Former Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi is a high-ranking chief, a prominent lawyer, and a intelligent, fair, clear-thinking man who has won the respect of people from many backgrounds and persuasions. The Roko Tui Bau is a great great-grandson of Ratu Seru Cakobau who ceded Fiji to the British Crown and a nephew of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, the architect of modern Fijian administration.
Ratu Joni is a Fijian who believes in the equality of all races and all citizens; a chief who recognizes the need for chiefly and political reform; a Christian who respects those who hold other beliefs; and a lawyer trained to listen to others, ponder causes, consequences and linkages, speak with moderation, and respect the law. He is also a warm, kind hearted man. I can think of no one in Fiji for whom I have greater respect -- although some postings on this blogsite show that in some matters our opinions differ.
Ratu Joni makes no bones about his political position. The 2006 Coup was illegal; the Interim Government is illegal and its methods wrong, however good its stated aims may be. Change cannot be pushed on people; it all takes time. The military should stay out of politics. The judiciary has been compromised; the media reduced to "self-imposed" sanctions, and human rights have been abused. I suspect he agrees with some of the things the Interim Government says it intends to do, but is increasingly concerned about whether they really mean what they say.
Unlike others who oppose the IG, his words are temperate; he avoids negative comment, and his advice is always directed towards the future. How can the country get out of this mess? How can Fiji move forward? Implicit in this position is recognition that when all this is over, " tolerance and reconciliation" will have to take on new meanings. This will not be Fiji as it was after the 1987 and 2000 Coups. It will no longer be Fijian against Indo-Fijian (even if that was what it truly was). Events since 2006 mean that brother will need to be reconciled with brother, family with family, neighbour with neighbour, and much more. Modern Fiji has never been so divided.
This is why now, at this moment in time, all those seeking a way forward should heed Ratu Joni's advice.
Speaking to a Fiji Institute of Technology forum reported by Fiji Village, he "called on political parties to consider the conditions put forward by the Interim Prime Minister in order to take the country forward [and] accept the conditions put forward in relation to the People's Charter and Electoral Reform. Bainimarama [he is reported to have said] has made it clear that changes will take place before any steps towards elections take place ... Political parties at this stage have no choice but to accept these changes as Cdre Bainimarama has made it clear that the changes will have to be put in place first ... Once political parties take this into consideration, then we will be able to get an indication as to how and what government has planned in terms of elections."
Ratu Joni obviously does not approve of Bainimarama's position, but he is a realist. For that reason (and because the alternative could be much worse) opponents of the IG should (and this is my opinion) "play it exceedingly cool" over the weeks leading up to the President's Political Dialogue Forum. The Forum is the only bright star on the near horizon. Wise men should follow its course.
-- Crosbie Walsh [Section in speech marks based on Fiji Village "Consider Bainimarama’s Conditions", 25 March."]
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