Nov 08 2011

An Uprising Brews in Fiji as American Bottled Water Continues to Fund Military Junta

Most Americans have only heard of the island of Fiji through a label on their water bottle, or as a tourist destination for honeymooners. Little is known about the military junta ruling the country and their brutal repression of the Fijian people. Following the recent arrests of Fijian trade union representatives Felix Anthony and Daniel Urai by the Fijian police, trade unions in neighboring New Zealand and Australia are promoting sanctions against the country. Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama the head of the ruling military junta gained power through a 2006 military coup. Five years of his despotic rule have seen Fijian citizens being summarily arrested and assaulted for stating any kind of opposition to the regime. There have been arson attacks on the homes of government dissenters and rape and murder at the hands of the military police have become commonplace. Surveillance of landlines, cell phones and internet connections is widespread. But, lately there appears to be an uprising brewing among the Fijian people inspired by the events of the Arab Spring in the Middle East. Senior officials are defecting from the government, labor unions are issuing complaints and street protests are being organized, despite a constant state of martial law. The Fiji Water Company, owned by LA-based billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick, continues to provide massive economic support to Bainimarama’s repressive regime by funneling millions of dollars to the junta. The Fiji Water Company, using security forces with strong ties to the military, has been exporting potable water off the island despite the fact that a majority of Fjiians have no access to clean drinking water. In addition to the revenue generated by the Fiji Water company, the Fijian Government also earns an income off the backs of mercenary soldiers who they train for companies such as Blackwater/Xe, and groups like the UN. A man named Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara, formerly a supporter of Bainimarama, is now calling for people to stand up to the junta using non-violence. One of Mara’s main messages to Americans is to weaken the dictatorship by boycotting tourism and brands from Fiji.

GUEST: Anna Lenzer investigative journalist who broke the Fiji Water story in Mother Jones Magazine in 2009.

6 responses so far

6 Responses to “An Uprising Brews in Fiji as American Bottled Water Continues to Fund Military Junta”

  1. Paulon 08 Nov 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Perhaps painitng an incomplete or agendarised picture?

    Why not research why the Juanta came to power, and the incredible international government and Corporation connections behind the previous regime to the detriment of the ordianary Fijian people.

    And why even Australian research has recently found utterly unexpectedly high realistic Fijian/Indian support for Bainimarama.

    http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=1690

    ‘SUMMARY: The Lowy Institute has just released its first Fiji Poll, a wide-ranging survey of public opinion in Fiji about the performance of Fiji’s military-led government and Fiji’s relations with the world.

    ‘Questions focused on the implementation of government promises, the role of Fiji’s military, and democracy. Foreign policy questions addressed Fiji’s relationships with traditional and newer partners, Fiji’s role in the Pacific, and Fiji’s suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth.’

    “despite the fact that a majority of Fjiians have no access to clean drinking water”

    That surprises me I’ve lived all over the place where did that idea come from? Fijians/Indians there generally drink water with few problems. They are a thriving population even after thousands of Indians left before Bainimarama came along!

    “A man named Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Mara”

    He wouldn’t answer journalists in Fiji about where Provincial development money had gone, and came under investigation from his boss Bainimarama, and suddenly decided that Bainimarama was no good and fled the country!

    “The Fiji Water Company, using security forces with strong ties to the military”

    The place is so small that every one is connected or actually related to each other – this is not a Central America type of situation it is Melanesian/Polynessian – like Hawaii!

    “train for companies such as Blackwater/Xe, and groups like the UN. ”

    ‘groups like the UN’ are they bad as well?

  2. Superculture.orgon 08 Nov 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Here is a story on Fiji Water that’s a bit different and beyond junta: http://bit.ly/telspa

    From the Land of Invisible People, a tale of magic, water, and real estate… and why **IP colonists** are the ones to redefine Corporate Social Responsibility.

  3. Ottoon 08 Nov 2011 at 9:29 pm

    Annie please spread this message as widely as possible in America. Every time Fiji Water appears on a table in front of the President or in the hands of a celebrity the Dictatorship seems to think it is an endorsement.

    So please contact all the celebrities you know, their agents and in form them that drinking Fiji Water is showing support for a Dictator. It is the same as if they were drinking water from a bottle called North Korea Water.

    This will have a 3 fold effect.

    1- It will stop the endorsements of dictatorship.
    2- It will hurt Fiji Waters marketing and sales
    3- It will reduce revenue to the Fiji Dictatorship.

    Annie keep up the good work and spread the message.

  4. Sachaon 08 Nov 2011 at 10:30 pm

    Paul & Otto! You are spot in!
    May I also add that Fiji govt never broken any ties with it’s close neighbors like Australia, NZ, USA etc, it’s these so-called
    Democratic countries who has decided to break ties with Fiji. Fiji Govt are always open for dialoque. Now I can hear those righteaus folks saying why should Aust., NZ want to have dialogue with a non-elected & non-democratic leader?!
    Well if thats one of the grounds to break ties with nationsthen why don’t we see them doing the same for China? Plus the human rights issue us far wise in china than it ever was in Fiji! and yet why only Fiji is being isolated in this case? Who is bullying whom here? Just because Fiji is a small island nation then why should only one-sided values only be asserted to them and not China? Now that’s what I call a Hypocratic policy & not democratic.
    Bottom-line is that Fiji is being treated unfairly just because these larger nations can easily bully them. And my hats off to PM Frank Bainimaram for standing it’s grounds foronce unlike prevoius so call democratic PM’s we’ve had.

  5. Paulon 09 Nov 2011 at 2:46 am

    Sacha, exactly, in fact the last so-called elections were a shame. An International Parliamentry team I think under UN auspives signed off on them as free and fair-having no real presence in the necessary places.

    But thousands of people in non-Government areas arrived on polling day to cast their vote, and found they were either not on the roll to vote, or had been moved to a polling station over the mountains and over 200 Km away in each case. (In Fiji if voting on polling day you needed to turn up at your registered polling booth).

    Polling booth attendants were strong armed over the ballot boxes and watched as ballot papers were substituted.

    Mara mentioned in the article, his father was the most pre-eminent Statesman after the Queen in the British Commonwealth, but sadly has passed on now.

    He in his right as High Chief of the Lau Group (between Fiji and Tonga) had to previously over rule the falsely re-elected Prime Minister from giving all the Lau fishing waters and rights away to a foreign power.

    As Prime Minister that man was heading the saem way wth all of Fiji’s mineral wealth. I do not agree with dicatatorships, but what would have happened to the Fijian people if the Army (who the UN still respect!) had not stood up to sort things out?

    The whole thing is over minerals. At present the Army is making sure that the mineral rights are going to pay royalties for the benefit of the Fijian people, and not just a few aristocrats in the country.

    Bainimarama has over a 60% approval rating in the Australian research and the researches have put up a very credible case for the accuracy of their survey. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=1690

    That’s more than the current Australian Prime Minister, who I think has recently been as low as 20% – so can democracy take different forms? Who more has a leader ruling with the support of the people at present, Australia or Fiji?

    Paul

  6. Paulon 09 Nov 2011 at 2:22 pm

    Dear Otto,

    The attack on Fiji Water, in theory sounds idealistic, but in reality …

    1) It will not affect the already affluent owners
    2) will dramatically hurt the hundreds of families of ordinary Fijians who either earn directly from working or through their relatives working in Fiji Water in Fiji (it is a communal society)
    3) Will not topple the dictatorship who already have been offered help by China – all such sanctions do is push the remaining good people in the regime further into foreign powers’ hands.
    4) Morally would require that those who promote such sanctions against employers like Fiji Waters, vigorously organise financial aid equivalent for the ordinary families they are about to push into poverty – through job loses in country where outfits like Fiji Water have brought jobs when there are none other to go to.

    I can not make point four sound strong enough – if you want to take work form those workers show them the cash for the years ahead – or organise other equivalent or better employment for them – take moral responsibility for your words and actions and be just in your ways!

    Don’t hurt the small people – in your idealogical fight against the big man!

    Paul

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