TODAY’S Fiji Times contained a few eye-catching articles: The shortage of salt, rice and butter in various supermarkets and a mother who has to resort to using firewood because kerosene is now too expensive.There was another, seemingly unrelated piece about a Fiji Human Rights Commission report that Australian defence chief Angus Houston had violated international law by threatening to invade Fiji before the 2006 coup.
But the stories are connected and demonstrate just how desperate things have become in Fiji, both for the ordinary person as well as Bainimarama.
The allegation against Air Chief Marshall Houston by Commodore Bainimarama is not new. It first surfaced in September 2007 when Bainimarama told the Times: “… In November (2006) the Chief of the Australian Defence Force Angus Houston called me in Sinai. He said ‘do not do anything that would pit my soldiers against yours’.’’
This is a perfect example of the competitive spirit that drives boys to hide behind the school and decide hierarchy by making proportional comparisons – the “I-am-better-endowed-than-you” syndrome.
But the fact that much puff is being made of old pie signifies that the Interim Government is perhaps a tad anxious about how badly things are going.
Maybe this is about national sovereignty as well. It’s also a perfect opportunity to divert public attention on an issue other than the mess at home.
Tags: 2006, Australia, bainimarama, coup, Fiji, propaganda
