Backward step
Written By : Seruwaia Bula Nadi Airport. The road to democracy was always predictably shaky from the word go. The interim Prime Minister speaking in Fijian at the infantry parade outlines his excuse for stalling the 2009 election to his soldiers, adding that obstacles to bring the election forward was meant to weaken the military.
What a choice of words to a confused audience, anticipating how to take Fiji forward. The action of forward Fiji by the interim government has always resulted to a backward direction that moves Fiji further into the economic and social doldrums. In the realm of the military and interim government, anyone who stands for reason, good will, justice and prosperity is the enemy. These include Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Forum, ADB and the European Union. Criticism is good, and the interim government should learn that this could be the catalyst to improvements? After all suppressing criticism is a direct way of hiding something. What has the interim got to hide? The burning question asked by the public would be- “How can the interim government change electoral systems, without the mechanism of parliamentary endorsement by a legally appointed democratic government?”