Comparisons

Oh dear! Another day brings more grief in Fiji.

Bubu’s insightful article on the style of government Fiji has been drawn into got me thinking. Check it out here

It is interesting to hear Bainimarama constantly go on about making Fiji “truly democratic” rather than just having elections and putting people into power. Even individuals with little political interest should know what he has just said is conflicting in itself.

A country which was a case of this conflict is the former East Germany. For many Fijians, this country would have been the least of their worries in the late 80’s given the antics of Rabuka and co. The formal name of this country in German was the “Deutsche Demokratische Republik” or German Democratic Republic.

But the reality was that this communist state was far from democratic given the kind of democracy it preached. The kicker was the fact the communist party controlled pretty much how the country ran and operated. Elections were but a mere farce with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) always in control. Political parties could not operate independently and had to all join under a national unity front. Also note that the commonly used term of STASI originated from East Germany. The STASI were the secret police and ensured that all political activity that didn’t conform to the “ideal society” were suppressed and kept under wraps.

Now lets apply this to the dilemma of Fiji. Sounds rather familiar. From the top the equivalent party is the unholy RFMF/FLP/NAP alliance which is dictating how Fiji is to be run into perpetuity. Elections under the Peoples (Military) Charter will be a mere farce with the enforcing party (RFMF) removing anyone that supposedly does not conform to its ideals. I don’t need proof for this as Bainimarama’s utterances should speak for themselves.

The Peoples (Military) Charter has bought together all the snake oil merchants of Fiji together provide some sort of unity front known as the National Council for Building a Better Fiji (NCBBF). We all know who those shady crew are. The last part of the comparison was the East German use of the STASI. The mind numbing ramblings of Colonel Mohammed Aziz who states that the RFMF through the Peoples (Military) Charter will keep everyone in line. What does he mean by this? Suppressing people’s right to speak openly and freely. The presence of non-uniformed RFMF troops throughout Fiji in key spots lends credence to the fact that, Fijians are being watched. Just remember when you see a friendly inquisitive person on the street, can you really trust that person?

I hope this short analysis has been of interest to the blogs readers. Note that Germany after World War Two was split into West and East Germany. East Germany was the backward of the two siblings while West Germany flourished and became an economic powerhouse.