The Native Iowan

I hate strong men and bullies…

Gadaffi Flees Libyan Capital as Protests Grow
By Jon E. Dougherty at 21 Feb 10:15

Longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi has reportedly fled the capital of Tripoli as protests in the North African country grew over the weekend with scores of protesters breaching government television and setting the parliament building on fire.

Reports said a number of businesses and banks have been looted in the capital, as some 400 protesters have been killed and scores more wounded in battles with government security forces.Some security forces were participating in the looting, reports noted, as protesters broke into several police stations as well.

Some army units may have defected to the opposition, reports from the region have said, but Gadaffi’s son, Saif al-Islam, said Monday he was prepared to enforce security “to the last bullet.”
“We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he said, admitting that while the army still mostly backed his father, some military bases and equipment had been breached and stolen.

“We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet,” said Said Gadaffi. “will keep fighting until the last man standing, even to the last woman standing…We will not leave Libya to the Italians or the Turks.”

He said the army has made some mistakes because it wasn’t trained to deal with large-scale demonstrations. He also offered to put reforms in place within days, adding the regime would consider other reforms and perhaps the implementation of a constitution.

Elsewhere, reports of violence continued to surface. One said more than 300 protesters have been massacred, most by foreign mercencenaries, in Libya’s second-largest city, Benghazi, though Said Gadaffi says casualty figures number no more than about 85.

Libyan Muslim leaders have also ordered followers to rebel against the regime, Reuters reported, telling them it was their duty.

“They have demonstrated total arrogant impunity and continued, and even intensified, their bloody crimes against humanity. They have thereby demonstrated total infidelity to the guidance of God and His beloved Prophet (peace be upon him),” said the group, which identified itself as the Network of Free Ulema of Libya.

“This renders them undeserving of any obedience or support, and makes rebelling against them by all means possible a divinely ordained duty,” said the group, according to quotes published by Reuters.

By Monday evening in Libya, it was unclear where Muammar Gadaffi fled, reports said, though it increasingly appeared as though his regime was losing control over larger swaths of the country.

I’ve seen a lot in regards to SI politics over my 30 years in the Solos. This though is unprecedented… And am very much shocked how insane things have gotten. In less then 3 weeks some 9 or 10 MPs have decided they could justify swapping allegiances. Of the 9 or 10 instances we find that the same guys swap once, then again?

Is this schizophrenia in government?

Last year a bill to stop this wholesale jumping around (nick-named the “grasshoppe bill” failed to pass parliament.

So sad… sore lo Solomoni

Ghiro switched: More opposition join govt

Deputy Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Maelanga, left welcomes Parliament Member of East Makira Alfred Ghiro, center and while being witnessed by MP for Makira/Ulawa James Tora.

THE Danny Philip led National Coalition for Reform and Advancement government (NCRA) continues to gain the favour of the Opposition members with the latest switch of East Makira MP Alfred Ghiro yesterday evening.

Mr Ghiro in an inclusive interview with The Solomon Star yesterday confirmed he has written to the Speaker of his resignation from both the Independent Group and from the Opposition.

The Solomon Star also cited a copy of his letter to the Speaker which quoted; “I Honourable Alfred Ghiro Member of Parliament for East Makira wish to officially inform you today (yesterday) that I have made up my mind to throw support behind the current NCRA government”.

He said he has decided to join the government because this country needs political stability.

“I view that political instability as a part and parcel of why our country cannot develop as expected by our people.

“I also decide to join the government to support the national budget,” he said.

Mr Ghiro said his move to join the government is not because of money or being promised of any portfolio but because the country needs a stable government and the need to pass the national budget.

“I have no personal differences with the Opposition and the Independent group that led to my move,” he added.

Mr Ghiro said infact when he was elected as the MP for East Makira his people expects him to be with any ruling government which he failed them.

He said his move to switch side now fulfils what his people expect of him.

The latest switch by Mr Ghiro brings the numerical strength of the government to 29-19.

Yesterday another opposition member Stanley Sofu was sworn in to join the government. Member of Parliament for Savo/Russells Dickson Mua was said to have joined the government.

Last Thursday four MPs were sworn in after they defected from the Opposition camp at Heritage Park Hotel.

MP for Ulawa Ugi, James Tora returned to his old Ministry of Police and National Security position, MP for Gela, Mark Kemakeza also returned to his old Ministry of Mines and Energy role, MP for Lau/Mbaelelea, Walter Folotalu was the new Minister for Provincial Government and MP for North Guadalcanal, Martin Sopaghe returned to his old Ministry of Lands and Housing.

I sit and ponder…

Throughout our planet people, just like you and I, are fighting for their basic rights as individuals. They live in countries that have, for varying reasons, been autocratic of nature and fascist by design.

Consider that Libya has been ruled for over 40 , most of my life, by an iron fisted, militaristic regime. And they are lucky, they have oil. Bahrain is little known but is actually an imperial type government with a king (Emir or Sultan) as absolute head. As Libya, they have oil.

Both these examples see the leaders and their families and friends living rich. And all others doing as best they can.

As a western born, raised and educated individual I/ you and I have huge advantages that simple come to us by an accident of birth.

Seriously… no matter what you think or understand how can we stand by and allow such in our modern day and age?

We are well fed, happy and content (even our poorest in comparison) while the fires of freedom are burning in the hearts of so many.

And consider… the fascist regimes will kill those who defy them. ANd, AND… many of these regimes recieve support from our very friendly, democratic, western nations.

golly, we have it so dern good.

Viva le revolution…

Or rather, lets pull our heads out of our collective asses and put an end to autocratic fascism… how, I don’t know… support the movement, Make a statement, take stand. Hell, vote in your home lands against politicians that are war mongers. Hell, I don’t know but have got to be able to, communally, make a difference somewhere, somehow… Blog, discuss, read, be informed…

Sitting in the arm chair and watching it all like a sporting event IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Arab Spring is a term that was used beginning in March 2005 by numerous media commentators to suggest that a spin-off benefit of the invasion of Iraq would be the flowering of Western-friendly Middle East democracies.
In the wake of the electoral success of Hamas in the January 2006 Palestinian elections, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Paul McGeough noted the declining use of the term. “So what happened to the Arab spring? This time last year, as we faced the prospect of a series of elections in the Middle East, many commentators hit their keyboards to welcome the Arab spring – about 160 of them, according to one news database … But it seems that with the results in we don’t like the term any more – only 23 mentions in the past six months. Funny that.”

A Funky Frog from an Island Paradise

FRIDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2011 04:17

This horned frog is unique to the Solomon Islands.

As dusk falls over the Solomon Islands, a cacophony of quacks rises from the forest floor.

The noise originates from the small Solomon’s Horned Frog, an amphibian unique to the islands.

“This strange chorus dominates the early evening sounds in the forest,” said Christopher Filardi, director of Pacific Programs at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.

Mr Filardi and his graduate student Patrick Pikacha found this particular frog at the biodiversity reserve on Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands, where Filardi, an evolutionary biologist, studies bird speciation and biodiversity.

“The Kolombangara biodiversity reserve is the largest protected area in region,” said Filardi, adding that the reserve is “stewarded by the people who have lived there for hundreds of generations.”

The reserve’s protected status provides a home for animals like the colorful horned frog, which also appears in variations of white, purple and brown, in addition to the green pictured.

Little is known about why they have these colors or even how they reproduce, but what is known about the elusive species is intriguing.

They belong to a group of platymantine frogs found all over the Solomon Islands.

Patymantine frogs are among only a handful of amphibians that grow directly from egg to frog — with no tadpole step in between.

How these frogs, and the other wildlife within the reserve, interact and evolve allows researchers to examine “how the interplay between life history, ecology and geography influences the generation and maintenance of biodiversity and the origins of new life,” says Filardi.
Filardi whose research is partly funded by the National Science Foundation has recently written a blog about his research in the Solomon Islands for The New York Times “Scientist at Work.” You can view a video on Filardi’s research here

ever learn…

Revolts threaten to shake the world
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor From: The Australian February 19, 2011 12:00AM

THERE is one key respect in which tiny Bahrain is more important than Egypt. The island kingdom just off Saudi Arabia’s east coast hosts the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and the naval elements of US Central Command.

It is not exactly the Middle East’s Okinawa, but in the unlikely event the Bahrain monarchy is overthrown or becomes so oppressive Washington has to distance itself from the tiny kingdom, this could have profound consequences for the US military position in the whole Middle East.

Because the Fifth Fleet protects the Gulf states from Iran. If the US facilities were ever forced out of Bahrain, there would be pressure against important US military facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

This demonstrates the difficulty of making any geo-strategic sense out of the roiling instability sweeping the Arab world. The violent crackdown on the demonstrators in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, has been followed by some quiet. In the wake of the Egyptian uprising, Western analysts ranked Bahrain, along with Yemen, Algeria and Libya, as highly vulnerable to instability.

Each case is different. Although an international wave is sweeping the region, accelerated by Facebook, Twitter and the internet generally, each country is unique. Bahrain was susceptible for several reasons. One is that it is ruled by a Sunni royal family, and Sunnis dominate all senior official positions, but it is the only Gulf state with a Shia majority.

And it is located just across a narrow strip of water from eastern Saudi Arabia, where the big, disaffected and closely watched Saudi Shia minority enjoys a local majority status.

Furthermore, Bahrain’s oil reserves are exhausted. It exists on Saudi largesse and US assistance.

Yemen’s case is different. It is dirt-poor, its rulers have been in power for decades, it has a history of internal instability and strife between its different regions, and it has been increasingly penetrated by Islamist extremists.

Libya is the most fascinating case. Its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is the Kim Jong-il of the Arab world. He does not keep his people as destitute as the North Korean dictator does, but he is an absolute dictator. His cult of personality is bizarre and dominates all of Libyan life. His family are treated as being a combination of royalty and divinity.

Libyan politics occurs when two of Gaddafi’s sons disagree with each other and move up or down in their father’s favour.

Astonishingly, even in Libya there are serious anti-government demonstrations and people dying on the streets for liberty. Nonetheless, it’s hard to see the Gaddafi dictatorship being toppled in the current wave of unrest.

The gold medal with oak leaf cluster for hypocrisy in the face of the Egyptian revolt goes to Iran. Its leaders have praised the noble demonstrators in Cairo, and attempted to portray them as heirs to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. But even while saying this, the regime has brutally suppressed relatively small attempts within Iran to recreate the protest movement of 2009. It is executing protesters and opposition activists at a rate unknown anywhere else on the planet – it has been executing roughly two people a day. Nearly 70 people were executed in Iran last month, most ostensibly on trumped-up charges, but in reality for opposing the regime.

I think it was Christopher Hitchens who coined the term Islamo-fascism. I have always thought this an inelegant and confusing term, which obscures more than it reveals. But surely the Iranian rulers are genuine Islamo-Stalinists.

There have been demonstrations in Algeria and Jordan. So far the most stable country in the region is Morocco, which has a reasonable standard of living, a respected monarchy, a relatively liberal press, and a more or less democratic parliament. But big demonstrations are planned for Morocco this weekend.

Saudi Arabia looks calm for the moment, and any demonstrations or protests there would be ruthlessly dealt with.

So the explosion that began in Tunisia has become a bushfire running all over Muslim North Africa and the Gulf Arab states, and even to Persian Iran.

What does all this mean, and what will its long-term consequences be?

Of course it’s too early to answer those questions. For a start, we still really have no idea where even one of these recent rebellions will end.

And there are several key distinctions between the countries. The monarchies seem generally a bit more stable than the republics. The republics, after all, must claim some kind of democracy or common good for their legitimacy. The monarchies can rely on tradition, the ancient mixture of religion and crown, and the often extensive co-opting process that shrewd royal families engage in to keep in touch with their populations and to keep large sections of their society on side.

Another key variable is the economy, and this often, although not always, boils down to whether a nation has oil. The Saudi royal family remains powerful partly because it can dispense so much oil largesse.

Several Gulf countries have oil. But Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen – they don’t have oil.

Then there is the twin question of whether the nations already have semi-functioning, semi-democratic parliaments, such as Morocco and Kuwait, or no real process of broad political public consultation and participation. Several years ago, the Australian scholar Harold Crouch wrote an important book about Malaysian politics. He classified Malaysia and Singapore as repressive responsive regimes. They had elements of authoritarianism but they had formal electoral contests that were clean, in the sense that ballots were not stuffed, and they had many other, often elaborate, effective means by which their populations could participate in discussion about government policies. And the governments were responsive to feedback from their populations. This model, Crouch argued, could be sustained more or less indefinitely.

None of the Arab states is a real democracy, but some have more sophisticated methods of consulting their populations.

The economy matters in another way, both as cause and effect. One of the precipitating factors of the Egyptian protests was simply the rise in food prices. The instability throughout the region has seen oil prices rise to a 2 1/2-year high, going well above $US100 ($98.70) a barrel. This helps the oil producers but it hurts everyone else.

The long-term consequences of the uprisings depend on the outcome of a duel between two models. Is the Egyptian revolt going to look like the 1979 fall of the shah in Iran, in which a liberal society with a broad-based opposition to an undemocratic ruler was hoodwinked by Muslim extremists and ended up under the totalitarian rule of the mullahs?

Or will it look like eastern Europe after 1989, with the fall of one dictatorship after another, replaced by democracies that have struggled to consolidate themselves since, but which have generally preserved democratic freedoms and led to better overall economic development?

Other analysts suggest a different parallel. What about 1848, a year when democratic revolutions swept across Europe? But they were short-lived. They were replaced in a few years by nationalist and militarist regimes, and decades of internal conflict and war.

Authoritarian regimes still have a lot of arrows in their quiver – most commonly some combination of limited reform, removal of unpopular leaders, renewed military clampdowns and the co-opting of key social groups. It is far too early to conclude that these regimes are all dead or doomed.

From Australia’s point of view, the worst outcome would be the radicalisation of the Middle East and the decline of US influence. This would hurt us in many ways. It would certainly lead to an intensified terrorist threat. It would also lead to the continued outflow of embittered populations from the Middle East, some of whom would find their way to Australia.

A seriously destabilised Middle East would lead to much higher energy prices and greater instability in the global economy. It would probably feed into a new dynamic of nuclear proliferation. Once Iran gets nuclear weapons, or the ability to produce them at short notice, Middle East regimes, even possibly democratic ones, will feel increasingly unstable. If they can rely less on the reassurance of the US military presence, they will be much more likely to seek the security guarantee of nuclear weapons.

Then there is this. Because Arab political culture has been totally undemocratic, it has exaggerated the Islamic tendency to paranoia and conspiracy theory. For some time at least, this may well mean that more democratic societies in the Middle East are prone to more radical and confrontational foreign policies.

US diplomacy in the Middle East has traditionally had five main aims: promoting stability, promoting democracy, providing military security (initially against Iraq, and more recently against Iran) to Arab allies in the Gulf, ensuring the flow of oil critical to the global economy, and providing for the security of its closest regional ally, Israel.

Rather obviously, there is often tension among these aims. Stability can be the enemy of democracy. And democracy requires a gradual cultural build-up of autonomous institutions, a disinterested judiciary, a culture of compromise, a security establishment that does not interfere in electoral processes but robustly maintains the state monopoly of force. Without at least the evolving presence of these factors, elections alone may not constitute, or even lead to, genuine democracy, or a democracy that can be sustained.

Similarly, democracy in Egypt could lead to the breaking of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the single greatest force for stability and moderation in the region.

The US can still offer its friends economic aid and trade, human resources, military reassurance. These are huge assets. But given the paranoid style of Arab politics, it is more difficult for the US to offer democratic legitimacy, meaningful international approval or domestic political advantage.

All the equations are changing. Everything is in play. In a year’s time, the Middle East could be utterly transformed. On the other hand, having withstood these storms, it could look much the same as it did a few months ago, but with a few names changed at the top. Seldom has so much been at stake in such utterly uncertain processes.

I strolled past 2 pro-democracy rallys. 1 outside the Libyan Embassy and 1 in front of the Iranian embassy.

They sounded serious.

I took picts as I walked but realise now I did not bring the cable to download to the computer.

Bummer. We’ll have to wait to have a look at london town.

The Deputy Opposition leader Mathew Wale has denied claims that they would use public funds to pay for the Opposition’s hotel bills once they over throw the government.

Speaking to the local journalists during his press conference at the Heritage Park Hotel yesterday, Mr Wale told the media that they would pay for the hotel bills on money from their own pocket.

Mr Wale said that it is important for the Opposition to stay together at one place during political crisis like this as both sides are pulling each other to get the numerical strength.

“Most of the members of the parliament (MP) with the opposition are based in the provinces so it is important that they live together at one place just for this time of political rival,” he said.

Mr Wale told the nation not to worry about their hotel bills as they will pay for it themselves.

“But if the people want to help donate some money to pay our bills then it is up to them as they will stay there only during the time of this political instability,” he said.

However, one senior citizen of Solomon Islands John Umata challenged Mr Wale as a national leader to reveal his source of fund they rely on to settle this million dollars hotel bills.

He said that even the millionaires cannot afford to live in the hotels for that long and even Mr Wale himself and Bodo Dettke the two famous business men of that group are not sleeping in the hotel because they know very well how hard it is to find money than just to spend it like running water.

“We all Solomon Islanders are coming from poor families since history of our forefathers and it is surprising that this opposition group is claiming that they will pay this million dollar hotel bills from money generated from their own sweat,” Mr Umata said.

He said that the public will protest if the Opposition take over the government and using the public purse to pay for their Heritage Park Hotel bills.

He said that sources of fund must be clearly shown to the senior citizens of this country as it concerns the poor services in the country but still we impose careless spending of public fund.

The government yesterday also accuses the Opposition of playing outright hypocrisy and double standard by incurring huge hotel bills and expecting the government to pay for such unauthorized expenditures.

“It is also shameful that the Opposition that has been barking so much about transparency, accountability, and good governance, in its bid to topple the NCRA Government is now trying to manipulate the government system to pay for its unauthorized hotel bills incurred as part of its strategy to topple the NCRA Government,” the statement said.

The Statement said the government is seeking legal options to force the Heritage Park Hotel to release the details of the Opposition hotel bills.

THE Opposition will petition Governor General to bring the sitting of Parliament back to February 24.

This was after Prime Minister Danny Philip advised the Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday to call Parliament sitting on March 28.

Leader of Opposition Steve Abana earlier said the Prime Minister had agreed with Speaker of Parliament Sir Allen Kemakeza to convene Parliament on March 7 or 14.

This was when the three of them met together in Parliament on Monday.

However, the PM changed his tune when he advised the Speaker on the date on Tuesday.

Deputy Opposition Leader, Mathew Wale described the PM’s decision as irresponsible.

“We will push for the motion of no confidence for a much longer time frame before the budget,” he said.

“We cannot see any good reason why the meeting should be delayed to the 28th, even why it should be delayed to the 14th. Why cant the meeting be held next week?”

“So we will be petitioning the governor general today…by asking him to bring the meeting forward to the 24th,” Mr Wale said.

The Public Accounts Committee will receive the draft Budget on February 28 and it will take up to 12 days to scrutinise and fine-tune the budget.

Mr Wale said it was quite irresponsible of the Government to delay the meeting knowing that it would result in a Constitutional crisis.

“It is very clear that the government does not have the numbers needed to pass its budget,” he said.

“I am quite sure that the budget will be defeated.”

A spokesperson from Government House said the Governor General can change the date provided he held consultation first with the Prime Minister.
“There is a slim chance for the Governor General to change the date,” the spokesperson said.

A bit chilly. Have failed to take my camera out…

heading that way now…

ABC: A convicted murderer who escaped a Queensland jail and spent 15 years on the run has been working for the state’s health department for more than a decade.

Luke Andrew Hunter, 42, was nabbed by police on his Sunday morning jog at Herberton, west of Cairns, after officers were tipped off he may be hiding out on the Atherton Tableland.

Hunter is alleged to have escaped from the Borallon Correctional Centre, near Ipswich, in February 1996 by using bolt cutters to cut through a fence.

At the time he was serving a 21-year sentence for murdering a man so he could continue a romantic affair with his victim’s wife.

On Tuesday, Queensland Health said it was working with police following the arrest of a Herberton Hospital employee, who had been working there under a false name.

It is understood Hunter had been working as a groundskeeper at the campus.

“This employee began work with Queensland Health in November 1997,” a Queensland Health spokesperson said.

“Since 2006, Queensland Health has conducted compulsory criminal history checks of staff upon permanent appointment.

“However, this employee was appointed long before those checks were introduced.”

The spokesperson said the matter was now before the courts and it would be inappropriate to discuss it further.

Hunter was flown from Cairns to Brisbane on Monday afternoon following a brief mention in Cairns Magistrates Court and will be housed at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre while he awaits a hearing on a charge of escaping from custody.

It is understood Hunter was living in north Queensland for at least the past five years and was previously in Sydney, although much of his time on the run is unaccounted for.

He is also said to have been a part of a secretive north Queensland religious sect called the North Queensland Jesus Group.

The man with mop. You see him everywhere. But never notice. In malls, airports, office buildings… you see the man with the mop everywhere.

Some look at him with derision. Some with fear.

The man with the mop comes behind. Our messes and mistakes are his duty. Our children’s accidents, wet and sticky, are his responsibility.

The man with the mop seldom smiles. In our presence. How can he? As no one sees him. As he carries out his duties and faithfully attends, we all look to the side. Away from the man with the mop.

What would happen if we started a conversation?

Funny though, there was a fellow in the Des Moines airport, friendly and actually quite load. Spoke to everyone. Asked you your name. His was Rodney.

But that was Iowa. Friendly Iowa.

Could never happen elsewhere. Elsewhere the man with the mop is a nonentity.  As he attends to our messes, mops the floor and empties the trash.  Essential to our society but shunned and ignored…

Seems strange that we ignore those who do the most for us…

I really like Asia. There is a flavor here that is sensual, exotic and dangerous.

I like Asia.

In transit at Changi airport, Singapore. Was last through here in April 2010, Almost a year ago.

Singapore, of course is THE Asian power house. SOoo much going on here. Quite a model of what a modern “city-state” can be. Of course the old idiom of “location- location- location” does apply.

The airport is built on the site of the WW2 POW camp as depicted in the book/ movie “King Rat”.

It is quite a modern airport and in classic Asian fashion the powers that be have spent a fortune here. And it pays off…

Every race, creed and cast is represented by the folks walking the concourse here. It is truly interesting and impressive.

And, indeed, life is guuud…

945 au-time, 745 Singapore time.

The last flight was exceedingly guud.

Changi Airport is as comfortable as it gets.

Sit here for a couple hours and board for another 14+ hours of flying before we get to London. Once in London I get a day and a half off to look around London. I have been in and through London a couple times now but have never stopped-off there to have a look around.

Looking forward to it…

1044, Palmwoods, Au

waiting for 11am pickup for hour ride to airport

if you are into ink… check this out…

http://www.facebook.com/artselemental

ITS been a long time waiting and finally top leaders have finally agreed to set a date for a Parliament meeting which will be officially announced today.

Prime Minister Danny Philip, Speaker of Parliament, Sir Allen Kemakeza and Opposition Leader, Steve Abana met in Parliament at 2pm yesterday and came up with the decision.

The meeting was deferred at 11am after PM Philip failed to turn up due to some unforeseen circumstances.

However after some consultation with him, the PM turned up confidently at Parliament and greeted Sir Allan and Mr Abana before they went in to meet privately.

After they came out together to waiting media, PM Philip made a joke”naf nao” meaning it is enough.

Sir Allen initiated the dialogue following a ruling from the Governor General, Sir Frank Kabui that it was not his place to intervene in the current political stalemate.

The Opposition had filed a motion of no confidence last Tuesday and petitioned the Governor General to call Parliament after a number of government MPs crossed the floor.

Sir Allen told media after the meeting that he would tell the people of the nation of the date for the sitting this afternoon.

He said three of them agreed to settle on section 34 (1) of the Constitution.

The section 34(1) stated that in the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Governor-General shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet except in cases where he is required by this Constitution to act in accordance with the advice of, or after consultation with, any person or authority other than the Cabinet or in his own deliberate judgment.

Sir Allan said he was happy that both leaders turned up for the meeting.

“I called the meeting for the sake of the country and its people,” he said.

“I took the approach I did in the Townsville agreement which included the Marau Peace and RAMSI.
“That is open dialogue,” Sir Allan said.