More lies by Khaiyum about PER and the media

Fiji's illegal attorney general continues to use the Fiji media to justify his and Frank Bainimarama's decision to suppress the country via the Public Emergency Regulations. In his interview with the TV3 current affairs programme, The Nation, he told presenter Sean Plunket certain media outlets are still showing a tendency to be one-sided. His example of some the supposed shortcomings, however, were  embarrasingly inadequate as readers will see below. Most of us know the media today is well and truly muzzled and gagged by the regime. And that includes a Fiji Times reporter who was this week reportedly 'exposed' after apparently being spotted at the Roko Ului pro-democracy meeting in Melbourne. So who is Khaiyum trying to fool?

MAC PATEL

TV3: So when will the emergency regulations come off?

Khaiyum:You’ll find out before the elections. I mean that’s an assessment that’s made by the government. I’m not here to give you specific timeframes, nor …

TV3: Why do you need them right now, what’s happening in the country that means you need the emergency regulations right now?

Khaiyum: Well we have certain media outlets that have a particular proclivity to only showing one side of the coin so to speak. Fiji is going through a fundamental restructure in place. Now this restructure is in place, a lot of this will be continuous, and these restructures are essential. Many of the issues that we are now dealing with or changing have been politicised over a number of years, and if anybody who understood Fijian history for example, if you compare ourselves with Mauritius, we were on the same platform on par regarding the sugar industry. We have now sort of just stagnated whereas Mauritius has taken off, because they have in fact taken a very commercial approach, whereas in Fiji sugar has been politicised. You have one major political party that has a union from the sugar industry. Now when you try and restructure, and then your country’s gone through various restructures also.

TV3: But we restructure with no media restrictions.

Khayium: Yeah but you have a different level of development, you have a different colonial history. You cannot say just because something’s done in New Zealand should apply in Fiji. Of course there are various universal principles that do cut across the borders, but also at the same time there are various things that have taken place in New Zealand that helps you to deal with a particular situation in different methods.

TV3: Are you suggesting that Fiji or Fijians are not sophisticated to live with the level of freedom and democracy that New Zealanders and other countries have?

Khaiyum: Absolutely not. I’ve never said we lack sophistication, in fact I would argue that at the moment the way your journalism is taking place in your country, lacks sophistication. In fact it’s very rudimentary, the sort of questions we get asked, the sort of answers that are formulated even beforehand. But the point is that if you were to go down the street now, and talk to ordinary Fijians as to what do they think of it, I think you will get a very resounding approval of the processes that are in place. So from our perspective these restructures are very very essential. If you look at what’s happening around the country in terms of opening up the land that’s available for development, in terms of desegregating various communal issues from governance issues, they’re very very fundamental, they cannot be politicised.

Khaiyum: So you have to understand the restructures that are going in place. Nobody likes – I don’t like you sitting here and saying to me oh why do you have this public emergency regulations. I’d rather you do not ask me that question, I’d rather have that removed. But for us we have to look at the end game. We have to look at what is more important. Is it more important to simply please you and the New Zealand government? Or is it more important to ensure that we put in place structures that is for the long term benefit of Fiji, and you have a country where you have people living – about 35% of the population living on or below the poverty line. We have power differentials that have in fact marginalised a whole section of community. We aim to fix that up.

TV3: Alright, so elections, one person, one vote, the ability to own land or use land in I guess a more productive manner than ever before. I come back with all those laudible goals. Why then do we still have to have restrictions on media? Why then do you still need to have the emergency regulations if your aims are so noble?

Khaiyum: You know like I said to you previously, I can sit here for the next one hour and you can say the same thing to me and I’ll give you the same answer. You have to understand Fijian history to be able to understand that some of the changes that we are bringing around, the restructure that we’re bringing about, is essentially for the benefit of the country. But because it has been politicised – you know like I mentioned to you the fact that the word Fijian you know was politicised in itself, where in New Zealand and Australia it’s very simple. The Fiji Times until recently could not say the Fijian economy. They’ll say the Fiji economy. They would not say Fijian hospitality, they would say Fiji hospitality. But if that same newspaper were to run an article in Australia for example they wouldn’t say Australia economy, they’d say the Australian economy. I have had discussions with them about it. So this is the level of entrenchment of those prejudices that exist. So it is therefore imperative that in order for us to be able to carry out these restructures and people to see the benefits, then they’ll say oh hang on, we’ve been hanging on to this idea, in fact it’s been you know superfluous, it’s redundant. If we have at the same time people fanning the flames of the past, you cannot move forward.

PICTURED MAC PATEL: Used by Khaiyum to buy the Fiji Times when it looked like there was no other buyer after his draconian Media Decree ruled the country's oldest paper had to be 90 per cent owned locally. Patel was later found guilty of abuse of power over a $75,000 clock.