Scrawny Chicken and a Soaring Eagle

For some reason, my macho side gets a kick out of Tuilaepa's treatment of Bainimarama.

Forum not your business, Tuilaepa tells Bainimarama
Friday April 23, 2010 By Tupuola Terry Tavita, le Savali newspaper

APIA— Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi believes it’s best that Fiji dictator Commodore Frank Bainimarama keeps quiet and learn from the valuable lessons he is imparting on him “free of charge”.
The Commodore this week lashed out at his “Samoan counterpart” as “desperate” to have the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat relocated from Suva to Apia.

“My counterpart?” said a bemused Prime Minister Tuilaepa.

“You know, calling the commodore a Prime Minister is like calling a skinny dog a vicious lion, a scrawny chicken a soaring eagle.” He laughs.

Of the Forum Secretariat, the Prime Minister said:

“Oh? Is it Bainimarama’s Forum now? Best he (Bainimarama) sticks to planting cassava and leave Forum issues to the big boys— bonafide elected leaders. Small-time unelected thugs are not welcome.”

“He has neither say nor business with either the Forum or its secretariat.”

Fiji, three years after Commodore Frank Bainimarama usurped its elected government, was suspended by the Pacific Islands Forum February last year.

And what becomes of the Forum Secretariat will be the result of a collective decision by the Pacific Islands Forum leaders, said Tuilaepa.

“Whether it gets relocated to Samoa, Papua (New Guinea), Tonga, Vanuatu or even Bikini Atoll is neither Bani’s nor those working at the Secretariat’s decision to make,” he said. “And if it (Secretariat)

Tuilaepa maintains that the Secretariat cannot operate “under the thumb” of an unelected military regime.

“Especially a regime that has done away with the rule of law, democratic government, an independent judiciary and [suppressed]... the media and freedom of speech. It’s against the exact fundamental principles the Forum was founded on,” he said.

How the Commodore connected any possible relocation of the Forum Secretariat headquarters with Samoa bewilders the Prime Minister.

“It appears that he is scared that it’ll be relocated to Samoa? Well thank you very much Mr Bainimarama for your vote of confidence in us. But, frankly, we don’t need your endorsement,” said Tuilaepa.

[Editor’s Note: Samoa News reprints this story with permission from Tupuola, who is also the editor of the Samoa government owned Le Savali newspaper]
does relocate, well Bani only has himself to blame for it. He is the root cause of all these problems.”

http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=14524&edition=1272016800