Opposition to the Charter

From Iliesa Tora & Tee Totoka (Daily Post)

Meanwhile, the outburst by Momo Frank against the Tailevu Provincial Council’s decision not to recognise the military/interim regime’s Charter they have been pushing for people to accept was also uncalled for.

My momo from Kiuva must accept the fact of life right now. Not everyone in this country accepts him and his actions since December 5, 2006.

Some, out of fear, may act as if they accept what is happening.

But the underlying feeling is everything that was done since December 5 is illegal.

The leaders of Tailevu re-affirmed their belief in the 1997 Constitution that Momo Frank and his regime now and again say they follow.

So in that sense the leaders of Tailevu say they could not accept the Charter or anything else that the interim regime will push through.

Now, that is true democracy speaking out.

The number of submissions received for the Charter should also be an indicator in whether people accept it or not.

It is simple. If people do not like anything they will not participate in it.

That’s the way things happen in Fiji. There will be silent protests, especially in times like these.

Reports emanating from the PM’s Office say the Charter is gradually gaining acceptance.

When it was first launched and submissions called for, the regime gave everyone close to two months before closing submissions.

Now the deadline has been moved four times already, without any definite date yet on when it will finally close.

My sources say the continuous extension of the deadline is simply because the expectations of the regime were not met.

There are ways things are done in Fiji, especially when one wants to push through a new idea, no matter how good it might seem to him or her.

In the traditional Fijian set up, you take things to the bose va-koro or village meeting.

From there the village representatives in the district council or bose ni tikina will then take the issue up if the bose- va-koro endorses it.

If the bose ni tikina says yes, the issue can then be taken up by the tikina representative to the provincial council or bose ni yasana.

From there the provincial council will then say yes or no. If it is a yes the issue will see the birth of a new day and probably get to be talked about at the parliamentary sub-committee level.

And it might eventually end up in Parliament and if it does get the unanimous support of the Lower House it gets tested again in the Senate.

Then it gets to be part of our law or legislation. At least it goes something like that.

What the interim regime is trying to do is find the shortest way possible to get what they want pushed through.

Last week I stated that I agreed with most of the things that Momo Frank wants for Fiji.

On Thursday, the Tailevu Provincial Council, of which my Momo Roko Tui Kiuva was also a member of, agreed that there were certain things that the interim regime wanted done that would benefit Fiji.

But at the same time they also agreed that the Constitution, which had not been abrogated, spelled out how things should be done.

That’s why they were not prepared to accept the Charter.

Instead of slamming that decision, Momo Frank should accept it and start the process of fast-tracking our return to parliamentary democracy.

Oh, by the way, I would urge everyone in Fiji to seriously think about living under the interim regime’s leadership for the next 10 to 15 years.

I mean, that’s what I gathered from Momo Frank’s ‘frankly speaking’ interview on national television during the week.

He said the Charter formed the basis of how the country should be run.
And guess what the Charter says?

Yep, they will be around for the next 10 to 15 years at least to make sure that what the Charter says is implemented.

That’s the timeline they’ve given themselves in the Charter.

Wanna bet?

It’s another weekend, Fiji will be playing Australia in France, so enjoy the moment when you can.

A hot cuppa at Tee Totoka might help.

Like my good tau there says, have a behal cha!

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Hmmmmmm even your relos are against you eh Frank??