Kata slightly off the mark

Dear Editor

CI News Cartoonist ‘Kata’, is a brilliant artist known for his humorous social and political cartoons in your newspaper, the Cook Islands News.

However, Kata was off the mark with his April 27 cartoon depicting John Tangi as a member of a military led dictatorship telling Robert Wigmore he couldn’t stand for the democratic seat in Titikaveka.

The cartoon should have had the two men doing a role reversal, with the PM taking the place of Wigmore. You see, John Tangi is a member of the majority led democratic MPs. Robert Wigmore is part of a minority led group of former democratic MPs who have rebelled against the right of the majority, showing open defiance and contempt for the democratic system.

Instead of John Tangi being a junta member, it would be more appropriate to have PM Jim Marurai dressed in a black shirt uniform, with its emblem “Facist” on his sleeve, telling John that real democracy doesn’t exist in the Cook Islands anymore and I’m dictating the shots now.

On another matter, opposition MP Teina Bishop has already written that PM Marurai cannot continue to hide behind the stance that he is abiding by the constitution and is the only one who can call parliament to sit. Teina said that NZ Constitutional lawyer Dr. Alex Frame highlighted that Marurai who does not command the majority of parliament traditionally only has three choices: resign, call a snap election or face a vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister and the Queen Representative now know that the fact has been established.

But the QR is known for not doing the right thing. After all the ministers resigned in late December from the Marurai Government, the PM kept the QR on a short leash. You couldn’t pick up the newspaper or turn on the T.V. without seeing Jim and the QR hand in hand at every function around Rarotonga. The QR and Jim never missed a photo opportunity together. They looked like two bully teenagers in control of everything around them. The Jim and Fred act was quite a scene to behold, shortly thereafter the QR signed a new three year extension.

Steve Boggs

Akaoa, Arorangi