Bainimarama, You cannot allow a sales girl to be in charge of high profile visits in future. She may be suitable for the Southern Hemisphere (Pacific Island Countries) but not from the North. Review the you-tube videos (all of them) and judge your own performance from a 1st world perspective. And even if you did change the choreographer, there is something that you will always lack, the divine grace of our Lord and mana from the vanua and our ancestors. Nobility is something that can never be bought, no matter how much of the peoples money you throw at it.

Kremlin's Tough Top Diplomat - Russian Foreign Minister Is Nobody's Fool
Benjamin Bidder
7 February 2012
Spiegel Online International
English
© Copyright 2012. Der Spiegel. All rights reserved.

Sergey Lavrov has reaped massive criticism for Moscow's veto of the UN Security Council resolution on Syria, but the Russian foreign minister remains unmoved. The top diplomat, who met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, has a track record of standing up to the West.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov knows how to deliver a "nyet" in all kinds of different ways. He can be taciturn and stubborn, as he was when Moscow expressed its opposition to the NATO missile shield in Europe, and he can be angry, as when he delivered the Kremlin's veto of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria at the weekend. (The West's comments, he said, were "bordering on hysteria"). But he is also capable of delivering a "nyet" with a wink, as he did when he, a chain smoker, resisted then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal to ban smoking at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Sometimes, however, Lavrov just can't say no. In early February, for example, after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had just made an unsuccessful telephone call to Lavrov over the Syria conflict, the Russian foreign minister paid a visit to the tiny island nation of Fiji in the South Pacific. The trip was prompted by Russia's desire to expand its influence in Asia and Oceania. Hence Lavrov did not complain when his hosts dressed him in a Hawaiian-style shirt and placed a colorful garland around his neck. At his feet, they carried out traditional rituals that required bare torsos and loud shouting. For a man who is usually the personification of Russia's foreign policy self-confidence, his smile, framed by a face covered in sweat, was unusually timid.

On Tuesday, Moscow's top diplomat was on a significantly more sensitive mission to Syria. He was greeted by pro-government crowds on arrival in Damascus, who lined the streets of the capital and waved Russian flags as the foreign minister's motorcade passed.

During talks in Damascus with Bashar Assad, Lavrov called on the Syrian president to do what was needed to ensure peace in the country. "Every leader of every country must be aware of his share of responsibility." Lavrov told Assad at the meeting in Damascus, according to state-run news agency RIA. "You are aware of yours." The foreign minister added: "It's in our interests that the Arab peoples live in peace and harmony."

The talks took place as the Syrian army continued to bombard the rebel stronghold of Homs, where at least 95 people were killed on Monday, according to activists.

Losing Credit

At the weekend, Moscow, together with China, once again protected its old ally Assad by vetoing the Security Council resolution condemning Syria's violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. Since then, the Russians have been the focus of international criticism, with top Western diplomats calling their veto a "scandal."

The secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, said that Russia and China had lost diplomatic credit in the Arab world because of their veto. The rejection, he said, sent the wrong message to the Syrian government. Now, he said, Damascus might have the impression that it could do anything it wanted without the international community taking action.

Pressure is also coming from the United Nations. In a statement Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "appalled" by the Syrian government's attacks on opponents of the regime. The violence against civilians was "totally unacceptable before humanity," he said. "No government can commit such acts against its people without its legitimacy being eroded."

Now the world is watching Lavrov. Will Moscow make a serious proposal to mediate between the parties in the conflict -- or does it only want to lend its support to Assad?

'Free from Ideology'

The diplomat has already vehemently rejected international criticism of Russia's veto, saying that the UN Security Council was too hasty in voting on the draft resolution. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Moscow sought "the swiftest stabilization of the situation in Syria on the basis of the swiftest implementation of democratic reforms whose time has come." Lavrov himself declined to comment on the objectives of his mission to Syria, where he is being accompanied by the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Mikhail Fradkov.

Already at the beginning of the year, Lavrov had set out the direction of Russia's foreign policy in a major press conference. Foreign policy, he said, should be based on the "solid ground of national interest" and should be "free from ideology." The top diplomat knows what he is talking about; during the last three decades, he has been on the front lines of Moscow's foreign policy. In the 1980s, Lavrov worked for Moscow's mission to the UN in New York, later returning there to head the mission from 1994 to 2004. In 2002 and 2003, he deflected Washington's efforts to win Russian support for its war in Iraq. Vladimir Putin appointed him Russian foreign minister in 2004.

Within the Russian government, the supremely self-confident Lavrov is something of an exception. While most of his bland ministerial colleagues like to keep their contact with journalists to a minimum, the diplomat likes to invite Moscow correspondents to an annual New Year's reception, where he chats freely with guests and fields their questions.

The Force Is with Him

Lavrov's foreign counterparts have great respect for the Russian diplomat, and not only because of his considerable experience. Lavrov, who in his free time enjoys playing soccer with government colleagues and going rafting with old university friends, also has a talent as an entertainer. A graduate of Russia's respected diplomatic school MGIMO and an amateur poet, he wrote a eulogy to his alma mater, which reads: "Study until you fall over and drink until the end / Do not rush, pursue your goals stubbornly."

In 2005, he took to the stage at an ASEAN summit in Laos wearing a purple hooded robe and carrying a lightsaber, looking like a character out of "Star Wars." Lavrov's appearance in Jedi costume was the highlight of the evening.

Observers might argue, however, that Russia has gone over to the dark side by defending dictators and despots. But Lavrov defends Moscow's positions. He once said that he wished Russia's Western partners would "abandon the illusion" that their dominance was "eternal." In any case, Russia's foreign policy is dictated by the Kremlin, which sees its Security Council veto and status as a nuclear power almost entirely as tools in the struggle to advance its national interests.

During his time as Russian ambassador to the UN, Lavrov proved to be a passionate artist and ironic observer of his own profession. During long meetings, he would sometimes amuse himself by doodling. Ten years ago, he gave one of the drawings, which was probably made during a session on an Iraq resolution, to his German counterpart Hanns Schumacher. The word "diplomacy" was written there in squiggly letters, followed by the adjectives "deep," "low" and "messy."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,813780,00.html

Spiegel-Verlag Rudolph Augstein GmbH

The Republic of the Fiji islands and the rest of the islanders of the south west Pacific that converged in Fiji last week were so 'important' to the Russian Government that its ministry of Foreign Affairs did not upload any photos of the 'successful' meet, nor make any mention of the same, either on its official website or on twitter. 

The Hon Minister Lavrov nevertheless "going by the words of Mr. Prime Minister" (Frank) stated that "this ritual (traditional ceremonies of welcome) goes back to ancient times when the 'natives' of the island met sailors coming from far away" and "would be forever enshrined in our memory". That was the extent of the rhetoric. So much for cooperating with the 'natives'.

Next time Frank (there won't be a next time), crank the air-con and wear a suit, the Russian foreign minister had to take off his necktie before he disembarked from his jet, not because of the weather, but because his aide advised him of an overweight Samoan on the tarmac wearing an 'aloha shirt', hence he had to buy one too to fit in. Now, how can a nuclear power possibly upload such a photo on the world wide web? We can only live in hope!

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The following information is an extract of an interview by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov 'Russia Will Become a Stabilizing Factor in the Asia Pacific Region (APR)' published in English by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on 2 February 2012.

Russia's positions in Asia-Pacific

Question: China and the USA are fighting in the APR for the control over the Pacific Ocean. Beijing is increasing its influence on such countries as Myanmar, Fiji and Timor-Leste, an important state from the strategic point of view, whereas Washington - on Australia and New Zealand. What should Russia do in order not to lose its ground in the region?

Answer: Global trade routes go through the vast and dynamically developing APR. New effective commodity, financial and technological chains are being created here. The region strengthens its position on the international scene. The role of the Asia-Pacific economies as a driving force of the global growth will only increase further on. We witness the increase of the APR influence on the development of not only regional but also international economic and political agenda.

In this context the growing interest in the region from major powers is quite justified. We too consistently enhance our position here which is solidly based on friendly and mutually beneficial relations with almost every APR state.

It is important to prevent the legitimate increase of attention of international community to the situation in the APR from going beyond the limits of natural and mutually stimulating competition and following the negative path of heated rivalry or even confrontation. Such development could be particularly dangerous taking into account the continuing contradictions, conflicts and territorial disputes in the region. Being mosaic in character, the Asia-Pacific region faces multiple security threats, including in the areas of disarmament and non-proliferation, fight against terrorism and organized crime, or in dealing with the consequences of natural and technological disasters. Economic and social risks are growing, in particular in light of the threat of a global depression. All this is fraught with the loss of balance and stability in the region.

In this context our efforts are aimed at comprehensive development of multilateral network diplomacy and extensive dialogue infrastructure in order to identify potential collective threats in a timely manner and to collaborate in searching the ways to overcome them.

We have achieved quite a lot in this area recently - Russia has become a full-fledged member of the East Asia Summit mechanism, has joined the ASEM interregional dialogue forum, actively works in a dialogue format of the Defence Ministers Meetings of the ASEAN states and their external partners. One of the major multilateral meetings this year will be the APEC summit that Russia, presiding at the APEC Forum, will host in Vladivostok.

Our conceptual contribution to the creation of the comprehensive cooperation and security architecture in the APR is the joint initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao put forward in September 2010. This initiative contains key principles that may become pillars of such architecture. They are the rule of international law, non-bloc approaches, equality, openness and inclusiveness. The document contains provisions concerning the development and adaptation to the conditions of the region of the universal principles of indivisibility of security and the abandonment of the attempts to strengthen one's own security at the expense of the security of others. We suggest creating regional security system solidly based on international law and on such fundamental principles as peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use of force or threat of force, renunciation of confrontation and cooperation aimed against third countries, as well as on partner relationships between multilateral organizations in the APR.

We are convinced that the Russian-Chinese proposals may become a unifying idea for Asia and the Pacific. It is not without reason that they have already received positive responses from many APR states and aroused interest within the UN. Some of the provisions contained in the initiative are included in joint outcome documents of high level bilateral meetings with the heads of a number of major states of the region.

Russian foreign policy towards Asia considers the implementation of these provisions its short-term priority. It will ensure that our country not only preserves its position in the renewed APR architecture, but also strengthens its role as an important stabilizing factor in the region, and as a reliable and serious partner for the APR states.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Moscow, in English 2 Feb 12

Prophet Muhammad ( Pbuh) benefactor of humanity

PANJIM, Feb. 5 -- Prophet Muhammad ( may Allah bless and greet him) was the embodiment of truth, purity and righteousness. He was the fountain of eternal light that illuminated the minds and souls of human beings and enabled them to identify the path that leads to peace, prosperity, happiness and perfection. He saved humanity from disaster, destruction, oppression, suppression and the domination of evil forces. He preached submission to God, high standards of morality, good conduct, peace and tranquility among human beings, virtuous living, decency and felicity.

The Arabian society before him was characterised by tribal feuds and superiority, quarrels and bitter fighting among tribes, shedding of blood on petty matters, vice, barbarism and superstition.

There was no respect for human beings particularly for weaker sections and the weaker sex. Women were considered commodities to be used for the pleasure of men. Even the birth of a girl was the subject of embarrassment and she was buried by the father himself alive. The entire condition was full of evil and malice. In such a despondent and gloomy condition, Prophet Muhammad ( may Allah bless and greet him) was sent as a mercy and grace to the entire humanity and the entire world as well. He liberated humanity from suffering and distress and appraised it of what is upright, virtuous, dignified and desirable in order to lead a happy, peaceful and contented life. He carried the torch of the divine message of monotheism and ingrained the Absolute Reality, the reality of one God, His sovereignty and suzerainty, His omnipotence, power of creating the universe and things that lie in between the earth and heaven, maintaining, sustaining and perpetuating them as He likes, in the minds and hearts of the people. He, lit the torch of knowledge, brightened the path of humanity and removed the darkness of ignorance.

The contribution of Prophet Muhammad ( may Allah bless and greet him) to the enrichment and development of humanity is manifold. He raised humanity to the high level of purification, enriched the human soul by lighting the torch of truth and inspiring human beings to act on the guidance of God and implant His system on earth.

The magnitude of his benefaction to humanity lies in the following points: He diverted humanity from the worship and obedience of humans and iniquitous forces to the obedience and submission to God alone " To Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and earth: [ and] there is no God but He: it is He that gives both life and death ( 7: 158)" Holy Qur'an. He, thus, established servitude to Allah and emancipated humanity from the servitude to other forces, distorted and untruthful.

This was the great act of history that humankind condemned falsehood and mendacity and embraced truthfulness and righteousness. He introduced the criteria of right and wrong and discharged his duties as ' a bearer of good tidings and a warner to all humankind'. The system that he set forth and the guidance that he provided to people were not meant for or limited to one group or section of human beings but for the entire humanity. He conveyed the message and guidance of Almighty Allah effectively to the entire humankind and impressed them to follow the guidance to make their stay on earth meaningful and successful, otherwise suffering and pain will be their companions. Of course, the guidance was universal for all human beings irrespective of caste, creed and colour as well as for all times.

These are some of the benefactions of Prophet Muhammad ( peace and blessings of Allah be to him) who eliminated the suffering, agony and anguish of humanity and wiped away its moans and groans. He elevated humanity engrossed in transgression and introduced it to the monotheistic realism.

He dispelled the darkness of ignorance and enlightened humanity's path to proceed unwaveringly to achieve salvation, everlasting peace and comfort in this world and in the hereafter. This is the reason that Almighty Allah said, " And we have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind" ( 21: 107) Holy Qur'an.

Copyright © 2012. Herald Publications Pvt. Ltd.

Photo courtesy of Fiji Democracy Now/C4.5