- the outrageous manner in which he was hauled from his home at

night watched by his wife and daughter on the pretext of being taken to the Immigration Department office for questioning, but instead driven to Nadi airport leaving the family in the dark about his whereabouts

- the non-execution of a court order issued yesterday morning to

stop his deportation

- the inadequate explanation given by the department on why he had

to be deported suddenly from the country.

Irrespective of who he is and what position he holds, no one deserves such inhumane treatment from an administration which continually advocates good governance and transparency.

Again the interim regime has only succeeded in drawing attention from here and abroad on the questionable and irrational decisions it makes and which have become a familiar trend in the past 14 months.

This nation badly needs good and strong leaders to drive it forward. And they are certainly missing from this interim administration.

All they have succeeded in doing is to drag this battered land along the torturous path which could only lead to further chaos, confusion and discord.

It is an administration in a self-destruct mode. The least of its worries are political stability, economic and social progress which are vital in any plan to move the country forward to peace and prosperity.

Instead of moving closer to its promise of returning the nation to parliamentary democracy by March 2009, it continues to place, deliberately or otherwise, obstacles to delay the forward momentum.

In fact, it seems to be drifting more and more away from the targets it has set itself.

In the absence of any effective and strong opposition we had become used to in a democratically-elected government, those running the show today freely do as they wish. They use public funds is of there is no tomorrow and change important legislation without batting an eyelid.

They accuse people who say anything against the regime of creating instability and incitement. The regime is right, everyone else is wrong.

Each day the people read, watch and hear endless examples of nepotism, abuse of office, double standards, corruption and cronyism.

They see the many hastily-formulated policies shoved down their throats by an unelected regime which is not keen on consultation and dialogue with major stakeholders.

If one cocks one's ear out of the window today, a growing voice of dissent and frustration can be easily heard.

In addition there is an undercurrent of indignation, hopelessness and anger which if not controlled threatens our very own safety and security as a nation.

Surely there are good leaders around who are able to save this nation from further sliding into the abyss. We certainly deserve a break.

On Feb 28

The claim by Ratu Epeli Ganilau that Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter was abducted from his home and deported for reasons of "national security"

hammers yet another nail into the coffin of the Interim Government's credibility.

We can only assume that this unspecified security risk allegation is in some way connected to the Interim Prime Minister's outburst on Sunday regarding "inciteful comments." The question needs to be asked: Incitement to who? And incitement to do what?

If the truth itself is an incitement, so be it.

For that is all that this newspaper has published. The material readers have seen on Interim Minister of Finance Mahendra Chaudhry's tax affairs has consisted of facts, not allegations. These facts have yet to be directly denied by the Government, the Prime Minister or Mr Chaudhry himself.

If Mr Hunter represented some other security risk the Interim Government and Ratu Epeli, in the public interest and in the interest of transparency, should reveal it.

But really, all this does is dig the Interim Government deeper into the mire of its own paranoia. Whether that paranoia is founded on guilt only its members can say.

But the Government by its actions gives the vivid impression of a body of people in permanent panic  of an organisation stumbling from crisis to crisis with no discernable policy other than to stay put whatever happens.

The clean-up has failed. It's business as usual for the corrupt whose numbers have been swelled by new arrivals. The Government, FICAC, the police and even the army seem unable or unwilling to stop it.

This is a tragic outcome for a campaign that began with so much promise. The nation had hoped for a genuine (and much-needed) clean-up but all it has seen has been an upsurge in nepotism, cronyism, double standards and contempt for the law.

The Interim Minister, Commodore Vorerqe Bainimarama, had the perfect opportunity to reform his regime with the revelation of Mr Chaudhry's tax shenanigans. By sacking this minister he could have sent a very strong message to his government and the country at large that not even a hint of a credible allegation would be tolerated and that all ministers and officials accused of anything improper would be stood aside while an investigation took place  just as he did with the ousted chief justice.

However, he let the opportunity pass him by. His real reason can only be guessed at.

Meanwhile the nation continues to suffer. The economy's downward spiral appears unending. And it's the people who can least afford it that suffer the most.

Where to from here? It's a question frequently asked around the grog bowl, but unfortunately, there is no obvious answer.

One thing, though, is certain. The abduction and deportation of people whose only apparent sin is to have told the truth will not take the country forward.