go.
Vanuatu’s media can congratulate themselves for a number of things:
Our populace has a more nuanced and subtle understanding of the law and governance than many others. We joke about bush lawyers, but our interest in the law — and respect for it — is a product of how we in the media portray it.
We are bound to defend and protect the truth. The truth is the seed we sow. And from that seed, we reap a better democracY.
— Dan McGarry
Understanding politics
The same is true of our understanding of politics and Parliamentary procedure. Vanuatu follows Parliament the way some nations follow football. Our society is more engaged with the process of government than a great many others. The media plays a role in that, and we should be proud of it.
The status of women has advanced by leaps and bounds, both in media industry, and in society at large. Of course, the lioness’ share of the work has been done by two generations of fearless women who have campaigned tirelessly, selflessly to improve their lot.
But we have been there to mark their progress, to celebrate their wins, and to shine a light on the countless obstacles that still impede their progress.
The number of prosecutions and convictions for spousal abuse, sexual violence and other gender-based crimes is rising. These crimes are still happening far too often, but we can fairly say that the new, tougher sentences being handed out are a result of an awareness that we helped raise.
Our nation’s environmental awareness has been assisted greatly by the media. Again, we aren’t the ones saving the planet, but we are celebrating the people who do.
By giving space to the wisdom of kastom and the knowledge of science, we can exercise our right and our duty to protect this land.
The list of our achievements is long. I’m grateful that we finally found time to recognise and celebrate them. We have much to be proud of, and we should take this moment to applaud ourselves for a job well done.
About our failures
Now… let’s talk about our failures.
The Code of Ethics requires that we be frank, honest and fair. It also instructs us not to leave out any uncomfortable facts just because they don’t fit the narrative. But we cannot ignore the fact that we could do much, much more, and we could do far, far better.
Fear still dominates and diminishes us. Don’t pretend it’s not there. And don’t you dare tell me it hasn’t made you back off a story. Every single press conferences reeks of faltering confidence.
We’re all guilty of it. Every single one of us. Back in 2015, I made sure my ABC colleague Liam Fox was in the room when Marcellino Pipite announced that he had exercised his power as Acting Head of State and pardoned himself and his cronies.
I made sure he was there because I knew he would ask the one question that mattered: “Aren’t you just trying to save your own skin?”
I’m grateful to Liam for stepping up. But now I wish I’d been the one who had the courage to ask.
We have to find a way past our fear, and we can only do that together. If we all enter the room ready to ask hard questions, it’s easier for each one of us to quit wishing we could and just do it.
Stand up for each other
We have to learn to stand up for each other. Ten years ago, media pioneer Marc Neil-Jones was savagely assaulted by a minister of state.
That bullying act of injustice upset me deeply. It’s also what inspired me to take Marc’s place when his health forced him to step aside.
But what upset me even more was the failure of the media community to say one thing, and say it clearly: Violence against the media is never OK.
Never.
The only way we can be sure that those days of violent intimidation are past is if we hold that line, and condemn any act of coercion or violence loudly and in one voice.
To this day, I’m ashamed that we didn’t do at least that much for Marc.
Where is Marc’s lifetime achievement award? How much longer are we going to ignore his bravery, his leadership? Is his courage and determination going to be forgotten?
Not by me, it won’t.
Standing up to threats
I know how hard it is to stand up to disapproval, verbal abuse, threats of violence, abusive language, rumours, lies and prejudice. I know how hard it is to stand up to my own peers, to take it on the chin when I find out I’m wrong, and to refuse to bend when I know I’m right.
I’ve learned this lesson: They can take your job. They can take your livelihood. They can stab you in the back. They can grind you down. They can attack your dignity, they can shake your confidence.
But they can’t change the truth. Because it’s not my truth, or yours, or theirs.
You can find another place to work. You can find other ways to ply your trade. You can bear up under pressure, even when nobody else believes you can. You can learn to carry on.
You can do all of that, if you’re faithful to the truth. The truth is what we serve, not the director, the producer, the editor.
The truth is our republic. We have a duty to defend it. All of it. Not just the bits that please us. All of it. All the time. Even when it costs us. Especially when it costs us.
We are bound to defend and protect the truth. The truth is the seed we sow. And from that seed, we reap a better democracy.
Holding power to account
Democracy unchallenged isn’t democracy. The people can’t rule if they can’t ask questions.
This principle underpins the media’s role in keeping democracy healthy, and rebuilding it when it’s under threat. The role of the media is to hold power to account.
In Vanuatu, this basic idea needs to be better understood by the government and the governed alike. We can do this by helping journalists better understand their role, and helping them get what they need to fulfil that role more effectively.
The revised Media Code of Ethics and Practice is a milestone on that road. But it’s meaningless if we don’t stand by it.
To my media colleagues, I say: Forget your jealousies, your rivalries. Reject pride, collusion and corruption wherever you see it, even in yourself. Especially in yourself.
Stand with MAV. Uphold this code, and we will stand together with the truth. Because the truth is our republic.
Dan McGarry is former media director (pending an appeal) of the Vanuatu Daily Post / Buzz FM and independent journalist and he held that position since 2015 until the government blocked his work permit in 2019. His Village Explainer is a semi-regular newsletter containing analysis and insight focusing on under-reported aspects of Pacific societies, politics and economics.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
As many as 714,066 Papuans and 112 organisations which are part of the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) have rejected last week’s enactment into law of revisions to Law Number 21/2001 on Papua Special Autonomy (Otsus), reports CNN Indonesia.
They believe that special autonomy is not the answer to resolving the problems in the land of Papua.
“There’s no such thing as Otsus in the Papuan people’s dictionary. The Papuan people are asking for the right to self-determination,” said Rawarap from the group West Papua Youth and Student National Solidarity (Sonamapa) during a PRP event broadcast on the Suara Papua TV YouTube channel on Friday, July 16.
Rawarap believes that special autonomy is a product conceived out of an illicit affair between the political elite in Papua and Jakarta. According to Rawarap, the policy has not accommodated the Papuan people at all.
“Otsus is like an illegitimate child conceived during a sex party between the Papua elite and the Jakarta elite. We explicitly reject Otsus because Otsus is an illicit product. It’s the result of an illicit affair,” he added.
Rawarap said that the decision by the House of Representatives (DPR) to ratify the revisions into law would not in any way make Papuans feel proud.
More than 20 years of the implementation of special autonomy has failed to bring prosperity to the Papuan people.
‘Still many mama-mama‘
“The fact also is that many have already explained that over the 20 years Otsus has been in force in the land of Papua, there are still many mama-mama [traditional Papuan women traders] who sell on the side of the road,” he said.
“Still using cardboard, sacks as mats, sitting on the road selling areca.
“The fact also is that there are still many Papuan children who drop out of school and cannot continue their studies at tertiary institutions because education is expensive, yet there is money from Otsus.
“But, the fact is that many Papuan children drop out of study or do not continue school, and the unemployment rate is high — what is there to be proud of with Otsus?,” he asked.
Rawarap then touched on the findings of the National Statistics Agency (BPS) which says that the Human Development Index for Papua and West Papua provinces are the lowest in the country despite Otsus being in place for two decades.
“Sonamapa — along with the 112 organisations involved in the Papua People’s Petition reject Otsus — explicitly states that we reject Otsus Chapter II resulting out of secret revisions [to the Otsus Law] by the [DPR’s] special committee,” he said.
PRP spokesperson Sam Awom said that group rejected all forms of compromise with any deliberations on special autonomy which failecd to involve ordinary Papuan people.
‘Return mandate to the people’
“He also asked policy makers to return a mandate to the Papuan people to determine their own future,” he said.
“We demand the immediate return to the Papuan people [of the right] to choose and determine their own future on whether they accept Otsus or independence as a country”, said Awom, reading out a statement.
Awom declared that they would hold a national strike if the demands of the Papuan people were not followed up.
“If the petition [against Otsus] is not followed up, then we will hold a national, peaceful civil strike throughout the territory of West Papua,” he said.
Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD has stated that the government will prioritise dialogue with “separatists” seeking self-determination and independence in Papua and use law enforcement against alleged armed criminal groups (KKB).
“On the Papua issue the government will use an approach prioritising prosperity which is comprehensive and covers all aspects,” he said.
“In confronting separatism, the government will prioritise dialogue.”
The number and quality of Pacific journalists are expected to rise in a never before seen collaboration between four major New Zealand media organisations.
NZ on Air has approved $2.4 million to fund 25 fully-paid journalism cadetships, with a minimum of five Pacific trainees and 10 Māori.
The Te Rito Journalism Project is fronted by Pacific Media Network (PMN), Māori Television, NZME and Newshub.
PMN chief executive Don Mann said this collaboration aligned with his organisation’s mandate to help train a pipeline of excellent Pacific broadcasters and multimedia journalists.
“Te Rito provides sustainability to PMN in provision of best-practice Pasifika multilingual journalism but, more importantly, it allows the network to play our part in rectifying the significant under-representation and imbalance within the journalism sector on behalf of the Pasifika community.”
Māori Television head of news and current affairs Wena Harawira shares the same sentiment, hoping the partnership will address the critical shortage of reo Māori speaking journalists.
“It’s incredibly important that New Zealand’s journalism landscape is rich with Māori stories created by Māori, in te reo Māori, for everyone,” she said.
‘Ability to tell stories’
“The ability to tell stories and share perspectives is fundamentally shaped by language.”
Emphasising how critical it is for journalists to bring their culture into newsrooms is the view of NZME head of cultural partnerships Lois Turei, who says: “Weaving aspects of their culture into their work will result in stories that are rich and multi-layered – that’s a powerful gift to newsrooms.”
The cadets will work across all four newsrooms for one year developing their skills in digital, audio, radio, video, television and print journalism. However, 10 cadets will be based with Māori Television, and 15 with NZME.
Newshub director of news Sarah Bristow said: “This will break down some of the barriers that are preventing young, diverse voices from being part of our media landscape.”
Te Rito will soon begin advertising for a kaihautū (programme manager) to begin the development phase of the project.
Four other trainers and an administrator will also be recruited and applications for cadets will open later this year with the training programme to run for one year from February 2022.
NZ On Air head of journalism Raewyn Rasch (Ngāi Tahu/Kai Tahu) said: “Training is a vital part of the media landscape that has suffered through increasing financial pressures and by injecting resources back into this area, the Public Interest Journalism Fund will have a positive and long-lasting impact.”
Over the past 50 years, France has continued to deny the tragedies of nuclear testing in French Occupied Polynesia by propagating the theory of “clean nuclear tests”. Image: Youngsolwara Pacific
Moana activists, campaigners, scholars, researchers and Green MPs gathered today in a show of solidarity for Tahiti’s Ma’ohi Lives Matter rally at Auckland University of Technology and vowed to work towards independence for the French-occupied Pacific territory.
A live feed from the Tahitian capital of Pape’ete was screened and simultaneous events happened across the Pacific, such as in Fiji.
Many of the Auckland participants were stalwarts from the early days of the Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement from the 1970s and 1980s and declared their support for pro-independence Tahitian leader Oscar Temaru.
Moruroa e Tatou leader Hiro Tefaarere speaking from Pape’ete on a live feed alongside Auckland rally organiser Ena Manuireva, a research scholar from Tahiti. Image: David Robie/APR
Many speakers protested that Tahitians were still awaiting compensation for the legacy of health problems and the devastation of Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls during 30 years of testing and 193 nuclear blasts, both atmospheric and underground.
The speakers said it was appalling that serious attempts for compensation and a state apology had not happened in the two decades since the tests ended in 1996.
However, reports from Paris at the weekend hinted that the French Polynesian President had indicated that France had for the first time conceded it should compensate Tahiti’s social security agency CPS for the medical costs caused by the tests.
The agency had repeatedly said that since 1995 it had paid out US$800 million to treat a total of 10,000 people suffering from cancer as the result of radiation from the tests.
Dancers at the Mā’ohi Lives Matter rally in Pape’ete, Tahiti, today. Video: David Robie/APR
French PM’s letter
Tahiti’s territorial President Édouard Fritch said he received a letter from French Prime Minister Jean Castex, in which he admitted that the demand for a re-imbursement of the outlays was legitimate.
Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, a former leader of the NFIP movement, asked the forum what could be done by people from Aotearoa New Zealand to give support for Ma’ohi Nui (Tahiti) now.
Ena Manuireva, one of the rally organisers and a doctoral researcher into the nuclear tests at AUT, gave an explanation of the current situation and made suggestions for action.
He said it was important to demonstrate solidarity around the Pacific region and to show Paris that there were wider reactions.
Another organiser, Tony Fala, also gave suggestions of how to support the kaupapa of Temaru and the Tahitian activists.
Participants honoured the passing of two great Moana wāhine leaders who had died recently recently passed away — Polynesian Panther Miriama Rauhihi-Ness and Hawai’ian academic Dr Haunani-Kay Trask, both fellow NFIP activists of Halkyard-Harawira.
“We wish to acknowledge all tangata whenua and Kānaka Maoli who are present here today,” said Fala.
Tahitian pro-independence leader and former territorial President Oscar Temaru at the Mā’ohi Lives Matter rally in Pape’ete today. Image: David Robie/APR
Deep-sea mining
Greenpeace campaigner James Hita, coordinator of the project against deep-sea mining, also spoke of the environmental challenge facing the region after a recent move by the Nauru government to activate “fast-tracking”.
Environmental journalist, author and academic Dr David Robie denounced the “decades of lies, bluster and cover-ups” by French authorities, saying recent allegations published by the book Toxique and investigative website The Moruroa Files were a “game changer” forcing action from Paris.
Green MPs Teanu Tuiono and Golriz Ghahraman were also among the speakers, and the rally’s MC was Samoan minister and community activist Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua.
The rally participants acknowledged the connection between indigenous struggles in Mā’ohi Nui, Aotearoa, Australia, Hawai’i, Kanaky New Caledonia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Rapa Nui, Solomons, Vanuatu, West Papua, and the rest of Moana.
They also spoke out in support of the Māori struggles on Aotea Island, Ihumatāo (Auckland), Putiki (Waiheke Island), and Shelly Bay (Wellington).
Green MP Teanau Tuiono (left) with organiser Ena Manuireva at the Mā’ohi Lives Matter solidarity rally at AUT today. Image: David Robie/APR
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
On 10 July 1985 the Greenpeace flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, was sunk at an Auckland wharf.
Two French secret agents planted two limpet mines on the ship while it was berthed at Marsden wharf. The second explosion killed Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira when he got trapped on board while retrieving his cameras.
Author and academic David Robie, a recently retired journalism professor at AUT University, spent more than 10 weeks on board the ship as a journalist shortly before it was attacked, and wrote about his experience in the 1986 book Eyes of Fire.
In the Crimes NZ series of RNZ podcasts, the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior is described as the first act of state terrorism against New Zealand.
RNZ’s Jesse Mulligan talks to Dr Robie about the Rainbow Warrior, the humanitarian voyage to Rongelap to help islanders suffering from the legacy of US nuclear tests and his 1986 book Eyes of Fire (Little Island Press Ltd).
The interview was in 2020 to mark the 10 July 1985 date and has just been re-released by RNZ as a podcast.
Professor David Robie, founding director of the AUT Pacific Media Centre, has relaunched Asia Pacific Report as an independent Pacific affairs and analysis portal with many students or recent graduates around the region among the contributors.
Partnering with Selwyn Manning, publisher of Evening Report.nz, he is nurturing young Pacific journalists following the tradition that they started as an industry partnership with Pacific Scoop in 2009.
Asia Pacific Report has a growing audience in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and also in other Pacific nations.
“There is a continuing need for an independent portal of this kind given the dearth of Pacific outlets in the mainstream New Zealand media,” Dr Robie said.
“Apart from RNZ Pacific, Tagata Pasifika, and the Pacific Media Network, which do a fine job, there is little else.”
Asia Pacific Report has community partnerships with the Asia Media Centre, RNZ, In-Depth News, Earth Journalism Network, University of the South Pacific, The Pacific Newsroom, Wansolwara and others.
Dr Robie retired from AUT in December after 18 years at the university – 13 of them as director of the PMC. He was the first journalism PhD (2004) at AUT and also the first associate professor and then professor in journalism (2012), specialising in Asia-Pacific and development media studies.
Previously he had been head of journalism at both the University of Papua New Guinea and the University of the South Pacific for a decade.
Dr David Robie on the AMIC 50th anniversary Communication Award honours board. Image: AMIC
He founded Pacific Journalism Review(PJR) research journal at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1994 and the publication is continuing independently with the current editorial team. However, Dr Robie has swapped editorial roles with former associate editor Dr Philip Cass who has become editor.
The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches (PNGCC) has declared its support for the covid-19 vaccination rollout, following a conference in Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea recorded 72 new covid-19 cases on Thursday, increasing the total number of cases to 16,933 with 173 known deaths.
In a statement, the PNG Council of Churches said: “We pledge our complete support to assist the government of Papua New Guinea and local communities to address community concerns, to work with all partners to ensure that all people are reached and vaccinated consistently.
“We define ourselves as churches, living and working together for the common good of people and society, therefore we affirm our support for the covid-19 vaccination and declare our trust in the safety and efficacy of covid-19 vaccination as a lifesaving tool which protects human from severe sickness and death due to covid-19,” said the PNG Council of Churches in its statement issued on Friday.
“Our affirmation is guided by the theology of ‘Love for Neighbour’ to reach out to others and the ‘theology of liberation’ to reduce the suffering of our neighbours inflicted by the covid-19 pandemic.”
The PNG Council of Churches also said that most of PNG’s health workers, frontline workers, essential workers, people with underlying illnesses and the aged population were not turning up en-masse for vaccination despite being more at risk of dying from the virus.
The churches also noted that much misinformation was being circulated through the social media that was leading to public hesitancy over the vaccine, thereby endangering the lives of millions of people in PNG.
The churches also recognised the negative social and economic impact that covid-19 had caused in PNG, resulting in the loss of lives and livelihood of Papua New Guineans.
A group photograph of the participants of the conference, themed “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, organised by the PNG Council of Churches which comprises seven mainline churches. Image: PNGCC
The church leaders also said that the PNGCC had thoroughly examined the covid-19 vaccination rollout from the Christian theological, cultural, social, academic, medical and political perspectives, and had specifically analysed the doubts and suspicions that were raised.
Solidarity, duty, safety, access and communication Based on this knowledge as well as from the information provided by trusted medical experts, the PNGCC has decided to adopt the five principles of the covid-19 vaccination which are – Solidarity, Duty, Safety, Access and Communication:
Solidarity: The PNGCC strongly affirm global and national call and support for protecting humankind and protecting the people from serious illness and deaths from Covid-19 infection and that these protective measures fully confirm with Christian principles.
Duty: The PNGCC accepts that this is the duty of all persons who are eligible for immunization to join our nationwide ‘Sleeves Up Campaign’ to help stop Covid-19 in PNG to protect themselves and their loved ones from severe sickness and death. It is the duty of the government to provide critical health and social support to uphold the welfare of its citizens.
Safety: The PNGCC acknowledge, based on advice from credible, recognized and reputable medical experts, the safety and effectiveness of all covid-19 vaccines, and that countries with high immunisation rates are beginning to see a decline to almost zero of serious cases and deaths due to covid-19 infection; and that common side effects are not severe and normal.
Access: The PNGCC acknowledges that deadly diseases like Covid-19 can only be controlled and stopped by vaccinating most of the population, especially high-risk groups. It therefore appeals to all responsible departments, agencies and organizations to ensure that full access to covid-19 vaccine is provided to all Papua New Guineans especially the high-risk group in all provinces. The PNGCC calls on local communities and their leaders to work with respected Christian organisations to ensure adequate awareness, access and uptake of covid-19 vaccinations.
Communication: The PNGCC appeals to the media, communities, and key leaders to seek the correct information, and not to spread misinformation and rumours that can cause confusion among our communities and ultimately endanger the lives of millions of people. The PNGCC calls on the media to fully engage the national and international religious leaders and medical experts and institutions to address community concerns about covid-19 vaccinations.
The PNGCC is a Christian ecumenical council in Papua New Guinea, and its members comprise the Anglican Church of PNG, the Gutnius Lutheran Church (affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod), the Union Baptist, the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG, the United Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands and the Salvation Army.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Four fresh indigenous Papuan students have graduated with degrees from Aotearoa New Zealand universities in the past few weeks to fulfil the dreams of Papuan provincial government leaders Lukas Enembe and Dominggus Mandacan.
The two governors of both Indonesian-Melanesian provinces, Enembe (Papua) province and Mandacan (West Papua) made a bold and enterprising decision to send Papuan students to pursue their higher education overseas, especially to English-speaking countries.
The four Papuan students, recipients of scholarships from the provincial governments, have graduated with masters and bachelor degrees in a variety of disciplines.
This article uses the term Papuans to refer to the indigenous people of both provinces which are generally collectively known in Australia and New Zealand as West Papua. Indigenous Papuans are of Melanesian ethnic background and non-Papuans are of other ethnic backgrounds who are living in the Melanesian land of Papua.
Nathan Sonyap (a scholarship recipient of Papua province) has graduated with a Master of International Tourism Management Studies from Waikato University and Yan Wenda (also Papua) has gained a Bachelor of Commerce in Management degree from Otago University.
Gebriella Thenau (a West Papua provincial scholarship recipient) has graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Management from Lincoln University and Yuliktus Korain (also West Papua) with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing at Canterbury University.
All four told Asia Pacific Report they were grateful to study and graduate from universities in New Zealand. They dedicated their achievement to their families and the indigenous people of Papua.
Facing cultural barriers
Coming from the Melanesian and Pacific region, they said Papuans sometimes faced a lot of cultural barriers and even racial attacks. This put Papuan students under considerable pressure while studying.
However, in New Zealand they found that the “kindness and generosity of Kiwis” at the universities or in the social environment made them feel “safer and peaceful”. They expressed gratitude towards everyone who had helped them on their life and study journey.
The four graduates said that some of the challenges that they encountered included language — as English was a second or even third language for them — weather, the academic system, and culture, and other things.
Gebriella Thenau — “Gebi” as she is known — said that having an opportunity to study in New Zealand had not been even in her dreams, given that it was very expensive. She was so grateful to the government of West Papua province for awarding her the scholarship.
She said her parents always reminded her to study seriously because the government used Papuan people’s money, which her parents called “Blood Money”. She said when she received inquiries from them about when she was going to finish study, she always felt under pressure.
“My parents always reminded me to study seriously. My dad always says remember that you are using indigenous Papuan’s money,” she said.
“Despite having pressure from my family and study, I always believe that having a qualification from one of the top universities in NZ will pay off … And finally, I made it and my parents and family are proud of that,” said Thenau.
Crying for better education
Thenau, who completed her elementary to high school studies in Sorong, one of the cities that predominantly hosts non-Papuans from other parts of Indonesia, said that having supportive parents on her journey was very important.
“This is a great opportunity as our parents didn’t have an opportunity like us to study overseas — our mothers are sweating and crying on the street for their kids to get a better education, and women don’t have many opportunities in the public space,” said Thenau.
“So, I hope our success stories will wipe away their tears and sweat.”
Nathan Sonyap … first student from his tribe and church. Image: Asia Pacific Report
Nathan Sonyap, the first student from his tribe and church, said he was extremely grateful to Governor Enembe and the late Vice-Governor Klemen Tinal for the opportunity to study in New Zealand.
“It is truly an honour and privilege for me to study here,” he said.
Sonyap, who did his elementary to high school in Papua and bachelor’s degree in the city of Makasar-Indonesia, said he had learned so many things during his stay in New Zealand.
“Honestly, it wasn’t that easy,” he said.
Many challenges
Yuliktus Korain — “Yulko” as he is known — is an exceptional student. He was orphaned but plans to “bring light to his people”. Korain told Asia Pacific Report that in order for him to reach the level where he was now, he had gone through many challenges.
Yuliktis Korain … “I had completely lost hope.” Image: Asia Pacific Report
One of the challenges was because he and his younger brother lost their parents when they were still at a very young age.
“Man…it was extremely hard for me and my younger brother to face the reality when my mom passed away in 2003, just when I started my elementary school and later in 2008 my dad passed away when I was in grade 4.
“I completely lost hope. I decided to stop going to school because of financial difficulties and losing my parents. For one year, I just stayed at home and played with other kids in the village,” he said.
Korain said that he was lucky as his uncle — “an angel of the Lord” as he describes him — offered him study. He stayed with his uncle while completing his grade 4, and during grade 5 and 6, he stayed with an aunt.
Korain continued his middle school to high school while staying in a seminary. He said his groceries, stationery and other needs were looked after by the seminary.
Never celebrated birthdays
Yan Piterson Wenda, who is also the president of Papuan Student Association in Oceania, said that celebration of his graduation was something that he would always remember because he had never even celebrated his birthday previously.
Yan Wenda … “my parents and family couldn’t watch the live graduation … because the internet is still blocked in Papua.” Image: Asia Pacific Report
“I pay my tribute firstly to my mom because I was raised by a single mother. She is a great person in my life.
“I wish my mom could have witnessed personally the results of her prayers and hard work of selling cassava, peanuts, and other garden products. But unfortunately, it wasn’t the reality.
“My parents and family couldn’t watch the live graduation on Facebook … because the internet is still blocked in Papua,” said Wenda.
While paying tribute to the Papua provincial government, Wenda said his presence in New Zealand was the result of an enlightened “crazy programme” based on social justice to give underprivileged students a chance to study.
“I am academically not so good, but as you can see, I am granted this opportunity because the government of Papua province wants to give us an equal chance for those who come from underprivileged families and affluent families,” said Wenda.
Wenda who is now preparing himself to continue his Masters in International Business at Otago University said he followed three guiding principles — believing in God, having a firm motivation for being in NZ, and having supportive people around him.
All four Papuan graduates said they hoped the programme would continue as it would help raise the dignity of indigenous Papuans who have struggled through painful moments.
Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report.
Today marks 50 years to the day that six Pacific Islanders grouped together in central Auckland to form the Polynesian Panther Party.
The party was founded on 16 June 1971 by members Will ‘Ilolahia, Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae, Paul Dapp, Eddie Williams and Vaughan Sanft. They were later joined by Tigilau Ness, Lupematasila Misatauveve Melani Anae and Alec Toleafoa.
They took inspiration from the United States civil rights movement Black Panthers during a period of police brutality against the African American population.
Similar scenes of racial unrest occurred in Aotearoa, and long before the infamous Dawn Raids too. In the early 1870s, an Evening Post article said: “Bad as the Chinese are, the South Sea savages are worse, and any extensive importation of them would have a most pernicious effect.”
Polynesian Panthers … inspired by the US civil rights movement Black Panthers during a period of police brutality against the African American population. Image: RNZ/Facebook
New Zealand faced major economic troubles almost a century on from that report, and Pasifika immigrants brought under the allure of jobs in industrial labour were resorted to as the scapegoat.
“It was a time of revolution,” Associate Professor Lupematasila Misatauveve Dr Melani Anae told RNZ’s Untold Pacific History.
Dr Melani Anae talks about the Dawn Raids period in NZ’s history. Image: RNZ/Tikilounge Productions
“To heck with authority, to heck with conservatism, to heck with the Vietnam War, that was the kind of climate we were growing up in,” she said.
“We delivered the West End newspaper around Ponsonby and Herne Bay to get money to pay for the office. The work we did as the Polynesian Panthers was conscientising, it was making people aware of who we were.”
Musician Tigilau Ness recalls that they were criticised for “hating white people”.
Tigilau Ness discusses his involvement during the Dawn Raids protests in New Zealand. Image: RNZ/Tikilounge Productions
“We had to put up with that kind of stigma as well, not only from the Europeans, the white people, but from our own people. ‘Why you do this to the Palagi? Why you go fight the police?’,” he said.
The Panthers insisted on peaceful strike and protest action, as opposed to their US counterparts.
They drove in supporters’ vehicles and “dawn raided” the homes of politicians by shining torches and yelling through loudspeakers, to prove why their work was necessary.
Legal rights pamphlets were distributed, homework centres were held in church halls and food co-ops were run. They also provided free transportation for the families of prison inmates who wanted to visit them, and on release free accommodation would be offered.
The Polynesian Panther Party will hold a three-day fonotaga commemoration event this weekend at the University of Auckland’s Fale Pasifika.
Whakaako kia Whakaora – Educate to Liberate. Image: RNZ/Polynesian Panthers
Dawn Raid apology The Panthers’ golden jubilee couldn’t be more forthcoming, given an announcement made this week of a formal government apology for the 1970s Dawn Raids.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the time had come for an apology for a Labour Party immigration policy that targeted Pasifika people who had overstayed their visas by mere fact of their ethnicity.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern … “To this day Pacific communities face prejudices and stereotypes … an apology can never reduce what happened.” Image: Dom Thomas/RNZ
“To this day Pacific communities face prejudices and stereotypes… an apology can never reduce what happened, or undo the decades of disadvantage experienced as a result, but it can contribute to healing for Pacific peoples,” she said.
Ardern was joined at the theatrette lecturn by Pacific Peoples Minister ‘Aupito Toeolesulusulu Tofae Su’a William Sio, who wiped away tears while sharing his own personal story of being raided as a teenager.
“I’m quite emotional… I’m trying to control my emotions today,” he said.
His parents had only just bought a home, taken as an achievement for the family, when a year or two later they’d been woken up to a police officer flashing a torch in their eyes.
“To have somebody knocking at the door in the early hours of the morning with a flashlight in your face, disrespecting the owner of the home, with an Alsatian dog frothing at the mouth,” ‘Aupito recounted.
‘Aupito William Sio … “I don’t think there is any Pacific family who was not impacted on by the events of the Dawn Raids.” Image: Dom Thomas/RNZ
“The memories are etched in my memory of my father being helpless.
“I don’t think there is any Pacific family who was not impacted on by the events of the Dawn Raids, and there is a strong moral imperative to acknowledge those past actions were wrong. Through an apology, they recognise those actions were unacceptable under the universal declaration of human rights, and are absolutely intolerable within today’s human rights protections.
“Come for the ceremony,” ‘Aupito said, welcoming the Panthers to the government apology.
Ardern added “[the Panthers] will probably remind us to ‘educate to liberate’.”
The Prime Minister will make her formal government apology for the Dawn Raids on June 26 at the Auckland Town Hall, 50 years on from the start of the revolution against racial injustices against Pasifika in Aotearoa.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The leader of Fiji’s opposition National Federation Party has condemned the government’s strategy for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic as having “failed” and warns it will lead to “catastrophic results”.
“The government plan is complacent and short-sighted,” said Professor Biman Prasad in a statement tonight in response to the “ominous total” of 1000 covid-19 cases, 700 of them currently active.
“The government thinks that the situation Fiji is facing now will stay the same. It is not planning for things to get worse.
“Yet every lesson, from every country in the world, should tell it otherwise.”
Dr Prasad’s statement followed a claim by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday that Fiji could not afford a lockdown, reports The Fiji Times.
The prime minister has shut out calls for a complete 28-day lockdown of Viti Levu, saying that would spell “economic disaster and miserable isolation”.
“And I cannot allow that to happen. I will not,” Bainimarama said.
‘Disaster without a lockdown’
Dr Prasad said: “The opposite is true. There will be health, economic and social disaster without a lockdown.”
The government believed in its containment strategy, he said.
“It could not keep the virus in the Suva-Nausori containment area when the numbers were low. The virus still escaped to the West. It is now multiplying there.
“If the containment strategy is working, how did the virus come to Naitasiri?
“Now, with more than 700 cases, the government’s strategy is to hope and pray that nothing else will go wrong. But even in well-run operations, things go wrong. And then what will the government do?
Dr Prasad said Fiji was now putting lives at risk.
“Most importantly the lives and health of our frontliners – doctors, nurses, health workers – is at risk,”he said.
‘Limited trained staff’
“We have only a limited number of trained health staff who can manage this crisis. What happens when they are taken out of action?
“Right now my greatest fear is for these people, who have been working long hours, at ever greater risk to themselves, to execute a politicians’ plan they do not believe in. Why isn’t the government thinking of them and listening to them?
Every day we delay a lockdown, we simply prolong the crisis. We know the coronavirus kills people. We now know that for many who survive, their long-term health is permanently damaged.”
If the government continued to be stubborn and blind, “we will end up in a crisis we can no longer handle by ourselves”.
“Australia and New Zealand will be forced to intervene to save Fiji from a health crisis that has become too big for it.
“And how many lives would have been lost by then, all because of the stubbornness and arrogance of this government?”
Yogendra Reddy raises his concerns at the Nawaka Tramline settlement lockdown checkpoint in Nadi. Image: Reinal Chand/Fiji Times
A plea for food protest in Nadi The Fiji Times reports that residents currently on lockdown in a few settlements located beside Nawaka, Nadi, had taken to the streets yesterday to voice their frustration and their need for basic food items and groceries.
Police officers from Nadi stepped in to control the situation and reminded people their act was unlawful.
Food rations from the government arrived a few hours after the protest was staged by the concerned residents.
Meanwhile, in a virtual conference on covid-19, heads of political parties have called on the government to pull its resources together to ensure people in lockdown areas are being assisted.
UN help sought amid covid, climate crises RNZ Pacific reports that Fiji has called on the United Nations to use its convening power to align affordable, accessible and efficient development finance to help the government address the covid-19 crisis and climate emergency in the country.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum made the plea during a virtual meeting with the UN Assistant Secretary-General, UN Development Programme (UNDP) assistant administrator and director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia-Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja last week.
During the discussion, Sayed-Khaiyum highlighted Fiji’s response to covid-19 and potential areas of support that the UNDP could provide to enable swift and inclusive post-covid recovery.
He said Fiji intended to encourage public-private investments in economic diversification by creating a sustainable ‘blue economy’.
In the latest twist in Samoa’s political rollercoaster, the FAST party has accused the rival HRPP leader of contempt of court, reports Pacific Media Network News.
Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi has been accused of ignoring a Supreme Court ruling to convene Parliament, when FAST should have been sworn in as government.
Also accused alongside Tuila’epa is the Speaker of Parliament, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the Attorney-General.
The motion was filed by Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, leader of the FAST party, who has also accused Tuila’epa of undermining the judiciary through disparaging comments.
Speaking on 531pi’s Pacific Days, Fiame claimed her opposite number was still refusing to accept his defeat in the April 9 general election.
Negotiations between Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi broke down earlier this week after they disagreed on a transition to a new government
Fiame claims there was nothing out of the ordinary regarding her request.
Transition to new government
“We were looking for a discussion to transition to a new government and then moving out.
“It’s not as though he [Tuila’epa] should be surprised. I think the man is in serious denial, as though it’s very unusual for a party that has won the election to say, ‘Listen mate, these are the results and you should be moving out and let’s have a discussion about that’.”
Fiame doubts there will be further negotiations given the stance taken by herself and her opposite, Tuila’epa.
“Well, you never say no to a negotiation if there’s some rational outcome to be gained from it, but from the positions that we’ve taken and especially the interpretations of the appeal court’s decision, I don’t see it.”
Fiame told Pacific Days that she found it an irony about what was being discussed between the two political party leaders.
“This whole impasse is centered around representation for women, so as a woman, I’m quite fascinated,” she said.
“I’m always pleased if there’s an increase of women in Parliament, but people need to understand that this is a particular provision within the law and there are issues around it.”
Prepared for court rulings
The FAST party leader said she was prepared to go through the formal process of the court ruling on election petitions in order to come to a resolution.
“He’s [Tuila’epa] wanting to delay the process of government, of Parliament meeting and for us to move in and he was saying to us, it was in our interest to cut short this process and do what he was offering of 26 members each going into the House,” Fiame says.
“So I said to him, ‘Listen, however long it takes, you can be sure that we will be pursuing that and through the law’.”
When asked whether the FAST party would be willing to go through a second election, Fiame replied: “Why would we? We won the election. We’re not silly.”
Social media posts by two outspoken Suva-based lawyers have been raised in Parliament over a critical culture “that has been created”.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told Parliament the lawyers, Jon Apted and Richard Naidu, were from a law firm that specialised in commercial law.
“But talking about confidence, let me read out these two Twitter or Facebook posts, I think: this one says, ‘Oh, well, who are we li’l folks to com-plane’.
“The next one says, ‘May be it could do a fly-past of the Minister of Economy to symbolise their strategy which, as far as I can see, is hope and prayer’.
“If we have principals of these types of law firms who Honourable Prasad [opposition National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad] and them get the advice from, they used to be the former lawyers of NFP on record, what is the hope of instilling confidence in the private sector?
“I think, I was told that they may have pulled this down after that, we got screenshots of it, but Mr Speaker, Sir, this is the kind of culture that has been created.
“We need to be able to refocus, if you really are concerned about the future, to be able to ensure that we are focused on the future, be able to provide the assistance to the people who require it now, but only God knows what is going to happen in six months’ time.
“Is there going to be another fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth variant? What are you going to do then? So, Mr Speaker, Sir, we cannot just simply think about it here and now.”
Besides being a leading Fiji lawyer, Richard Naidu, is a former award-winning journalist and widely regarded as a social justice and media commentator.
Last month, he was the keynote speaker by Zoom for the Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji’s Dr Timoci Bavadra memorial lecture in honour of Fiji’s 1987 prime minister who was deposed in the first coup.
Pacific Media Watch says that the minister should be more concerned with Fiji’s spiralling covid infection crisis than spending time criticising social media posts.
In Samoan Language Week, The New Zealand Herald’s Vaimoana Tapaleao welcomes the revival of all things fa’asamoa.
Anyone with an ethnic name will tell you it can be anything from a conversation starter to a lesson on pronunciation, or just a struggle.
For me, it’s a story that belongs to my aiga (family) – one of migration, cultural differences and new beginnings.
Named after my dad’s only sister, aunty Moana got her name from my great uncle Tapaleao Moega Anisi — the first person on that side of the aiga to arrive in New Zealand in the 1950s.
He left Samoa on the MV Tofua bound for Fiji; before getting on a flight headed to Whenuapai in Auckland.
When he arrived, he found everything to be different. The palm trees, humidity and the scorching sun he was so familiar with were nowhere to be seen.
It’s this part of the story I tend to explain by putting both hands out, palms facing up like some kind of human balance scale — one side being Samoa and the other Aotearoa.
“Everything and everyone he knew and loved was now va i moana — separated by the sea.”
Gagana Samoa or fa’asamoa has always been an integral part of my life; not just in my name.
One of the earliest memories I have is of our grandpa Paleao teaching me and a few cousins the Lord’s prayer in Samoan, as we sat cross-legged on the sitting room floor.
I could never properly say the word “fa’aosoosoga” — temptation.
My parents only spoke to me in Samoan as a young child, so when I started primary school, the only language this New Zealand-born kid knew was gagana Samoa.
For some reason it was at times seen as embarrassing if your mum or dad rocked up to school speaking to you in Samoan, or any other language for that matter that wasn’t English.
I had friends who would anglify their very Samoan name to fit in or to make it easier for the teacher to pronounce.
That shame, for want of a better word, has resulted in the now adults who are unable to hold a simple conversation in their mother tongue.
The bright side is that there has been a resurgence for all things fa’asamoa among Samoans growing up away from the islands.
There are language classes that start from the very basic “Talofa” to the more advanced lessons teaching the intricate dialect used by matai (chiefs).
That love for Samoana also extends to a heightened interest in learning cultural siva (dance), getting tatau (traditional tattoos) or creating tusi (books), poetry, pese (song) and even rap in Samoan.
Even the palagi-est of palagi is likely to know what “uso” – the Samoan word for brother – means now; as it’s widely used on social media and on the sports field.
In my own life, speaking Samoan fluently was just a given. Most of my cousins speak fluently and so too do the tupulaga (youth) at church.
However, the value of being able to speak Samoan was only shown to me when I started working as a reporter and realised I had a special way of connecting with people on a different level.
It is one of my greatest assets to have as a journalist; especially when speaking with older Samoans, who breathe a sigh of relief when they hear the familiar words of home.
In some cases, their eyes fill with tears when they realise they can talk to me.
There have also been the low-key jabs, of course, like when a woman I interviewed jokingly mixed up the word tusitala (journalist) with faitatala — gossip.
Jokes aside, fa’asamoa is not just about one’s linguistic abilities.
Every child is taught the old proverb: “E iloa le Samoa i lana tu, tautala ma lana savali.” You can tell a Samoan by the way they stand, speak and walk.
It’s a reminder that fa’asamoa and being Samoan is about service, action, respect and much more than words.
Vaimoana Tapaleao is a journalist with The New Zealand Herald. This Samoan Language Week article is republished with permission.
Buoyed as he is by [Wednesday’s] court decision, Samoa’s caretaker Prime Minister has shown a character flaw weighing down upon our national politics: an inability to face up to hard truths.
Despite Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi having just alleged the judiciary was conspiring against him, the Appellate Court ruled in favour of his argument that a minimum of six women MPs need to be appointed to meet a mandated quota in our 51-seat Parliament. We don’t expect that contradiction to be explained anytime soon.
The victory has been seized upon by supporters of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), many of whom have incorrectly concluded the decision will lead to the installation of Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau and a Parliament in which the opposing party cannot form government.
They must read the court’s words, reprinted in today’s edition, more closely. In fact, the court voided Aliimalemanu’s warrant of election.
Aliimalemanu herself acknowledged this very point when she told the Samoa Observer that she did not mind which woman MP ended up being elected nor which party they were from, rather she was pleased to have struck a blow for female representation.
And, like the court we applaud her for her devotion to that worthy cause.
The reason Aliimalemanu’s election was voided was because it will not be until after the Supreme Court sorts through some 28 petitions and more counter-petitions that the rule requiring six women will be applied.
There are another six petitions involving women challenging or defending an election result alone, let alone other women candidates who could be elected if byelections are called if a legal challenge to a result is upheld. The number of women elected to the 17th Parliament of Samoa could be higher than the threshold, or it could be much much lower.
Exactly what role this unforeseen constitutional mandate will figure in the final election results is entirely unknowable.
That means two things of extreme significance for the immediate political future of this nation – neither of which Tuilaepa was willing to face up to when speaking on Wednesday afternoon.
For the time being, the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party will retain its 26-25 lead over the HRPP until the election is completely finalised.
How long the courts take to settle the dozens of legal challenges before them will likely be a matter of weeks, not months.
Tuilaepa is increasingly being less seen as a strongman who can be depended upon to steer Samoa through choppy waters as an immovable object with whom much of the political deadlock originated.
Until that time, they notionally — depending, of course — on the outcome of a legal case about the validity of the party’s swearing in, the opponents should notionally have some political breathing room to establish government.
But speaking on Wednesday, Tuilaepa sounded like a man who had not familiarised himself with even the most elementary aspects of the judgment.
He asserted the decision cemented Aliimalemanu’s election and a 26-26 tie between FAST and the HRPP and his rightful place and the ongoing future “custodian” of government in Samoa.
No person with basic literacy skills could have reached either of these conclusions after reading what the court had to say in a succinct and articulate 12-page judgment.
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the leader of FAST, took a different and more reasonable view of the judgment, which, as it was, a victory in principle for the HRPP but one with few practical consequences for Samoa’s immediate future.
FAST, she said, had the numbers in Parliament for now and was ready to proceed to transition to a new government, just as previous Parliaments have sat while petitions are in progress.
That puts the two leaders on a collision course that cannot spell good outcomes for this nation.
But the decision also casts in stark relief the fact that the caretaker Prime Minister has shown himself at his most arrogant during a week when he should have learned about humility.
For so many years, Tuilaepa’s tendency toward over-the-top statements have merged with his public-political persona. But it is only in recent weeks as he has begun to feel his power ebb in the wake of an election defeat that we have seen the true depth of the caretaker Prime Minister’s unrelenting self-regard.
He dared to allege only a little more than a week ago that there was a conspiracy against him being cooked up by the nation’s judiciary after his party lost four court battles in a row while trying to use the courts to prevent a new government forming.
Tuilaepa then sought to assume for himself a merged role of judge, jury and Prime Minister by condemning FAST for holding an improvised swearing-in ceremony in order to uphold the constitution.
“I am well versed with this law because I own it; it’s mine,” he said.
Only weeks earlier he said that he was “appointed by God” to lead Samoa and that the judiciary had no authority over his appointment.
The recent decisions of the Supreme Court should have disabused him of the idea that the rule of law is something one man can own.
But the public of Samoa, in one way or another, be it by way of the ballot box or making their feelings known will prove decisive in the resolution of this seemingly endless political saga.
In this time of crisis Tuilaepa’s bombastic persona is no longer proving a political asset but rather something which grates upon the voters of Samoa, and he is losing support evidently.
He is increasingly being less seen as a strongman who can be depended upon to steer Samoa through choppy waters as an immovable object with whom much of the political deadlock originated.
The HRPP have been champing at the bit for another election to be called as a recourse to holding onto power.
But despite winning an absolute number of votes in the April election, almost every step taken by the party and its leader in the interim has done little to endear Tuilaepa to the public. If things continue as they are, the political confidence he had in April is likely to have evaporated by this month’s end.
We saw just as much at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral at Mulivai on Monday evening when he became the subject of a sermon and a general character appraisal by the Archbishop of the Catholic Church, Alapati Lui Mataeliga.
Tuilaepa, not known for welcoming differences of opinion, looked every inch a man in a furnace.
With his eyes closed and fan working overtime, he almost appeared to be hoping to deflect the Archbishop’s words.
It did not, of course.
His Grace’s sentiments are still lingering, long since his homily concluded.
The Archbishop referred to himself as Tuilaepa’s “spiritual father” and indeed he performed his role in this respect by dispensing some home truths to a man — and a nation — in need of them.
Speaking on the eve of Independence Day, His Grace noted that Samoa has had a history of oppression before; we have been colonised by Tongan, German and New Zealand forces in our recent history. Our paramount chiefs have had their natural status constrained and our people have suffered under the yoke of colonial governments which have misused their powers for personal gain.
The historical parallel was obvious.
The Archbishop lamented the current state of the nation which became the first in the Pacific to free itself from colonial rule but only after a long struggle.
“There is no peace and there is no unison and it appears as if our forefather’s shed blood for no reason,” he said.
“We are affected by [our leaders] abusing power due to high-mindedness and dictatorship.
“Without Samoa, there would be no leaders and the people should be well aware of that, the power in which is being abused by these leaders was given to them by us, the members of the public.”
Perhaps Monday’s homily dispossessed him of the conviction that he has a divine right to the Prime Minister’s chair.
It is impossible that Tuilaepa does not realise that his recent actions have sown division in this country.
The government’s recent decree that there be no public celebration of Independence Day clearly reflected a political fear of that day’s symbolism. The notional excuse provided, that large gatherings posed a risk to the public health, was undermined completely the day before when the Prime Minister addressed more than one thousand political supporters.
To have the head of your faith tell hurtful and shabby truths about your conduct must, even for a man of Tuilaepa’s bravado, be a wounding experience. For the sake of the country’s immediate future, we must hope against every indication it was also, deep down, a humbling one.
The Samoa Observer editorial of 2 June 2021. Republished with permission.
Indonesia has cut off the internet in West Papua to conceal its crackdown on the peaceful liberation movement, says a leading Papuan campaigner.
Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), has condemned the internet gag while Indonesia’s leading English-language daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post, has also criticised Jakarta’s actions.
In an editorial last Friday, the Post said that many people “suspect that the disruption to the [Papua] internet service in April was actually a deliberate move to silence anti-government critics and activists”.
“The government has been cutting off Papua from the outside world for decades by measures that included restricting foreign visitors, especially foreign journalists,” the newspaper said.
Jakarta remained “stubbornly insistent on maintaining its isolation policy for Papua”.
Erik Walela, secretary of the ULMWP’s “Department of Political Affairs”, is now in hiding, and two of his relatives — Abi, 32, and Anno, 31 — were arrested by the Indonesian colonial police on June 1.
Victor Yeimo, spokesperson of the KNPB, had already been arrested.
Stigmatised as ‘terrorists’
“I am concerned that all the ULMWP leaders and departments inside West Papua are now at risk after Indonesia has tried to stigmatise us as ‘terrorists’,” said Wenda.
“The head of Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has stated that it considers the entire liberation movement, including anyone associated with me, to be terrorists.
“Anyone who stands up to injustice in West Papua is now in danger. Indonesia is cutting off the internet to conceal its crackdown and military operations, continuing its long tradition of concealing information from the world by banning international journalists and spreading propaganda.
“The only way anyone can currently access the internet inside is by standing near a military, police, or government building.”
Wenda said Indonesian authorities had tried to label Papuan pro-independence groups “separatists”, “armed criminal groups”, and in 2019, “monkeys’”.
“Now they are labelling us ‘terrorists’. This is nothing but more discrimination against the entire people of West Papua and our struggle to uphold our basic right to self-determination,” he said.
“I want to remind the United Nations and the Pacific and Melanesian leaders that Indonesia is misusing the issue of terrorism to crush our fundamental struggle for the liberation of our land from illegal occupation and colonisation.”
Samoa’s Court of Appeal (CA) ruled yesterday that Article 44(1A) of the Constitution requires that six women should sit in Parliament. With all due respect, I believe that the CA’s decision was incorrect.
This is on the grounds that the CA has overreached its powers by encroaching on the law-making powers of Parliament and has made an unpragmatic (or impractical) decision that has now prolonged and further complicated Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
While the CA’s decision is final and cannot be appealed, I believe that it is still important that this decision be critiqued because the decision has set a dangerous precedent for future judges interpreting the Constitution — a precedent which essentially signals to them that they can disregard the clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.
To be clear, nothing in this critique should be taken as my disapproval or dissatisfaction with the fact that more women are now required to sit in Parliament.
It goes without saying that having only six women in a Parliament with 51 seats is shameful for any country and is representative of a deeply entrenched gender inequity problem in Samoa that must be addressed.
Fuimaono Dylan Asafo … “it’s important for all Samoans to understand both the dangerous precedent that’s been set by the CA and the wider implications.” Image: RNZ
However, I believe that it is important for all Samoans to understand both the dangerous precedent that has been set by the CA and the wider implications of the decision on Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
Accordingly, I set out three reasons here why I believe that that the CA’s decision was incorrect:
1. The CA encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by ignoring the explicit wording of Article 44 of the Constitution As stated in the Supreme Court’s judgment, the court’s function is to “give primary attention to the words used, and the Court does not have the power and ability to go beyond the clear and unequivocal words used”. This function was made clear in three previous landmark Court of Appeal cases on constitutional interpretation: Attorney-General v Saipaia Olomalu, Mulitalo v Attorney General, and Jackson & Ors v Attorney General.
This statement of the court’s function recognises the fundamental importance of the doctrine of separation of powers in any democracy. The doctrine of separation of powers follows that it is only for the democratically elected Parliament to make and amend the law (including the Constitution) and the courts, as the unelected independent body, should only interpret and apply the law as Parliament intended and not make or amend the law themselves.
In this case, the “clear and unequivocal words” of Article 44(1A)(a) that the Court of Appeal had to apply are: “…women Members of the Legislative Assembly shall: (a) consist of a minimum of 10 percent of the Members of the Legislative Assembly specified under clause (1) which for the avoidance of doubt is presently 5”.
Therefore, the CA’s decision to ignore the explicit wording of Article 44(1A) demonstrates that it consciously chose not to take the correct approach to interpret the Constitution that has been laid down in key landmark cases.
In the CA’s judgment, they state that “there is a principled way to resolve the two ideas which are presently before the court…guided by well-established principles of interpretation from earlier rulings of this Court”.
In my view, the CA’s approach to constitutional interpretation was not at all “principled”, but bizarre and dubious in a way that hopefully would not be adopted by any courts after them. This dubious approach was supported and encouraged by the arguments submitted by counsel for the appellants, that in my view, were insincere and unduly motivated by political gain.
In adopting this dubious approach, the CA deliberately ignored the great (if not determinative) significance of the passing of the Constitution Amendment Act 2019. This 2019 Act amended Article 44 to increase the number of seats in Parliament from 49 to 51 specifically for the “2021 general elections”
The wording of Article 44 in the Samoan Constitution.
If they gave proper consideration to the impact of the 2019 Act, the CA would have recognised that if Parliament wanted to increase the minimum number of seats for women to six, they would have changed “five” to “six” while amending Article 44 for the “2021 general elections” when they had the chance. However, Parliament did not do this, and the courts are not authorised to do this for them.
Parliament’s choice to leave “five” in Article 44(1A)(a) untouched while amending other parts of the Article 44 specifically should be taken as a clear indication that they intended the minimum number of women to remain “five” and not “six” for the “2021 general elections”. Again, it should be emphasised that under the doctrine of the separation of powers, only Parliament can amend the Constitution as the democratically elected body – not the unelected judiciary.
In an attempt to reason or justify their disregard for the clear and unambiguous wording of the Constitution, the CA looked to the overall purpose of Article 44(1A) and said that: “We consider that Article 44 1A [of the constitution] is ambiguous as to the ideas it promotes and that primacy should be given to whichever of the competing ideas best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa.”
However, the CA knew, or should have known, that it is not for them, as a body of unelected apolitical justices, to consider political matters like what “best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa”. It is only for Parliament to do so as the democratically elected body which has been chosen by the people of Samoa to debate and legislate on these political issues.
This particular separation of powers is in place for a very good reason — Parliament is the only body that has the capabilities, time and resources to consider submissions from people in Samoa, (including experts and groups specialising in the relevant issues) in order to make the best laws possible that represent the will of the people. In contrast, the courts do not have the capabilities, time and resources to fully consider matters of great importance before making or amending the law (including the Constitution).
More fundamentally, judges and justices of the courts have not been elected by the people or appointed by elected officials based on their political views or sensibilities as MPs have. In fact, they have the constitutional mandate to act apolitically and objectively when interpreting and applying the law.
Therefore, I believe that the CA’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for other courts to possibly follow, where they have signalled to other judges and justices who’ll interpret the Constitution that they’re permitted to disregard clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.
2. The CA has encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by creating its own process for Article 44(1A)
Another major part of the CA’s decision is the finding that a sixth woman can only be added only after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed.
For reasons similar to the ones I have given above, I argue that the CA’s creation of a process for Article 44(1A) was an overreach of their powers because it is only for Parliament to design and explicitly set out this process in the Constitution or any relevant legislation (i.e. the Electoral Act).
This was rightfully respected by Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court, who observed in their joint judgment that Parliament needed to provide:
“Some clarity as to the ‘process’ to be followed when Article 44(1A) is activated. There is no process provided in regards to a woman candidate appointed pursuant to Article 44(1A). Section 84 of the Electoral Act refers to successful candidates or elected candidates. Section 2 of the Electoral Act defines the word ‘election’ means the election of a Member in a general election or byelection to represent a constituency. The woman candidate coming in through Article 44(1A) is (in our view) not ‘elected’.”
Here, Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai acknowledge that Parliament (in 2013 and 2019) unfortunately did not provide a clear process for the activation of Article 44(1A). However, both justices chose not to go beyond their constitutional powers to engineer and create this process themselves.
Instead, they appreciated that it is only appropriate for Parliament to create this process lawfully and transparently after they have taken the time to fully consider the merits of different options and ideas.
Unfortunately, the CA did not show such respect for Parliament and the separation of powers and decided to engineer and create their own process for Article 44(1A) in less than three days.
In my view, the CA should have simply interpreted the clear and unambiguous words of Article 44(1A) as mentioned above, and stated that it was therefore unnecessary for them to discuss the process as this was a matter for Parliament to determine.
While the CA attempted to design their process with some regard to the practical realities surrounding election petitions, counter petitions and potential byelections — it was still wrong for them to create this process in the fraught context of a dispute in which arguments from parties, namely the appellants, are motivated by political gain.
Therefore, it would not be surprising if the rushed and unprincipled manner in which the CA created the process provides even more confusion, ambiguity, conflict and controversy in the near or distant future. In any case, it is hoped that the new Parliament takes the time needed to fix the problems with Article 44(1A), before designing a new process following its activation, fairly and democratically.
3. The CA’s process for Article 44 is unpragmatic for prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis
Aside from the issues with the CA’s problematic interpretation of the Constitution, the CA’s decision should also be criticised as being unpragmatic (or in other words, impractical) for having the effect of prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
The CA’s finding that a sixth woman can only be added after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed (and there are still only five women MPs), means that the addition of another woman MP could be several months away. This is due to the sheer volume of petitions that the courts are due to consider next week, a reality the CA was no doubt aware of.
While the courts are not necessarily required to be influenced by what is pragmatic and best for the general wellbeing and smooth running of the country, it is hoped that they at least do not go out of their way to make decisions that would create further uncertainty and delay in a country suffering from an already drawn out constitutional crisis.
Of course, there is already a degree of uncertainty around which party would hold the majority of seats due to the unprecedented number of petitions that have been filed and are yet to be heard,
However, adding the potential activation of Article 44(1A) to the mix does not help things at all. This has already been seen by how both the leaders of the FAST party and the HRPP have interpreted the CA’s decision to mean that their parties hold the majority in judgement and should be able to govern until the election petitions and any potential by-elections are completed.
In my view, had the CA interpreted Article 44(1A) in the correct, honest and principled manner (to find that the minimum number of seats for women is “five” and not six) this would not be a legitimate dispute as the leader of the HRPP would not have any real reason to believe that a sixth woman MP could be added as a 52nd seat in parliament in their favour.
FAST would then have a clearer path for transitioning into the government — a path which I believe they legitimately have because in my view, their convening of parliament was legitimate and constitutional in the extraordinary circumstances Samoa was facing. [NOTE: Although the constitutionality of FAST’s swearing-in on 24 May 2021 is another matter due to be heard by the courts on Friday, I have argued in a previous opinion piece that their swearing-in was constitutional and that the courts should declare this when they do rule on this case — most likely sometime next week.]
Another practical problem the CA could have (and should have) avoided was the risk of creating an even-numbered hung Parliament of 52, with each party having 26 seats. When Article 44(1A) was introduced in 2013, the parliament of that day (and any day up to the 2021 general election) didn’t foresee that its activation could lead to an even-numbered hung parliament which could create major issues in the future. For example, a hung 52 seated parliament (with 26 seats for both parties) could lead the Head of State to use their powers under Article 63 to dissolve parliament and call for a new general election on the grounds that the office of the Prime Minister has vacant beyond a “reasonable period” of time (Article 63(2)) or that the Prime Minister does not command the majority in parliament (Article 63(3)). With due respect, it can only be hoped that this wasn’t the underlying motivation behind the CA’s decision.
In any case, there is an urgent need for a government to come into power to govern Samoa. This is not only because Samoa is in a global pandemic, but also because the government should have already set and announced its annual budget by this time in the year. Therefore, the CA’s decision shows an unfortunate lack of pragmatism for which the people of Samoa will continue to bear the costs.
A case of ‘judicial activism’? Some might celebrate and defend the CA’s decision as a case of “judicial activism” because it was apparently decided in the interests of gender equality and human rights in Samoa.
“Judicial activism” is a term that refers to when judges go outside their apolitical and objective roles to become “activists” in the courtroom pursuing their political agendas. They do this by interpreting and applying laws in a way that is obviously incorrect and contrary to established legal principles because they believe that the outcome would be morally unacceptable and unjust according to their political beliefs if they did not.
One key instance of “judicial activism” in New Zealand was in the 1985 case of Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football. In this case, the Court of Appeal of NZ disregarded well established legal principles in order to prevent the All Blacks from touring South Africa during the nation’s apartheid era.
It is well known now that the justices hearing this case were influenced not only by anti-apartheid protests outside the courtroom but by their own values and beliefs against South Africa’s racist system.
Of course, anyone committed to anti-racism (and the fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination) would not question or fault the Court of Appeal of NZ for being judicial activists in the Finnigan case. However, in my view, the CA’s decision should not be seen or understood as a legitimate and justified case of “judicial activism” like that in Finnigan.
Some may disagree and argue that the need to have six women (rather than five) in Parliament is a critically urgent and important human rights and social justice issue that is analogous or comparable to the moral dilemma the NZ justices faced in the Finnigan case.
However, if anything, this litigation has shown that Article 44(1A) is a deeply flawed mechanism for ensuring the representation of women in Parliament and upholding Samoa’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In my view, instead of further complicating a deeply flawed mechanism during a constitutional crisis, the CA should have upheld the observations of Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court to allow Parliament (and the people of Samoa whose voices they represent) to improve Samoa’s deeply entrenched gender inequity issue in the fair and transparent manner that is expected of a democratic state.
In terms of what a new gender-based quota system for Samoa would look like, it is clear that the new Parliament will need to pay closer attention to the laws and experiences of other democratic countries that have introduced similar gender-based quota laws, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark who have since achieved an average of 40 percent women in their parliaments.
It’s also important that the new Parliament tackle deeply entrenched gender inequity in Samoan politics more broadly. A 2015 report on “Political Representation and Women’s Empowerment in Samoa” by the Centre for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa (NUS) found that Article 44(1A) would “not address what this research found to be the core issue: the barriers to women’s equal participation in local government” and that Samoa does not have gender parity laws and candidate pre-selection mechanisms that other countries like France, Timor-Leste, Senegal and Rwanda have introduced to increase the number of women in their parliaments.
Similarly, Kiki Matire has commented that while Article 44(1A) would increase the representation of women in Samoa’s parliament, “much more needs to be done to address the cultural and tangible obstacles to women as political leaders”.
Fuimaono Dylan Asafo is a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland. He holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University and a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland.
Samoa’s 59th Independence Day has come and gone, without the usual fanfare and intense patriotism we have grown accustomed to from previous years.
What we’ve seen for the last few weeks and indeed months has tested the strength of our democracy at the highest of levels and the lowest of lows.
Our Independence document, our Constitution, set out the supreme law for self-governance. The preamble outlines what Samoa stands for as a sovereign nation.
IN THE HOLY NAME OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE EVER LOVING WHEREAS sovereignty over the Universe belongs to the Omnipresent God alone and the authority to be exercised by the people of Samoa within the limits prescribed by God’s commandments is a sacred heritage. WHEREAS the Leaders of Samoa have declared that Samoa should be an Independent State based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and tradition AND WHEREAS the Constitutional Convention, representing the people of Samoa, has resolved to frame a Constitution for the Independent State of Samoa WHEREIN the State should exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people WHEREIN should be secured to all the people their fundamental rights WHEREIN the impartial administration of justice should be fully maintained AND WHEREIN the integrity of Samoa, its independence, and all its rights should be safeguarded NOW THEREFORE, we the people of Samoa in our Constitutional Convention, this 28th day of October 1960, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.
The founding document of our government has undergone the toughest stress test it has ever had to go through, with poking and prodding and pulling and tugging from legal minds, concerned citizens, inquisitive media and the endless electioneering of politicians.
All while the silent backdrop of a global pandemic and economic recession keeps us wary of possibly greater perils.
So what is there to feel proud of this Independence Day?
Well, despite the challenges and political instability, we have not descended in to chaos or a state of anarchy. The people of this country continue to keep the engines moving, whether they are the struggling private sector or threatened public service.
While the question of Parliamentary majority remains unknown with an appeal pending before the Courts, and both the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) staking their claims on the executive government, Samoa has remained peaceful and mostly respectful of each other.
Where we find deficiencies in leadership, we take the reins and steer our own families and communities towards peaceful accord.
There may be passionate differences of opinion, but for the most part we are still in this rocky boat together.
As we have seen with the unusual sight of protests in recent weeks, our people are able to defy cultural norms and use their constitutional rights to protest peacefully.
The Samoa Solidarity International Group (SSIG) protests were led by a woman. The Women Empowerment march was led by women. These are the pae and auli of our families and communities. They are generally seen to be the background advisors and soothsayers. And yet there they were, front and center on the national stage, speaking up for what they believe.
This year’s Independence may be a muted affair, but its significance is great as we remember the rights and privileges that come with being citizens of a sovereign nation.
All citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression; to assemble peaceably and without arms; to form associations or unions and to move freely throughout Samoa and reside in any part.
We have seen this exemplified in recent weeks and months with the people of this country using their right to assemble and listen to election campaigning, to form supporter groups and debate one another on the merits of their chosen political affiliations.
This newspaper has also used its privilege to bring to light issues that best reflect its values and adherence to journalism standards and ethics.
All people are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection under the law. We have seen this in action as our Police have done their best to provide protection and lawful interventions across the board during this political crisis.
The Head of State’s Independence Address calls for a return to Christian values as a way to solve the political impasse. He called on the people of Samoa to reflect and remember our ancestors and those who fought for Samoa’s freedom, whose sacrifices enabled us to live as an independent nation.
This was his first public statement in over a week; since his proclamation to suspend an earlier call for Parliament to convene. He called on all leaders – church, government, private sector, political – and every citizen to seek guidance from God to solve the current political impasse.
The carefully worded speech by the Head of State acknowledges that our crisis will take all of us to fix. His reference to youth is also noteworthy.
“On this day, the youth of Samoa should feel the special pride of being citizens of a free nation; let us ensure this is a legacy they will be proud to pass on,” he said.
At this very moment in our history, the impasse is not a legacy anyone should be proud to pass on. But the peacefulness of our people, in this crisis, most definitely is.
Last year’s announcement of a muted national celebration, without a parade and the singing and dancing of villages assigned the honour of entertaining our dignitaries and our country, was met with disappointment. But we accepted the decision due to concerns over the coronavirus.
This year, a call to have another virtual ceremony to mark our 59th Independence, appears to be less about public health concerns and more about our political instability.
After all, how would you host an official celebration with two prime ministers staking their claim on this country?
So we are grateful for the resilience and independent spirit of our people, who took it upon themselves to host their own celebrations.
As shown in our Tuesday edition, Samoa Primary held their own Independence Day fete on Monday with tributes to Samoan tradition such as artwork displays, dancing and singing, the preparation and serving of Samoan food. They even had a float parade.
“Every year’s celebration is remembering our forefathers who have fought for the independence of Samoa and for that we give the opportunity to the students to expand their minds and research former leaders and also those who were fighting for the sake of our country,” said principal Anne Leauga.
On Independence Day itself, we witnessed a few community events starting with Falelauniu, where the Church of Nazareth braved the rain and put on a parade in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Pastor Toeleiu Alatise told this newspaper that he hoped the youth find the spirit of Independence, despite there not being any national celebrations.
“It took two weeks to prepare this event for the children as we had received news that there will be no Independence celebrations, so we prepared this,” he said.
The Marist Old Pupils Association also came together and hosted their own Independence parade, flag raising and celebrations.
The keynote address was given by the Association’s Patron, 81-year-old Tuala Tom Annandale.
“I am happy to see each and every one of our Marist brothers participating in the celebration of the 59th independence day of Samoa,” he said.
“We leave politics aside and focus on the celebration itself as we are all one; we are all called the children of Mother Mary.
“Once you enter the gate, whatever title you have will stay behind gates. We are known as one.”
In whatever way you celebrated Samoa’s 59th Independence Day, we hope you did so in the spirit of appreciation for the great privilege we have been given, to live freely and to choose our own paths as individuals and as a nation.
The Samoa Observer editorial on 2 June 2021. Republished with permission.
Bananas, balaclavas and banners … these were stock-in-trade for human rights activists of the New Zealand-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji who campaigned against then Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka’s original two coups in 1987 and the “banana republic” coup culture that emerged.
Many of the original activists, politicians, trade unionists, civil society advocates and supporters of democracy in Fiji gathered at an Auckland restaurant in Cornwall Park to reflect on their campaign and to remember the visionary Fiji Labour Party prime minister Dr Timoci Bavadra who was ousted by the Fiji military on 14 May 1987.
Speakers included Auckland mayor Phil Goff, who was New Zealand foreign minister at the time, and keynote Richard Naidu, then a talented young journalist who had emerged as Dr Bavadra’s spokesperson — “by accident” he recalls — and movement stalwarts.
The mood of the evening was a fun-filled and relaxed recollection of coup-related events as about 40 participants — many of them exiled from Fiji — sought to pay tribute to the kindly and inspirational leadership of Dr Bavadra who died from cancer two years after the coup.
Participants agreed that it was a tragedy that Dr Bavadra had died such an untimely death at 55, robbing Fiji of a new style of social justice leadership that stood in contrast with the autocratic style of the current Fiji “democracy”.
Naidu, today an outspoken lawyer and commentator, spoke via Zoom from Suva about Dr Bavadra’s unique approach to politics, not unlike a general practitioner caring for his patients, a style that was drawn from his background as a public health specialist and trade unionist.
He referred to Johns Hopkins University in the United States — “the bible of global statistics about covid-19 pandemic in the world” — and remarked that Dr Bavadra had gained his public health degree at that celebrated campus.
Covid and Dr Bavadra
Naidu asked how, if he had been alive today and still prime minister, Dr Bavadra might have approached the Fiji covid-19 crisis with 46 new cases of infection being reported last night.
Fiji has now had 360 cases in total since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 161 recoveries and four deaths.
A shadowy “banana republic” … protesters imitate the seizing of Fiji parliamentarians at gunpoint by hooded soldiers in response to the first coup on 14 May 1987. Image: David Robie screenshotPrime Minister Dr Timoci Bavadra ousted in Fiji’s first coup on 14 May 1987. Image: CDF
Naidu described the current leadership in Fiji in response to the covid pandemic as unresponsive and lacking in direction. He believes Fiji is in a worse position today than it was in 1987 and poverty and food shortages were a growing problem.
The challenge for Fiji was a lack of consultation with grassroots organisations and a “bubble” mentality among the key leaders of Voreqe Bainimarama’s government that refused to see the suffering on the ground.
“Everything was bad in Fiji before 2006 [when Bainimarama staged his coup],” he said, reflecting the leadership’s mantra. “Everything good in Fiji is after 2006.”
Lawyer Richard Naidu speaking about Dr Bavadra’s legacy and the reality of Fiji today. Video: David Robie/FB
Naidu referred to a social media posting in relation to the Samoan constitutional crisis when he commented: “ Australia and New Zealand must be wondering: Is Samoa ‘21 just a rehearsal for Fiji ’22.” The question is what would happen if Bainimarama loses the election next year.
In spite of his fears for the future, Naidu said he still remained optimistic because of the young leadership and committed civil society that was emerging in spite of the barriers.
‘Have we won?’
Looking back 34 years, Naidu asked the audience: “Have we won?”
With a negative response, he challenged the participants to keep working for a better Fiji.
Auckland mayor Phil Goff speaking at the Bavadra reunion last night. Image: David Robie/FB
Mayor Phil Goff said that after the 1987 coups, New Zealand did not just have a “trickle of migration, we had a flood of migration, and I think something like 20,000 or 30,000 people came from Fiji in the wake of the coups”.
And, he added, “that was a huge benefit to our country, it strengthened our country. But it was a huge drain on Fiji because these were the people with skills and energy and they could have been contributing had Fiji been a welcoming country, if everybody had first class citizenship.
“But they didn’t see that future for themselves in Fiji and I understand that and they came to make a better life in New Zealand.”
Goff called on those present to keep campaigning for human rights.
“Criminals go free in Fiji” … an image on display at the Bavadra event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie screenshot
Union and NFIP days
Trade unionist Ashok Kumar recalled when he had worked for the Fiji Public Service Association and Dr Bavadra had been president at the time and he had inspired many people with the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement, “which had been a big issue for Fiji”.
Trade unionist Ashok Kumar speaking. Video: David Robie/FB
Other speakers also spoke of their admiration for a “forgotten” Dr Bavadra and how they hoped to “keep his memory alive”.
Former National Federation Party MP Ahmed Bhamji said it was hoped that the Bavadra lecture event would become an annual one and he declared that they were already planning for the 35th anniversary of Rabuka’s first coup next year.
Bhamji was a sponsor of this year’s event and among his fellow organisers were Nikhil Naidu, Rach Mario and Maire Leadbeater, who was MC for the evening.
Friends of CDF …James Robb, Maire Leadbeater, Rach Mario and David Robie at the Bavadra event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie/APROrganiser Nikhil Naidu … thrilled with a successful Bavadra night. Image: David Robie/APRFormer National Federation Party MP Ahmed Bhamji … engaging with Richard Naidu over Fiji’s future. Image: David Robie/APRAdi Asenaca Uluiviti (left) and Del Abcede at the Bavadra memorial event last night. Image: David Robie/APRSome of the CDF group and supporters at the Bavadra memorial event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie/APR
COMMENT:By Fred Wesley, editor-in-chief, The Fiji Times
Bula.
The big announcement last night must be a very firm reminder for us all in Fiji about what we are dealing with. Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong confirmed 46 new cases.
That must inch out some concern if it hasn’t already done so. It must force a rethink of what we do today and moving forward. So what were the key takeaways from this latest announcement?
Aside from the staggering figure, it has to be the fact that people are still engaging in unsafe behaviour! They are still attending large gatherings.
Understandably there are emotional aspects to consider, however, the fact remains, the virus moves when we move!
Think about what Dr Fong said: “This increase was not unexpected, but it should serve to show how easily this virus is transmitted and why restrictions are in place.”
This was Fred Wesley’s editorial yesterday before the announcement of 46 new cases.
EDITORIAL:Doing this together
In his announcement at 5.14pm yesterday [Friday], the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong confirmed 22 new cases of covid-19.
By 7.31pm, there were six more new cases added to this number, taking the total to 28 new cases yesterday.
Breaking down the cases in the earlier announcement, one was a resident of Kinoya with no links to other cases at the early stage of investigation, two were connected to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks cluster, seven were connected to the Navy cluster and 12 were residents of Vunivivi in Nausori.
They were connected through a common exposure event — a funeral!
In the late announcement, four cases were connected to the Muanikoso cluster and two to the Vunivivi cluster.
The rising number is surely going to attract interest.
In fact, it is going to raise concern as well.
There will be a great sense of apprehension, uncertainty, great fear, doubt, insecurity, frustration and anger.
It is not unusual that Fijians will look up to the powers that be for reassurance.
They will seek that and hope the powers that be are accommodating.
They will look to them for guidance, and to give them confidence to move forward.
They will need to be reassured enough to not panic in the face of the rising numbers daily.
So lest we forget though, let’s not panic right now.
Understandably it would be encouraging to get some semblance of order first up.
However, perhaps we can be buoyed by the fact that with the exception of one, all the other cases are actually connected to known clusters.
Whatever your take is on the growing numbers, we may take comfort in the fact that the outbreak right now is in the Suva-Nausori area.
Most of the new cases in recent days were discovered through contact tracing investigations for known cases.
This, according to Dr Fong, is an indicator that our contact tracing efforts are effective.
Now for the serious bit! The revelation that significant escalations in daily case numbers have been largely driven by the fact that recent cases have been linked to large households or workplace groups, funeral gatherings and the associated grog sessions in big groups is obviously a major concern.
Then there is the connection to a common exposure event — a funeral!
There can be no doubts about what we must do moving forward.
There can be no social gathering! In fact we should just stay home, within our little safe bubbles.
The virus will not move if we stay still. Thousands of Fijians are already doing their bit for the greater good of our nation. They are staying home.
They are staying within their bubbles. They are adhering to physical distancing rules. Together we must stay on course.
The Fiji Times editorial, 28 May 2021.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
As the focus of Samoa’s political crisis shifts to the courtrooms of our Supreme and District Courts, and with Monday, 24 May 2021, going down in the history books as a tale of alternate realities, we are left wondering if there is something missing.
Wherever you stand and whoever you support, surely there can be some common ground to be found among all Samoans, in the simple question of – where is the Head of State?
The Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, has for all intents and purposes, gone AWOL.
The country has not heard from His Highness since the weekend, when issuing his Saturday night proclamation to suspend his Friday afternoon proclamation for Parliament to convene on Monday morning.
A promise to provide reasons for suspending the Friday proclamation was made, but four days later and the country is still waiting for answers as we uncoil ourselves from fetal positioning, after Monday’s events.
For the uninitiated: an ad-hoc Parliament was convened under a marquee outside Samoa’s hallowed Maota Fono. This was due to the fact that the doors of the Maota were locked and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly’s refusal to adhere to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Head of State and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and staff were not in attendance for the late afternoon sitting of Parliament. Also conspicuously absent were the 25 elected MPs from the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), including their leader and caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.
That the HRPP was not in attendance came as no surprise, because Tuila’epa had made it clear that they would not be attending.
That they would stoop to such levels to stop the convening of the 17th Parliament is reprehensible, but frankly, unsurprising.
Tuilaepa’s reach is long, and the Head of State’s absence from Monday’s convening, shows just how long.
So the majority of Parliament’s elected members (26) – all from Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) – went ahead with their own swearing-in ceremony, swore their oaths and signed in as legislators of the 17th Parliament using collapsible tables, stackable plastic chairs and Chinese mats.
It was a woeful sight; and yet perfectly emblematic of what Samoa’s democracy has been reduced to.
OPINION: The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday. It has added to the destructive trail on our already battered Constitution. https://t.co/mhUMY3XaBI
The Head of State’s absence from that watershed Parliament sitting on Monday may perhaps debunk any wholesale belief that his role is merely in title alone.
We say this because only he could have changed the course of Monday’s events, had he shown up and flouted the HRPP leader’s declaration that there would be no convening of Parliament.
By following his own Friday afternoon proclamation and allowing the 17th Parliament to convene, and by conducting the swearing-in of new members of the Legislative Assembly inside the Maota Fono, His Highness could have set our current political path back to where it should be.
And that is with the installation of our next government, which would have been FAST-led.
Whatever else that was set to come, such as petitions, would see their day in court and the outcome could have been dealt with accordingly.
Considering the significant number of election petitions filed with the courts, the final lineup of government could have changed over time.
Well, that was what we believe should have happened.
Whether that fits with a caretaker government’s timeline or party politics is irrelevant. That is what is enshrined in our constitution and the process we have always followed.
Stepping back and allowing another party to take the wheel, as the courts make their way through the petitions, may not be a desirable outcome for the HRPP, but that’s not their call to make.
How is it that a political party can stop the swearing in of another political party? The answer is they can’t.
Government is involved, to be sure, as we saw with the non-attendance of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, the locking of the Assembly doors and of course – the missing Head of State.
His absence has added to the destructive trail on our already battered constitution.
The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday.
His absence leaves us with the caretaker government at the helm, refusing to step away; led by the caretaker Prime Minister, who appears to move seamlessly between his role as caretaker PM and HRPP party leader, as he continues to fulfill the duties of both, often simultaneously.
His absence leaves us with a Prime Minister-elect, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who was sworn-in under unprecedented circumstances.
What could have been a simple timeline moving from general elections to the swearing in of our complete Legislative Assembly has veered off in to uncharted territory.
We are now in the ugly position of having two parties claiming to be government.
Our supreme law is there to guide us in these times, and so our beacon of hope remains with the judiciary.
Any questions requiring the interpretation of law should never be left to the court of public opinion nor in the hands of politicians, because that is not their purview.
No one person should ever be judge, jury and executioner. This is pertinent when considering the current actions of the caretaker leader, who has levelled serious accusations at his political opponents and the judiciary.
The separation of these powers is what makes a democracy, and keeps everyone accountable.
When you attempt to circumvent that path by altering an electoral timeline that has been tried and true over previous elections and by undermining the integrity of the judiciary and denying elected Members of Parliament from being sworn in as others have been sworn for decades, we have to ask if there is something amiss in the house of HRPP. Or are all members of the party as complicit as their leader?
The sitting of our new Parliament, and adherence to the electoral process where petitions would ultimately decide the final makeup of seats in the Assembly should have been the path we follow.
The next step in the Samoan crisis is to see where the police land and to get a sense of who is going to line up on which side and who will get “the social licence” to be the legitimate government, says a leading New Zealand academic.
Associate professor of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa told RNZ Morning Report today that the police seemed to be waiting for clearer signals, however, so far they had acted appropriately because there was calm in Samoa and they did not want to take any action that would threaten that.
“It’s right for people to stay on the sidelines until there’s clarity delivered either politically or legally that can be taken forward into the transition of government.”
It was unlikely that Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi would concede but this was the real problem and it was needed for a peaceful transition.
Those working in the public service had been appointed by either his party or him.
“Samoa’s had no practice at transitioning power. This is not a position that any of these public service heads have been in …we’re asking a lot of these public service heads but they need to deliver,” he said.
The courts had been “heroic” in the last fortnight and had shown a real commitment to upholding the law by coming out of the courtroom and walking up to Parliament yesterday, Toeolesulusulu said.
Asked if other Pacific nations had a role to play, he said it was not the Pacific way to interfere in the domestic concerns of other nations but Tuila’epa had made some enemies in the region.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Papua New Guinea’s Communications Minister, Timothy Masiu, recently told a news conference to mark World Press Freedom Day that the state of journalism and broadcasting in the country has seen a general decline.
He was critical of the quality and the content of the media in general. The former NBC journalist and broadcaster had reported on Bougainville during the decade-long crisis. He had served with former NBC head and senior journalist Joseph Ealedona.
I agreed with him. But I couldn’t let the statement go without challenge. While many have been critical of the state of “investigative” journalism in the country and the apparent lack of impact the media has had on the corruption and abuse, there has been very little investment in Papua New Guinea’s journalism schools over 25 years.
Back then, the university produced journalists who were a force to be reckoned with. They shaped the politics, rubbed shoulders with the political and business heavies and were were unafraid to be openly critical of the government abuses.
At Divine Word University, the people focused approach to journalism and development shaped how rural communities were given a voice.
Their former students provided a vital link between the people and their government.
Quality training
That generation reported on the various constitutional impasses, Bougainville, the Sandline crisis and the inquiries that followed all of the above. The quality of training prepared them to be active participants in a growing country.
Both schools are now struggling. The lack of investment from government is evident. Both universities have tried their best, with the little resources they have, to produce the best they can.
So I issued a challenge to the Communications Minister: If you are going to be critical of the training, I want you, through the Communications Ministry, to invest in training in our universities.
He was kind enough to listen. We began a discussion immediately after the conference which I sincerely hope will lead to some progress.
The same challenge goes to every other politician who is critical of the quality of journalism training. Students have to be taught well. Schools have to be given the ability to improve, build, innovate and grow. That means spending money to help achieve this.
The same challenge goes to the government for investment in our teachers’ colleges and our biggest engineering university, UNITECH. If our foundations are flawed, the outcome will be disastrous.
Asia Pacific Report republishes articles from Lae-based Papua New Guinean television journalist Scott Waide’s blog, My Land, My Country, with permission.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Auckland University of Technology has denied it is sidelining the Pacific Media Centre in the School of Communication Studies, but it is yet to announce the new leadership following disputes over office space and a succession plan.
The multi-disciplinary research and professional development unit was founded in 2007 by Professor David Robie with a focus on Pacific media research and producing stories of marginalised communities in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
The centre also housed several outlets that provided journalists covering regional issues and Pasifika researchers a space to publish their work, such as the academic journal Pacific Journalism Review and the award-winning Pacific Media Watch.
Dr Robie retired last December as the centre’s director but the position was not filled immediately. There have been no updates from the PMC’s website, YouTube and Soundcloud channels since, while Southern Cross, the weekly radio segment produced by the PMC on 95bFM’s The Wire at Auckland University has not had a new episode since last August.
Only one month after his retirement, Dr Robie was told that the PMC’s office on the 10th floor of the WG Building had been emptied of its awards, theses, books and other memorabilia, with people involved with the centre not being notified or consulted about the move.
The Pacific Newsroom reported that the contents, including a traditional carved Papua New Guinean storyboard presented by then Pacific Island Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban to celebrate the centre’s opening in October 2007, had been removed “with the lack of a coherent explanation from AUT”.
Dr Robie told Debate in April that there was a gap between what was said by AUT and “reality”, saying that the office being cleared out affirmed a lack of commitment by the university for the PMC’s future.
He also said a succession plan drawn up several years ago that had involved “headhunting” possible successors before his sabbatical in 2019 so the candidate could familiarise themselves with the role before formally taking over, but AUT did not follow through on this.
The Pacific Media Centre office in AUT’s Sir Paul Reeves Building … stripped clean in February. Image: PMC
‘Opportunity wasted by the school’
“This opportunity was wasted by the school and by the time I left, nobody had been prepared for continuity and the very able and talented people still working hard for the centre were not given support,” he said.
“This is unconscionable in my view.
“The school needs to listen to the vision of the stakeholders and treat them with respect.”
The move was also criticised by journalists and academics, with the influential Sydney-based Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative (AAPMI) advocacy group calling on AUT’s vice-chancellor Derek McCormack in an open letter in February to ensure that the PMC would continue to be developed “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat”.
Meanwhile, Dr Camille Nakhid, the chair of the PMC’s advisory board and an associate professor in AUT’s School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, told The Spinoff that she believed the PMC directorship should be advertised externally to “attract a range of qualified candidates”.
Dr Rosser Johnson, the head of AUT’s School of Communications Studies, told Debate at the end of April that the office “relocation” was due to security reasons and the PMC’s “new space” on the 12th floor of the WG Building has “twice as much office space” for students and affiliate researchers.
The new PMC leadership had been expected to be announced in April, but has been again delayed.
‘Expensive specialist gear’
“There’s one department who uses specialist gear that is very expensive and we have a very high level of risk around that gear,” Dr Johnson said.
“We had to consider the space that the Pacific Media Centre was in because it can be made secure through two sets of security doors.”
The school also scheduled two faculty and school-wide planning days to talk with people who would be affected.
Dr Johnson said the School had opted for an expression of interest approach within the department to fill Dr Robie’s position because the original plan did not follow protocol. An external hiring freeze imposed by AUT last year and the part-time nature of the PMC’s directorship meant the school preferred to look internally.
“David [Robie] was asking if it was possible for us to shoulder-tap two or three people to be co-directors but the School is supposed to have a transparent process where everyone who wants to be considered can be considered.
“If you want to grow and develop a research culture, it makes sense to look internally first.”
Dr Johnson also said he respected the care and commitment Dr Robie had towards the PMC, but insisted the school had no intention to shape the centre’s future direction, as the responsibility would fall on the next director.
Justin Wong is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT. He is also the student news reporter at AUT’s Debate magazine and the presenter of The Wire on student radio station 95bFM at the University of Auckland. This article is republished with permission from Debate.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
A collective of community groups in Tahiti trying to preserve a historical-cultural icon at Tautira have condemned the Tahitian government for “deliberately trying to destroy our heritage”.
The iconic Tahua-Reva is the community’s sacred mountain on the southeastern tip of Tahiti-Iti, the smaller section adjoining the main island of Tahiti.
The community groups have appealed for help in their campaign to save the mountainside.
“All the government sees is [that] the mountainʻs cliff must be secured to protect against tumbling rocks, and they came up with no alternative other than dynamite [it] because they say itʻs a cheaper solution,” wrote Vaihei Paepaetaata, a voice of the community groups trying to save the mountainside, in a letter today to Asia Pacific Report.
Tautira on Tahiti-Iti. Image: Google Maps
“Their experts say the danger arises from three stones, 50 tonnes each, which threaten to
collapse on the road at the foot of Tahua-Reva mountain. But for us the danger is the
loss of our heritage, the loss of our history and identity.”
Cultural educator and linguist Paepaetaata said that was why she was seeking help in relaying information “as widely as possible” on behalf of her community of Tautira.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for us that such a decision be taken without any consultation with the population. This cultural site is of capital importance for Polynesian heritage in so far as its history is intimately linked to the marae Tapu-Tapu-Tea, which is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“These three stones carry a story and have a powerful energy. They are a resting place for
the departing souls before they rise to the firmament called Rauhotu No’ano’a.
“Tahua-Reva is a place of collective memory but unfortunately it is not registered, so no
law can protect her from being damaged by humans.
“Tahua-Reva allows me and everyone in my community from Tautira to claim our
affiliation to the land and to say:
I have a mountain, its name is TAHUA-REVA E MOU’A TŌ’U, ‘O TAHUA-REVA I have a water, it is called VAIT -PIHA E VAI TŌ’U, ‘O VAIT PIHA I have a piece of land, it is called FATUTIRA-I-TE-TAI-PA’A’INA E FENUA TŌ’U, ‘O FATUTIRA-I-TE-TAI-PA’A’INA
“This chant is taught to young children from preschool. What will we show to our children if
our mountain is destroyed?
“What meaning will we give to this desecration? What legacy will we leave for them tomorrow?”
Paepaetaata has appealed to Pacific journalists to take up the issue and report their concerns.
Tahua-Reva … sacred rocks. Image: #ProtectTahuaRevaTahua-Reva … the sacred mountain in Tahiti-Iti. Image: #ProtectTahuaReva
#ProtectTahuaReva
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
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