Assistant information minister Kaitani's claim 'laughable'
Title -- 3829 FIJI: Assistant information minister Kaitani's claim 'laughable'
Date -- 6 November 2002
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Daily Post/FijiLive, 6/11/2
Copyright -- DP/FL
Status -- Unabridged
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KAITANI'S CLAIM 'LAUGHABLE'
www.fijilive.com/news/news.php3?art=06/06r.htm
* See PMW3825
SUVA (Daily Post/FijiLive/Pacific Media Watch): A claim by Fiji's Assistant Information Minister Simione Kaitani that he is an innocent and does not understand why a visa to the United States has been rejected as "laughable”, Fiji's Daily Post reports.
Fiji Labour Party spokeswoman and deposed minister Lavinia Padarath said yesterday Kaitani “must already know the problem he is facing is trivial compared to the 37 days -- 56 days for my colleagues -- we spent as hostages in the Parliamentary complex”.
“Some of us were severely beaten up, it almost cost them their lives and what about the mental torture we all lived through?” she asked.
“Mr Kaitani’s problem was self-inflicted and he should have thought twice of the consequences before acting the way he did.
“We, the hostages saw him and heard him on the loudspeaker inciting people with false information on issues such as land and leadership for indigenous Fijians and in publicly supporting [coup frontman] George Speight’s actions, confirmed our suspicions that he was one of the coup instigators.
“Mr Kaitani is a disgrace as a Member of Parliament and has continued to lie his way through but he cannot go on fooling the people."
Padarath said Kaitani was named as the Education, Science and Technology Minister in Speight’s government.
“Mr Kaitani is lying by claiming he is innocent. He needs to watch the [ABC] Four Corners programme titled Hurricane George [Actual title: Cyclone George] by Chris Masters. This should help him recall his own words as the interview was taken at the height of the coup.”
Ms Padarath said Mr Kaitani “enjoyed himself in Parliament, disregarded rules and drove in curfew hours only to be beaten up and ending in hospital”.
“The refusal by the US government is commendable as it’s one way of providing some degree of comfort and justice to the victims of the coup who had been oppressed and demoralised by the action of people like Simione Kaitani.
“In a queer twist, Mr Kaitani claims that he faces no problems with Britain and Australia as if he is using them to justify his actions.
“The international community needs to be united in keeping people with such a record out of their country through visa denial.
“In Fiji, justice continues to be delayed in that offenders like Mr Kaitani and some of whom now sitting in Cabinet and Parliament have yet to be charged.”
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