#Sitiveni Rabuka

[papuapress]

PCC Welcomes MSG Decision to Engage Further with Indonesia

MEDIA RELEASE: Pacific Churches welcomes Melanesian Spearhead Group move to engage further with Indonesia on the situation in West Papua. In noting the appointment by the MSG of Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea (PNG) as special envoys to meet with the President of Indonesia to discuss the pressing issue of West Papua, Pacific Conference of…

[zvaigzdelasas]

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament on Wednesday the Pacific Islands nation was likely to collaborate with China on a key port modernisation and shipyard project, after discussing it in a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Fiji previously sought Australia's involvement to build a modern ship-building facility at Lautoka, officials and a consultant to Rabuka on the project told Reuters.

22 Nov 23

[allthegeopolitics]

Frank Bainimarama, who was Fiji’s prime minister for some 15 years until losing power in 2022, has been jailed for a year after he was found guilty of using his position to shut down a corruption investigation into a prominent university. Once armed forces chief, Bainimarama seized power in a 2006 coup and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018. The 70-year-old narrowly lost the December 2022 election to a coalition of parties led by the current prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, but remains a popular figure.

Continue Reading.

[ifreakingloveroyals]

Through the Years → Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark (747/∞)

26 April 2023 | Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, the Executive Director of UNFPA, Nathalia Kanem and the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni L. Rabuka pose in Suva, Fiji. The Crown Princess and the Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy are visiting Vanuatu and Fiji from April 23-27, 2023. The visit focuses on the challenges that the local communities of the Pacific islands face in connection with climate change. (Photo by Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

[indepwom101]

🇩🇰 Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

“Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka received a courtesy call from Her Royal Highness (HRH) Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark, today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Suva. The Crown Princess was accompanied by the UN Under-Secretary-General and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem and Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Mr. Dan Jørgensen.

Prime Minister Rabuka welcomed and thanked Her Royal Highness for her first visit to our shores which demonstrates Denmark’s unwavering support for Fiji and the Pacific region. He said this timely visit will advance our friendly relations and cooperation with Denmark on issues of importance such as climate actions, sustainable development and inclusivity. At the same time, the Prime Minister acknowledged Crown Princess Mary for her commitment in advocating for health, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

During the meeting, Crown Princess Mary thanked Prime Minister Rabuka and the people of Fiji for the kind hospitality accorded to her. She commended the Fiji Government’s commitment towards inclusivity and sustainable development. She also reaffirmed Denmark’s support to enhance the close and friendly relations between the two nations.

**Fiji looks forward to the new development initiatives to be pursued through the Crown Princess Mary’s historic visit to Fiji. During the final day of her visit tomorrow, the Crown Princess will visit the Blackrock Camp in Nadi before departing to Australia.”

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.25 (after 1930)

1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Eighth Route Army gains a minor, but morale-boosting victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan. 1944 – World War II: Surviving elements of the British 1st Airborne Division withdraw from Arnhem via Oosterbeek. 1955 – The Royal Jordanian Air Force is founded. 1956 – TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated. 1957 – Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is integrated by the use of United States Army troops. 1959 – Solomon Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, is mortally wounded by a Buddhist monk, Talduwe Somarama, and dies the next day. 1962 – The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas is elected President of the provisional government. 1962 – The North Yemen Civil War begins when Abdullah al-Sallal dethrones the newly crowned Imam al-Badr and declares Yemen a republic under his presidency. 1963 – Lord Denning releases the UK government's official report on the Profumo affair. 1964 – The Mozambican War of Independence against Portugal begins. 1969 – The charter establishing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is signed. 1974 – Dr. Frank Jobe performs first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery (better known as Tommy John surgery) on baseball player Tommy John. 1977 – About 4,200 people take part in the first running of the Chicago Marathon. 1978 – PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 and crashes in San Diego, killing all 135 aboard Flight 182, both occupants of the Cessna, as well as seven people on the ground. 1981 – Belize joins the United Nations. 1983 – Thirty-eight IRA prisoners, armed with six handguns, hijack a prison meals lorry and smash their way out of the Maze Prison. 1985 – 3 civilians killed by alleged supporters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Larnaca yacht killings. 1987 – Fijian Governor-General Penaia Ganilau is overthrown in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. 1992 – NASA launches the Mars Observer. Eleven months later, the probe would fail while preparing for orbital insertion. 1997 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-86 to the Mir space station. 1998 – PauknAir Flight 4101, a British Aerospace 146, crashes near Melilla Airport in Melilla, Spain, killing 38 people. 2003 – The 8.3 Mw  Hokkaidō earthquake strikes just offshore Hokkaidō, Japan. 2018 – Bill Cosby is sentenced to three to ten years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.

[head-post]

Macron gives New Caledonia Pacific mission green light

France has approved the launch of a Pacific mission to investigate the ongoing crisis in its overseas territory of New Caledonia, the French ambassador told local media on Friday.

Pacific mission in Nouméa

French ambassador to the Pacific Véronique Roger-Lacan told broadcaster RNZ Pacific that the high-level Pacific mission would lead a fact-finding effort into the crisis, which began on May 13.

Roger-Lacan wrote on website X on Thursday that she was heading to Fiji’s capital Suva for a meeting of Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers “with some news” from French President Emmanuel Macron for the Troika, a regional political consultative mechanism that includes Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni.

Roger-Lacan told RNZ that France “welcomes” the Troika’s mission to New Caledonia, as requested in a letter to Macron last month by Pacific leaders.

Meanwhile, the curfew in the French overseas territory has been extended until August 19 as the situation remains volatile.

How the conflict evolved

Demonstrations were held in the New Caledonian capital of Nouméa on 13 May against a French bill to expand the electorate in local elections. It allows people who have lived in New Caledonia for more than ten years to vote in elections. Now only citizens and their children on the electoral rolls at the time of the 1998 Nouméa Accord, which expanded the overseas territory’s autonomy, are eligible to vote.

Security forces arrested 140 people on 15 May. Four people were reported dead and hundreds injured, including about 100 police and gendarmes. French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc reported “exchanges of fire between rioters and civil defence forces.” There was also an attempt to storm a gendarmerie station.

French President Emmanuel Macron called a meeting of the Security Council on 16 May to discuss the worsening situation. Later, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the deployment of troops to New Caledonia. He also said the French military is deployed to secure the island’s ports and airport.

Macron announced on June 12 that he was suspending the implementation of a controversial plan to reform the electoral system in New Caledonia.

Read more HERE

[tigerwhowrites]

Post coup trauma – thirty-seven years on.

May 14th 1879, the Leonidas landed on Fiji’s shores with the first ‘batch’ of Indian indentured labourers, brought to toil on sugar plantations. After the Leonidas, 87 ships brought over 60, 000 indentured labourers to Fiji, whose children would become the first generation of an ethnic group known as Indo – Fijians.

May 14th 1987, Fiji: Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka was responsible for a racially fuelled coup in Fiji. After which many Indo Fijians including my parents emigrated to New Zealand.

In 2022, Sitiveni Rabuka was elected as the Prime Minister of Fiji. My mother felt uneasy about this. The trauma and undercurrents of 1987 has never gone away.

A lifetime has gone by since 1987, perhaps it is time to think about how past decisions now affect the diaspora?

Above: Attendees at the May 14th ‘Fiji Girmit Remembrance Day,’ Auckland. [Original image by Aaisha Khan]

Audio DUR: 0.09 seconds.

Contact details of interviewee: sangeetadeo99@gmail.com

[militaryleak]

Republic of Fiji Navy Takes Delivery of Second Guardian-Class Patrol Boat

Austal Limited (Austal) is pleased to announce Austal Australia has delivered the 19th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence. The vessel, RFNS Puamau, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Republic of Fiji Navy at a handover ceremony held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, attended by the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Hon Sitiveni Rabuka and Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific. RFNS Puamau was the second Guardian-class patrol boat to be delivered to the Republic of Fiji under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project (SEA3036-1). RFNS Puamau is the first of four Guardian-class Patrol Boats scheduled for delivery by Austal’s Western Australian shipyards in CY2024.

Austal Limited (Austal) is pleased to announce Austal Australia has delivered the 19th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence. The vessel, RFNS Puamau, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Republic of Fiji Navy at a handover ceremony held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, attended by the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Hon Sitiveni Rabuka and…

[zvaigzdelasas]

China’s global infrastructure strategy stood out as a main talking point in his meetings with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday.[...]

Xi told Garibashvili that China was ready to push forward with building the belt and road with Georgia. He added that Beijing welcomed more exports from the country and encouraged more Chinese companies to invest there.

Xi said the two countries were set to announce that bilateral relations would be upgraded to a “strategic partnership” during Garibashvili’s trip to China, according to state news agency Xinhua. China and Georgia ratified a free-trade agreement in 2017 – Beijing’s first with a former Soviet state. Georgia applied for EU membership last year and has launched a bid to join Nato. In the meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Xi said Beijing was willing to further align the belt and road strategy and the South American nation’s low-carbon development strategy.[...]

China signed belt and road cooperation agreements with Georgia in 2015 and Guyana in 2018.[...]

In the meeting with Widodo, Xi hailed the two “like-minded” Asian neighbours, which had made “major achievements” in aligning Beijing’s belt and road plan and Jakarta’s global maritime axis, a strategy to develop port infrastructure and strengthen maritime security.

Indonesia was where Xi launched the idea of the “21st century Maritime Silk Road” a decade ago, one of the two major pillars of the belt and road.

Widodo said that the high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung – a cornerstone project of the belt and road – would come into operation on schedule next month. [...]

Xi also met and discussed the belt and road with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye on Friday. China and Mauritania signed a cooperation plan to jointly promote building the belt and road on Friday.[...]

Beijing announced on Monday that Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka would also attend the opening ceremony, but he later had to cancel the visit to China after falling and hurting his head.

28 Jul 23

[bayshorerealestatefiji]

Fiji Airports to explore real estate for sustainable revenue

The Fiji Airports has decided to diversify its revenue sources and have real estate as an alternate revenue stream. This has been highlighted by Prime Minister and Minister for Public Enterprises Sitiveni Rabuka while contributing to the debate on the “Review Report of the Fiji Airports Annual Report 2020.” Rabuka says this move is to mitigate future revenue disruptions in the aviation…

[craigleephoto]

Heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden and China President Xi Jinping, pose for a "family portrait" of APEC's 21 member economies at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (Craig Lee/The San Francisco Examiner)

Left-right, back row: Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal of India, President Gustavo Petro of Columbia, Minister of Trade Damien O'Connor of New Zealand, Financial Secretary Paul Chan of Hong Kong, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, President Vo Van Thuong of Vietnam, Morris Chang founding chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk of Russia, and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji.

Left-right, front row: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, President Dina Boluarte of Peru, President Joe Biden of the United States of America, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of Thailand, Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei, President Gabriel Boric of Chile, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.14 (after 1940)

1940 – World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center. 1943 – World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland. 1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. 1951 – Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers. 1953 – Approximately 7,100 brewery workers in Milwaukee perform a walkout, marking the start of the 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike. 1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact. 1961 – Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle. 1970 – Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction. 1973 – Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched. 1977 – A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people. 1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador. 1987 – Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. 1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire. 2004 – The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun. 2004 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson are married at Copenhagen Cathedral. 2004 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people. 2008 – Battle of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre between Zenit supporters and Rangers supporters and the Greater Manchester Police, 39 policemen injured, one police-dog injured and 39 arrested. 2010 – Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135. 2012 – Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people. 2021 – China successfully lands Zhurong, the country's first Mars rover. 2022 – Ten people are killed in a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

[govindhtech]

Developing new subsea cables to connect South Pacific

Google are unveiling today the details of the South Pacific Connect program, which will assist improve the resilience and dependability of digital connection in the Pacific by deploying two new transpacific subsea cables, Honomoana and Tabua.

Subsea cable routes in the South Pacific

The South Pacific Connect initiative, in partnership with several entities such as Fiji International Telecommunications, the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia, APTelecom, and Vocus Group, aims to establish new international subsea cables that will link Fiji and French Polynesia to the United States and Australia.

Honomoana, called for the Polynesian words for “ocean” (moana) and “link” (hono), will link French Polynesia with the United States and Australia. Named for a sacred whale tooth in Fiji, Tabua will link Fiji with Australia and the United States.

Furthermore, Fiji and French Polynesia will host physically distinct cable landing stations as part of the South Pacific Connect initiative, which will also connect them via an interlink cable. Through this, users in the Pacific Islands and worldwide will benefit from improved reliability, increased capacity, decreased latency, and connected transpacific connections.

Australia, Fiji, and French Polynesia will form a ring around each other thanks to the South Pacific Connect project. Pre-positioned branching units within this ring will enable additional Oceanian nations and territories to benefit from the initiative’s dependability and resilience. This is one of the first initiatives of its kind in the Pacific, offering a region vulnerable to natural disasters redundant international access.

In order to increase digital connection and resilience, the Government of Fiji is thrilled to collaborate with Google to reach this significant milestone. Google common goal is to open the door to a more digitally connected and secure future for Fiji as well as the Pacific region at large. With this collaboration, Google hope to create a long-lasting legacy of advancement, skill building, and economic prosperity that benefits everyone. Honorable Sitiveni Rabuka, Prime Minister of Fiji, said, “Fiji expresses its profound gratitude to Google for this collaboration and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to support this transformative initiative, dedicated to fostering peace, prosperity, and a brighter future for our people and the broader global community.”

The digital economy has been identified by the French Polynesian administration as one of the four main areas for social and economic advancement. “We are thrilled to have Google as our partner in this endeavor,” French Polynesia’s President Moetai Brotherson remarked.

“Fintel is thrilled to be working with the global technological giant, Google, to assist the South Pacific Connect initiative. The CEO of Fiji International Telecommunications, George Samisoni, stated, “This will strengthen Fintel and Fiji’s telecommunications hub status and provide the much-needed reliable and resilient connectivity between the people of the Pacific and the rest of the world.”

“Vocus is thrilled to be Google’s preferred partner for executing the South Pacific Connect initiative, which will greatly improve the resilience, capacity, and dependability of Australia’s global connectivity. According to Ellie Sweeney, CEO of Vocus, “the system will establish three distinct Australian landings along with dual cable paths to the US, substantially improving the resilience of Australia’s critical connections to the world.”

OPT has been developing its underwater cable network since 2010 in an effort to close the digital gap for isolated islands and provide internet connectivity to the people of French Polynesia. In light of this, OPT is proud to work with Google to expand its network and expertise in this fantastic project for Google region and communities, following in the footsteps of Honotua (2010), which linked Tahiti to Hawaii, and Natitua (2018 and 2023) which linked 22 islands of Tuamotu, Marquisas, and Australes archipelagos to Tahittiti, as well as Manatua (2020), which linked Tahiti to Cook Islands, Niue, and Samoa.

“Partnering with Google is a great example of how companies can work together to accelerate and deliver connectivity solutions that will change the world,” stated Eric Handa, CEO of APTelecom. “Increasing the reliability and resilience of digital connectivity in the Pacific is a fundamental objective of APTelecom.”

Sustainable cable laying in the South Pacific

Subsea cables increase internet accessibility and dependability, which boosts productivity and the economy. People can learn new skills that lead to job prospects and businesses and public sector organizations can provide better customer and constituency service with more access to digital services. Google are thrilled about the implications for their users and Google Cloud clients in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

As Google collaborate closely with their partners to close the digital divide and enhance connection throughout the Pacific, Google look forward to sharing more.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[qudachuk]

Sitiveni Rabuka says island countries must be ‘zone of non-aligned territories’ and hopes big powers will avoid military conflictThe Pacific islands should be a “zone of peace”, Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has said, adding that he hopes a...