Blackbirding in Fiji

The blackbirding era began in Fiji in 1864 when the first New Hebridean and Solomon Island labourers arrived in Fiji to work on cotton plantations. Cotton had become a profitable business because of the cession of supplies from the United States because of the civil war. Since, Fijians were not interested in regular sustained labour, the thousands of European planters who flocked to Fiji, sought labour from the Melanesian islands.

Attempts were made by the British and Queensland Governments to regulate this transportation of labour.

• Melanesian labourers were to be recruited for three years, paid three pounds per year, issued with basic clothing and had access to the company store for supplies.
• Despite this, most Melanesians were recruited by deceit, usually being enticed abroad ships with gifts and then locked up.
• The living and working conditions in Fiji were even worse than those suffered by the later Indian indentured labourers.
• In 1875, the chief medical officer in fiji, Sir William MacGregor, listed a mortality rate of 540 out of every 1000 labourers.
• After the expiry of the three-year contract, the labourers were required to be transported back to their villages but most ship captains dropped them off at the first island they sighted off the Fiji waters.
• The British sent warships to enforce the law (Pacific Islanders' Protection Act of 1872) but only a small proportion of the culprits were prosecuted.
• With the arrival of Indian identured labourers in Fiji from 1879, the number of Melanesian labourers decreased but they were still being recruited and employed, off the plantations in sugar mills and ports, until the start of the First World War.
• Most of the Melanesians recruited were males and after the recruitment ended, those who chose to stay in Fiji, took Fijian wives and settled in areas around Suva. Their descents still remain a distinct community but their language and culture cannot be distinguished from native Fijians.
• Descendants of Solomon Islanders living at Tamavua-i-Wai in Fiji received a High Court verdict in their favour on 1 February 2007. The court refused a claim by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to force the islanders to vacate the land on which they had been living for seventy years.[5].

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Vodphone Fiji Partners with Bharti telesoft

Bharti Telesoft has signed a deal with Vodafone Fiji to provide Color Ring Back Tone (CRBT), Voice Portal and Multimedia Portal services to the mobile operator.

• The deal is based on a revenue share arrangement with both the companies would share in the investment and returns from the deployment of the content-based services.
• Bharti Telesoft to deliver a wide range of mobile content to satisfy the infotainment needs of our customers,” said Avanthi Senaratne, chief marketing officer, Vodafone Fiji.“
• Sanjiv Mital, CEO, Bharti Telesoft.
• Vodafone Fiji has more than 280,000 subscribers accounting to over 25 per cent of the island’s total population. The mobile operator has the largest subscriber base among all telecom service providers in the country.

Vodafone Fiji, part of Vodafone International, began operating mobile services in Fiji in 1994.

The Rest @ Coicl.com

Bainimarama Continues Filling Posts with Trusted Military Men

Interim Foreign Affairs Minister, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said there has been no confirmation at this stage on who will become Fiji's new High Commissioner to Malaysia after reports surfaced that senior military officer, Colonel Pita Driti may take up the post. Ratu Epeli said announcements will be made in due course and there is no confirmed appointment.

• Meanwhile PACNEWS reports that the RFMF's Land Force Commander, Colonel Pita Driti has begun orientations for his new job at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Suva.
• PACNEWS also said that reporting to the Foreign Affairs Ministry with Colonel Driti was Lt Colonel, Mason Smith, who was Driti's Land Force Command Chief of Staff. Colonel Smith is reportedly joining Fiji's mission to the UN in New York.
• Military spokesperson, Major Neumi Leweni said the RFMF will not comment on the matter as these issues will be addressed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
  

Bainimarama Expels New Zeland's Ambasador

WELLINGTON (AFP) - Fiji's military coup leader expelled the New Zealand ambassador on Thursday after accusing him of interference in the South Pacific island nation's internal affairs.
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New Zealand quickly warned there would be serious consequences from the decision and said there had been no reason for the "completely unacceptable" expulsion, which comes with Fiji's regime under pressure to restore democracy.

Voreqe Bainimarama, who seized power in Fiji with a bloodless coup in December, did not provide details about the allegations against ambassador Michael Green beyond saying he had meddled in the nation's affairs.

"The practice of quiet diplomacy was foremost, given all the chances to prevail by Fiji authorities in our efforts to seek understanding and cooperation of Mr Green to stop interfering," a statement from his office said. He said the decision had been made with "deep regret and reluctance."

Like other nations in the region, New Zealand has expressed criticism of Bainimarama's December 5 coup and urged him to hold new elections and restore democracy.

Reports in New Zealand said Bainimarama had been angered earlier this month when Green was guest of honour at a rugby match between New Zealand and Fiji.

The Rest @ Yahoo News

Austrailia Denies Visas to Soldiers Who Are Fiji Rugby Team Members

AUSTRALIA has banned the Fiji national rugby team's assistant manager and a key player from entering the country for Saturday's test against the Wallabies.The two have links to the Fiji military, which took power in a coup last year.

Manager Semi Rogoyawa and prop Alefoso Yalayalatabua, who serve in the Fijian navy, have been denied visas under travel sanctions imposed by Australia against members of the Fijian armed forces and their families.

"That is in accordance with Australia's travel restrictions on the Fiji military and other supporters of the coup," a spokesman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

"Military personnel who are members of Fiji teams are covered by our policy on visas."

The Rest @ Adelaide Now

Qarase Alegedely Free To Travel

Deposed Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is free to travel the High Court in Suva heard this morning. Qarase who is contesting the overthrow of his government by the military in December last year has been in exile in his village in the Lau Group for six months now.

He has not attended previous sessions of his litigation against military commander and interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama due to concerns that he would be detained under the Public Emergency Regulation if he came to Suva. Despite assurances by the authorities, the presiding judge-acting Chief Justice Anthony Gates today said while he acknowledges that the emergency regulations have been lifted, "unfortunately in Fiji it happens too often that when restraints are lifted, it is still enforced by ill-informed officers or individuals with extra zeal."

The Rest @ Fiji Live

Solid Waste Management Conference Next Week

NATIONAL Solid Waste Management will be the topic of discussions during a three-day workshop under way at Nadi this week.

The workshop, which is fully funded by the Japaneses International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and organised by the Department of Environment and the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), was opened this morning by the acting interim Environment Minister, Adi Laufitu Malani.

The objectives of the workshop are to

• Introduce the Fukuoka Landfill Operation as used in Samoa;
• Develop a concept plan on the Western Region Landfill model;
• Highlight the importance of landfills for Solid Waste Management in Fiji and the region;
• Understand and design policies on Financing Waste in Fiji;
• Understand the operations of the Naboro Landfill;
• Understand the present solid waste management practices in Fiji and to present an overview of JICA's assistance towards Solid Waste Management in the Western Region.

The Rest @ Fiji Times