I would disagree that Bainimarama has stolen anything for personal gain from the country, in fact fighting corruption was one of the main drivers of the coup (he booted Qarase and his cronies in large part for stealing so much money ($350mil) from the National Providence Fund - Fijis only superannuation fund - and using the money to fund hotel construction contracts for their mates who in turn built them big houses on the same contract with biiiiig kickbacks - refer to the Natadola farce). I cannot defend a lot of his personal attacks on people who speak out against him politically - he plays directly to the military dictator stereotype there which is terrible for him, Fiji and anyone who cares to see - however hes not doing any of this for personal gain. I see him as a man who believes in any means to an end, which of course is a slippery slope and a dangerous stance to take as a leader with no democratic mandate, however he is not a corrupt man. The introduction by his govt of new Corporate Governance Laws to target Fraud and Corruption is a step in the right direction for the country.
SHAGGY QUOTE Bainimarama, his cabinet, and his military are prevented from entering either Australia or New Zealand, not just for the RWC, but until democratic elections are restored ... i think it would be hypocritical to take a stance for five years, and to suddenly make an exception just because more countries/people are looking on.
But back to rugby, I dont know how to also quote Shaggy in here, but I do take your point about it being hypocritical for the NZ govt to change their stance, but I guess what I am saying is that a blanket ban against Fijians with connections to the Military is not in the spirit of what they are trying to achieve. I have seen it personally - one of my uncles who tried to come over to NZ was almost denied because he had served in the Army reserves in the 70s. The only thing that saved him was that it was before we gained independence from Britain, and so they counted it as serving the Queen instead of Fiji. Had he served post '76 however, he would have been denied. Now if thats what you call 'ties to the military' then I certainly wouldn't agree it was in the spirit of what they are trying to achieve. A less extreme example would be the two players denied Australian visas last year for the June test. One had an uncle in the Navy, another a brother i think in the army. When you consider the limited options for employment in Fiji for young fit men, and also the lack of control you have over one's family joining the armed services or whatever line of employment they choose, I just don't think its fair.
Do I think the IRB should be looking at this at least as a serious world cup issue - yes. It devalues the cup to allow politics - esp ones as inconsequential as whether Fiji has a military govt - affect WC selections. What can they do about it - no idea.
Does the NZ govt as questions about Russians with links to the military who are abusing human rights in Chechnya - maybe a facetious point, but is that something they think about? No
Why is this about either
A/ New Zealand softening it's stance on the sanctions imposed
or
B/ The IRB finding a work around
When this all could have been resolved by
C/ The current Fijian regime agreeing to and going through with their promise to hold democratic elections ... elections = no ban ... simple
While you point out the good things that the current regime are doing, what about the reports by Amnesty International in my previous post regarding torture of the cabinet member in the now deposed government, and the trade unionists ... the way to effect change in a democratic country is via elections, not from the point of a gun.
... you can site China, Russia, which ever country you like, but as I pointed out in the previous post, two wrongs do not make a right ... better to change policy to those countries, not alter the policy towards Fiji.
As pointed out previously by other posters, South Africa was totally banned from the first two world cups because of their domestic policies ... Fiji have some players not able to play because of military ties (not a total ban)
As I mentioned previously, Fiji are suspended from the Commonwealth also, meaning that no teams from any sports could attend the commonwealth games ... these actions were taken by the other Commonwealth countries, not just Australia and New Zealand, for the same reasons as the New Zealand ban.
The bottom line is that this problem is not of Australia, New Zealand, or the IRBs making - it's the current Fijian regimes making, and they should fix it
