The Art of Deflection

As the attention of the world is drawn to the illegal regime's global humiliation in their failure to secure the respect and endorsement of the Great Council of Chiefs, the illegal regime's best tactic is deflection, deflect the attention from the public failure with some juicy or shocking news that will keep the public's attention away from their public failure!

This came in various forms today - Thursday 12 April.

The first is the allegation that the Ambassadors of UK, US, and Australia had approached Voreqe's thug Pita Driti to stage a mutiny. When it comes down to it, it's simply a matter of his word against that of the honourable, government appointed Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.

This pathetic show only serves to prove how desperate the illegal interim administration is in their attempt at pointing fingers elsewhere to make up for their lack of proof of any corruption in the SDL/FLP government. This distraction is an attempt to cause a stir in the rural Fijian community, whose leaders have just turned their back on the illegal regime - and rightfully so. This news is an attempt to tar the embassies and those foreign bodies that speak out for the return to democracy - after all Driti and co can not force these people to the nearest army installation for an 'exercise in diplomacy'.

The best option open to the illegal regime is publicly snob the respective embassies and make it appear as though Voreqe is in charge of these ambassadors. Another weak attempt at impressing the rural community.
As the US Ambassador stated, the US "wants the RFMF to return to the barracks, stay out of politics and public institutions, lift the state of emergency, stop interfering in the lives of ordinary Fijians, the judiciary and other accountable institutions."

Believe me; we the people of Fiji also want exactly that!

The second deflection by this illegal regime is their sell of the EU Meeting outcome - even before they leave for the EU. The notorious former ousted prime minister Chaudhry claims that he is positive the EU will give them the $350 mill for sugar industry restructure. This is the latest attempt to sell the idea that the EU supports this illegal regime. The EU has its rules and regulations and although we as a people have been told that the EU wants the country to go to democratic elections as soon as possible, it doesn't necessarily mean that the EU will hold off on the money. In fact due to the work done by the previous pre-coup Foreign Affairs ministry (again I stress that I'm not pro sdl) this money could be given to us if they utilise the framework proposed for the use of this aid. There is the talk that the ADB regional staff have somewhat influence over the EU opinion, besides the local EU office.

Some light must be shed regarding this aid money - it must be made clear that the proposal for the money IS NOT the illegal regime's work but that of the previous governments! It IS NOT because the EU believes in the illegal regime that they've tolerated the trip, but because EU must be seen as being impartial to local politics and stay true to assistance promised the previous democratic government.

The debate on whether this illegal regime will stay in power long enough to ensure proper deployment and utilisation of these funds are matters that the EU should consider greatly. The political climate in Fiji has now receded to an all time low with the recent developments by the illegal regime. Those in the EU should note that the people of this great country can only tolerate so much before they start reacting, and when this happens, no one knows what the extent of the consequences will be.

Why do you think the military keep hiding behind the "Emergency Decree"?!.

The third deflection is one that may slip under the radar but for the fact that this is provided by board members that were put in place by the illegal regime. A new movie is to be shot in Fiji from 23 April. As you may well know, this work was done by the previous board - whose Chairman and board members were respected members of the international community.
The public must be made to understand that like any civil service department, even though the members of the board have been replaced the work commitments signed off by previous board must be held up or the new board would have to face severe financial and legal penalties to say the least. The peddling of this new movie as the new board's work is a poor attempt to dupe the public into believing that something good is coming out of this evil!

Their fourth attempt at deflection, as unexpected as it may have been to them, is their attempt at turning the citizen's mind away from supporting the one last group that stands in their way - the Great Council of Chiefs.

The illegally appointed self proclaimed "anti corruption cleaner" Voreqe has suspended all GCC meetings labeling them a "threat to national security".
In his speech delivered in RFMF Mess Hall in his usual military uniform, the dictator started with "My Government...." to tell the nation that the decision was his to stop all further GCC meetings. He then went on to add that he was doing it for the good of the nation!

An obvious sign of dictatorship, selfishness and disregard for public or national interest. None but his own. Note that his speeches in early Dec started with "we have decided..." which changed from a plural to singular context soon after to "I have decided..." , "...my government...", "it is my wish..." and more - as though he has the right to speak on my behalf or yours.
Further proof of the dictatorship in this illegal regime.

This suspension only furthers the cause for justice and democracy in this country.

What Voreqe claimed the previous SDL/FLP government would do with their Qoliqoli Bill and other radical bills, he has done with this coup - he has taken Fiji back to the dark ages.

This last gasp attempt at enforcing their rule upon the multitudes, upon the indigenous Chiefs of this land, upon the poor coup victims, has only served to prove to the world that Voreqe DOES NOT have the support of the people of Fiji. Were this another country there'd be an increase in the number of citizens venting their frustrations out on those that oppress them. Were this another people, there'd be blood in the streets.

But this is Fiji; a land where the indigenous were forced to coexist with other nationalities and they adapted gracefully as is their nature. A land where the unique indigenous culture has thrived, whilst allowing others to thrive also. A land where racialism only exists in the corridors of power and politics, not amongst the rural citizens. Don't believe, travel through Labasa/Savusavu or even the western side to see for yourself. A land where the Fijians are slow to anger and quick to forgive.

This characteristic has been the trump of this illegal regime. They have abused this and counted on the indigenous being themselves and have in every way possible used the threat of violence, public degradation and even death to quell any possible uprising they might face.
For sadly as a fellow non indigenous citizen of mine put it; "this coup is about pitting Fijian against Fijian, whilst Chaudhry rips us all off".

It is time for the people of this country to say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!". For the sake of this country, listen to the Great Council of Chiefs. Use their recomendations as a roadmap to bring this country back to democracy and peace. Their consultation must be sought and advice followed for any lasting peaceful resolution to be achieved.

To the members of the EU - Please take into consideration the political climate of this country should the illegal regime denounce the indigenous authority of the people. You can see now what proof of corruption these people have. You can see for yourselves the lack of support they have from the ordinary citizen to the Chiefs. You can see for yourselves the desperate attempts at re-establishing control over this nation. Your money will not be wisely spent should you give it.

There is no guarantee that this illegal regime will stay in power long enough.

Not if the people have anything to say about it.

Propaganda techniques - Part I

I have been accused of over sensationalising the issues of this coup in this country by "anonymous" along with writing like a teenager. Thank you for your comments, please email me so we can discuss this further.

I write in my own "teenage" fashion to help expose the Propaganda techniques used by the Illegal Military Regime to make their presence in this country more "acceptable". As we all know in Fiji, once it becomes "acceptable" it's almost certain they'll be here to stay.

If you need an explanation in propaganda, read this article from a fellow blogger.

Bear with me as I uncover the techniques of propaganda being used against us the people of Fiji by this illegal military regime!

1/ Bait n Switch:
This technique is a two phase one - Bait the people in with an attractive positive sounding idea or scheme, then once they've been reeled in, switch your approach with the real meaning - one that usually won't be acceptable to them in the first place if they knew what it was all about!

• Bait:2 year Pre-coup campaign to clean up government, all for anti-corruption with constant public statements by military commander on political issues (remember when he was telling the people of Fiji NOT to vote SDL back in power?), allegations of "massive corruption in government", allegations of "corrupt practices". A big sell to the public using media to voice out anti-corruption agenda with the key sell of minimum disruption to the people - "Won't take long", "peaceful transition", "bloodless coup", "interest of national security".
• Switch: After December 5 takeover illegal military regime loads the media with emphasis on "roadmap to democracy" with a first 2 year timeframe and then a 3 year timeframe (they miscalculated the ammount of money required to pay off bad debt?).
  Gone are the "peaceful transition" statements 3 month later, what ever happened to "bloodless coup" ?
  And more importantly, the illegal military regime have NO PROOF to show for their allegations of corruption that link SDL government to any shady dealings. They have nothing to show for their claims, but instead cement themselves into the illegal administration as "Interim" Ministers, Judiciary, Prisons, FNPF, FIRCA, and other bodies relevant to their cause. [read this article for further clarification]
  

2/ Repetition:

"But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over."
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, p. 184

"The purpose of propaganda is not to provide interesting distraction for blasé young gentlemen, but to convince the masses. But the masses are slow moving, and they always require a certain time before they are ready even to notice a thing, and only after the simplest ideas are repeated thousands of times will the masses finally remember them."
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, p. 185

The illegal military regime's repetition of "move fiji forward", "peace and stability", "unknown elements", "roadmap to ..." , "anti corruption", "lesser of two evils", "law and order", "interest of national security", "protect the people of Fiji" has been repeated over and over again as much as "ahhh" has been in a certain spokesperson's interviews! This is based on the simple fundamental principle of repetition and how it affects a human's automatic perception of the truth. Hitler's words quoted above show how vulnerable the masses are to this sort of thing. What you need to do is ask yourself the question -

• Are the propaganda phrases becoming acceptable or more acceptable to you then they were in December?

I leave you with another phrase the explains it all:

"If a lie is repeated enough times, it would become widely accepted as the truth."

Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda

3/ Using Celebrities:
In a Fiji Village article Bainimarama states publicly that he "understands that" the 7s team has prepared well, "he'd like them to know" that the people of fiji are behind them...
He is trying to make it sound like he's speaking on behalf of all of us - you and me! And in mentioning his well wishes for Serevi and team he's trying to make it appear that Serevi's on his side! Even though we know that Serevi isn't political and prefers not to comment on the situation - as further confirmed by another "anonymous"! This example can also be used in the "Transference" technique. I'll cover that later in Part II.
This is a common technique and it has failed them in the past - Dr Nandan's endorsement of Bainimarama , "Shyster" Shameem's endorsement of the Dec 05 events, Transparency International's sudden activity against corruption, Leweni's speeches about human rights, civil rights and military investigations to name a few.
Don't let this work on you! Be aware of the work that they are doing to quietly manipulate your thoughts into accepting Bainimarama as your spokesperson. Or Leweni. Or Driti.

4/ Vagueness:
The vagueness of their claims and allegations of corruption and corrupt practices by the SDL led government that led to "corrupt practices being accepted as the normal way to do business in Fiji" have no standing in any court of law because of one important factor - NO PROOF! These people have violated the fundamental rule of law - innocent until proven guilty - and have tried their very best to convince us that they're right in their allegations.
Before the coup, VB was hurling accusations left right and center about known elements in government who were perpertrators of the 2000 Coup - Yet since the coup NO ONE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO JUSTICE for this! (what justice?). To this date NO ONE HAS BEEN BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURT FOR CORRUPT PRACTICES - Not one person in SDL or the SDL Government!
To further prove my point, they have raided SDL offices, even Pacific Connex offices and have "obtained more evidence" according to their mayjahhh Lewenski, but nothing has been compiled in a court of law - Don't you think that since they now own the courts, they'd be the first to show us the proof they have if any?????
It only follows that as they had no proof, still have no proof, and didn't look like they were able to obtain any proof at all - they set up their own "Anti Corruption Unit" to pry into the affairs of all citizens on the allegations of corruption.
This Unit duplicates the function of the Auditor General's Office, Economic Crime Unit (Police), Ministry of Home Affairs (Intelligence gathering, case compliation of national security issues) and if their bill is passed in Parliament - this Unit will be given the right to take apart our civil rights all based on a single allegation!!! Watch this space for more on this Unit's promised power!
What do you have to do to earn their interest? Anyone can complain about you (with or without proof) and they will earmark you based on your $$$$ income and how much they can use this in the media to justify their initial allegations of "Corrupt Practices" of the SDL led government. Even if you're not part of Government, they'll try to find a tie in back to Govt- either through Immigration puppet, or some FTIB screw up!


5/ Plain Folks:
This technique is to use ordinary folks and make it appear that they the illegal military regime is made up of ordinary citizens like YOU and ME.
This technique has been used since January with regular articles in the Fiji Times and other newspapers on members of the illegal regime who pose and appear as ordinary folks making it big "for the people of Fiji". Note that these articles in no way talk about the horrors of the illegal military regime, but make it appear that this "plain folk" is just like you and me. The best examples are those of failed politicians of the NAPF that have appeared in the Fiji Times. These articles do not talk about how these people were NOT voted in by their own people! It doesn't talk about how these people's ideas for their interim "ministries" are NOT sanctioned by the people of Fiji!! It certainly doesn't talk about what these "ordinary" folks have to say about the murders and beatings done by their boss!
Don't believe me? Watch this weekend's dailies for such articles as those that appeared in previous dailies - [1], [2] and tell me i'm wrong (this is one case where i'm hoping i'm wrong). they'll probably just shift the dates of publication.

*--*

Therein lies today's lesson on propaganda techniques utilised by this illegal military regime in their attempt to justify their illegal coup and reason for existence!

Please feel free to educate me also on the matter or even better - share your experience on the subject with me and we can discuss how to better present this to the masses.

There are a few other items that may need to be written up, so don't worry - Part II coming out soon with more techniques and how this illegal military regime is using it against us the people of Fiji.

Don't let them get the better of you!