Comments on: Trouble in Fiji

By: Sean Dorney speaks out on Fiji censorship « Woolly Days

Sean Dorney speaks out on Fiji censorship « Woolly Days — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:49:23 +0000

[...] at EU Australia Online, a good potted history of Fiji’s troubled history from Legal Eagle at Scepticlawyer and Andrew Bartlett on the response from Fiji’s bloggers. Possibly related posts: (automatically [...]

By: Ken N

Ken N — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:13:04 +0000

OK, Posey, that surprises me from my not-so-deep knowledge of Fiji but I accept the sources. Thanks.

By: Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:14:29 +0000

Spam filter ate them, but I have rescued them.

By: Posey

Posey — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:45:24 +0000

Ken, the CIA and US State Department, incredibly, are amazingly reliable sources for information and data such as this. And summaries are even available on the net. I posted a couple of links but they’ve disappeared, but you can google.

By: Posey

Posey — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:05:22 +0000

Fiji is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and a destination country for a small number of women from China and India trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 3 – Fiji does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government has demonstrated no action to investigate or prosecute traffickers, assist victims, take steps to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, or support any anti-trafficking information or education campaigns; Fiji has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fj.html

and

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,FJI,45b632e02,48caa470c,0.html

Ken, there’s plenty of references to this on the internet with the most cursory search.

By: Ken N

Ken N — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:49:21 +0000

Nice analysis, LE, going beyond the usual superficial description of a complicated situation.
Posey: “Fiji is a major source country for international child trafficking and a growing provider of prostitution services for Chinese and other overseas visitors to the region.”
Source?

By: Dave Bath

Dave Bath — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:31:40 +0000

LE@10 “two communities didn’t mix for a very long time; neither side really wanted to mix” and other comments on ethnically political divisions.

Back in the days of BandW TV, a very young Gareth Evans made a comment along the lines of “these problems won’t be solved until everybody f***s everybody else and we are all khaki”.

So… (and tongue in cheek) perhaps a bounty for cross-ethnic marriages of fertile couples?

By: Posey

Posey — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:48:09 +0000

The Fijian army has been a boon to the Brits and Americans in their Middle East adventures in particular. Such a large military would help soak up unemployed Fijians and provide a living that would seem at first sight quite congenial to many. But there is no defensive reason why Fiji as a nation – if we can even call it that – needs a standing army at all. Question is how to downsize or democratise it.

China’s growing economic presence and “soft diplomacy” in Fiji is a very significant development and is assuaging some of the damage done by the Indo-Fijian labour exodus.

Incidentally, your essay inspired me to do a little research too on this most enigmatic of countries, LE. Interesting factoids: Fiji is a major source country for international child trafficking and a growing provider of prostitution services for Chinese and other overseas visitors to the region.

By: Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:21:11 +0000

Richard, that is totally right – it is the social elite of the indigenous Fijians who maintain power. Also there are distinct ethnic groups (see eg, Rotuman Island people).

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:38:38 +0000

The indigenous Fijians consisted of many different groups some predominantly Melanesian others Polynesian. British rule predating even the importation of Indian indentured labour saw the deliberate elevation by the British of one group of indigenous Fijians over others in administrative and political roles.

The construction of a standing army comprised solely of the dominant Fijian groups and their chiefs was used first and foremost to “pacify” the rest of the country and bring it under centralised British control. it was a central element in the multi-faceted divide-and-rule strategy of the British the destructive legacy of which continues to wreak so much havoc to this day.