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January 11th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The federal government’s hopes that Fiji had begun the march back towards democracy have been dashed by the military regime’s latest broken promise.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama drew rare – albeit cautious – international praise when he announced earlier his intention this month to lift draconian public emergency regulations that had been in place since April 2009.
But Bainimarama’s announcement now appears to have been little more than a publicity stunt after he enacted new laws giving him many of the same powers he had under emergency rule.
The government’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles said the move had dashed his hopes that Commodore Bainimarama – who seized power in a 2006 coup – was ready to start restoring democracy.
“It’s very disappointing,” Mr Marles told AAP on Wednesday.
“There has been a history in Fiji since 2006 of the interim regime making promises and not honouring them.
“We are just not seeing the kind of actions that we would want to see if we were to have any confidence at all that we were witnessing a return to democracy in Fiji.”
Mr Marles said it was clear the Fijian regime had to be judged on its actions, not its words.
He also said the new laws did not leave him with much hope that the regime’s planned consultations for a new constitution – scheduled to begin next month – would be credible.
“We look to that consultation process now with a great deal of concern,” he said.
“It will only be credible if it does involve the full political spectrum in Fiji.
“And it will be very plain for all of us to see whether that consultation is fair dinkum or not.”
Earlier, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the government would wait to see real reform on the ground in Fiji before reconsidering its sanctions against the regime.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions said the federal government should consider imposing stronger economic sanctions on Fiji in the wake of the new laws.
ACTU president Ged Kearney said under the laws, anyone who campaigns for workplace rights can be labelled a terrorist and jailed indefinitely.
“This new decree is even more draconian and places even more restrictions on the rights of Fijians than past laws,” she said in a statement.
“The Australian government cannot turn a blind eye.”
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