As distant as the analogy may seem, the hope in Wellington seems to be that Mr Bainimarama and his mates would rather give ground on elections than risk fuelling the kind of populist anger that is welling up against authoritarian regimes in the Arab world.Current practice, as indicated by allegations of torture and detention of government critics, suggest that old habits die hard.
Hernandez briefly addressed the issue after the game, indicating that allegations of wrongdoing were not true.
They indicated that no allegations of abuse or neglect had been substantiated, and that recent counseling of the boy was improving his behavior and grades.
Straw, whose name was not put forward for a peerage by Ed Miliband in the wake of the allegations, indicated he would still like to be elevated to the House of Lords.
It said that though some interviews late in the case may have been flawed, the rapid pace and early flow of accusations from children in the classes indicated that the allegations arose from spontaneous accounts, not from investigators pushing children toward accusations.
The head of human rights group Pro Asyl, Guenter Burkhardt, said the allegations indicated "an appalling level of racism and inhumanity".
Sterling also indicated that the allegations "involve a very small number of individuals" and that "they are not substantiated by the facts and certainly do not reflect our culture".
Initial allegations indicated somewhere in the region of a few hundred rapes had been committed in a very short time in a particular area, but that sexual attacks by Bemba's troops had carried on for months.
However, Los Angeles criminal defence attorney Darren Kavinoky has a rather different view on the matter and recently indicated that, if the allegations against Meeks are true, he is a "very, very bad boy" and won't be swapping prison for fashion week.
Third, the transgressions for some players may go beyond drug use, as indicated by the reported allegations against A-Rod or Braun's lying about his use.
