State of the nation? August 31, 2007

Fiji Television had a gem of an item on Thursday’s news. It broadcast images of the national flag flying upside down atop the Home Affairs Building – from where interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama excises his military-backed power.

The station said the flag flew upside down for two-and-a-half hours. 1 National News said: “Call it a sign of the times or perhaps, just a bad mistake.” Either way, officials only realised the mistake when Fiji TV called them to let them know – and then filmed a soldier as he corrected it.

Interestingly, Bainimarama, being a naval man would understand immediately the significance of an upside down flag. In early days, an upside down ensign was generally one way to signal that a ship was in distress.