PrernaLal.com

My Email to PM Bainimarama

// November 4th, 2009 // Fiji Coup Coverage

Dear Illegal PM of my country,

I hope this email gets to you or gets published in a medium that can reach you. Unfortunately, you seem to have isolated yourself from the press instead of using it to gain leverage over your opposition.

I supported your coup in 2006 because I really did believe that you did the right thing by getting rid of the racist and homophobic Qarase.  But what you have done since then has been atrocious: cracking down on the media, detaining and deporting journalists, breaking diplomatic ties with countries and acting like ‘the law.’ Deporting Dr. Brij Lal is the last straw.

How do you expect your ‘best and brightest’ academics, journalists, solicitors and entrepreneurs to come back home and contribute to Fiji when you keep infringing on freedom of speech by throwing us in jail and deporting us anytime we cast doubt on your (false) promises?

How do you expect us to put our minds together and work on pressing issues of concern to Fijian society when you censor and eliminate our voices?

This goes beyond a diplomatic attack on our colonial cousins in Australia. Dr. Brij Lal is an exemplary Indian scholar on the Girmit and Indenture system with profound knowledge Fijian history and the current political situation in Fiji. In fact, he is probably one of the minds to tap in order to lead the country. And now I really hope Dr. Lal publishes a bunch of work against your illegal regime.

I love Fiji. But your military regime saddens and shames me,

-Prerna
–
Law School Candidate
Masters in International Relations
Blogger | Change.org

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