Two journalists, Geraldine Panapasa from the Fiji Times and Robert Matau from Islands Business, both visited remote Navai village, close to Nadarivatu in upper Naitasiri, last week. They travelled together, listened and spoke to the same people, and wrote reports so different you'd wonder they were describing the same village. Geraldine's title "From Potatoes to Kava" dwells on landscape, social commentary and events in the 1960s and mid-1970s, with a some hints of government action and inaction in 2009. Robert's "Turning Nadarivatu into a Green Bowl" also has some "lighter" content but his main focus is on today's Government initiatives to foster green vegetables production and Navai development.
Compare also Geraldine's report of what villager Lepani Mudu had to say:
"Two years ago, the Minister for Agriculture, Jainend Kumar visited the village and told us he would provide assistance to help us with agriculture production for export ...Somewhere along the line, dirty politics prevented us from attaining a market for potato export," he claimed. "We were told our potatoes had insects and there was no market for it."
with Robert's report:
But one name they will never forget is that of the late Jainend Kumar, former interim agricultural minister, who tirelessly braved the highlands of Nadarivatu to help the farmers. It was on Kumar's insistence and foresight that a phoenix has now been resurrected from the so-called ashes in the highest plains of Viti Levu. "This is why this is our government. They have offered us an alternative in vegetable farming," said Mudu.
Geraldine wrote vaguely of "more government assistance." Robert wrote of the purpose of their journey, the Nadarivatu project: "... part of government's Import Substitution and Export Promotion Project to encourage farmers to increase production so that it does not have to spend millions to import vegetables from overseas. Government has provided capsicum, lettuce, English cabbage and tomato seeds to about 75 farmers in a bid to help them with food security as well as a source of livelihood.These farmers plant vegetables on 25 hectares of land in Navai and Nadrala and have recorded various results in harvesting but with high quality yields."We anticipate better production now that we have been promised the coolers," said Mudu.
Robert went on to describe Fiji's dependence on vegetable imports (F$218 million vegetables and vegetable products in 2008) and the importance of the Government project for the tourism industry. Geraldine wrote nothing on either. Whether her report had government-positive content edited out or whether this was just her style, there's no way of knowing, but there's no doubt which report is more informative.
I shall provide a Rotuma example of Government development initiatives and further media omission in my next post, (+) Government Helps Rotuma Development
* Thank you Son of Fiji for your comment to my post (+) Media Restrictions: Like it or Not, the Govern...": that drew my attention to these two stories. Click for the full Fiji Times and Islands Business stories.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Thursday, 14 May 2009
(+) Media Restrictions: Like it or Not, the Government Does Have a Point
Breaking News: Radio NZI reports that the Fiji Government will soon sign an agreement with Fiji TV for a government channel to broadcast from two to seven hours a week. Government also plans to sign an agreement with the Fiji Sun to include a 12-page weekly report on Government policies and programmes. A new media law decree is also likely to be introduced when the emergency regulations expire next month.
Government stands internationally condemned for its "infamous" Emergency Regulations -- and restrictions on "media freedom" that were the main purpose of the regulations. Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) would even like to see the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) remove its offices from Suva because of current press censorship.
There is no question that, in normal circumstances, the media should be free, and no question either that in all circumstances the media should publish fair, honest, informed and balanced reports. Anything less is media negligence, media licence or sheer propaganda, not media freedom. It is not enough for people within the media to protest. Freedom has to be earned. Others, outside the media, will decide where the pendulum rests between "freedom" and "licence."
My crude "contents analysis" of the Fiji media since this blog started is that it often fell short of its stated goals. Its idea of balance, as stated in earlier posts, was usually to publish one statement from the Government and one each from up to five Government opponents, making the tally not 1:1 but 1:5. Its selection of news was also biased, focusing far more frequently on what someone said Government got wrong than on what the Government was trying to do.
While not in agreement, I have some sympathy, therefore, for Permanent Secretary of Information Lt. Col. Neumi Leweni when he said: “If I was given the choice, I’d leave [the censorship controls] there for the next five years, ” thereby making it clear that Fiji media should not expect to go back to reporting the "irresponsible" way they did prior to April 10 when the Public Emergency Regulations were enacted. He said the controls would be lifted if media organizations agreed to willingly follow the direction that was being set by his ministry.
While this may seem Orwellian and outright draconian, Leweni does have a point. Much reporting, he said, "constantly focused on the negative ... [and] carried one-sided and sensationalized stories in its coverage of politics, crime and most other events.'
"The government’s position," he said, " is you feed the public with bad things and it registers. In some instances it could lead to people doing whatever is being published. You’d be surprised if you asked the police for statistics on people breaking the law. They’ll tell you it’s dropped tremendously in the past month. It’s to do partly with the media. You feed the public good things and shape public perception with positive things, they will react accordingly. When you dish out negative issues and a lot of other things like crime, etc, it gets to people and in the end they produce those sorts of activities themselves.”
“From my discussions with people on the streets, they actually appreciate the news more now with a lot of positive issues being addressed,” he said. "... and it’s also come from government departments that they’re now getting calls from reporters on positive stories whereas before, a lot of them were reluctant to answer questions because it was based mostly on negative issues.”
“It [is said] bad news sells [but] the media is still selling their newspapers....and there are a lot more positive issues being addressed in the media now."
Government stands internationally condemned for its "infamous" Emergency Regulations -- and restrictions on "media freedom" that were the main purpose of the regulations. Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) would even like to see the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) remove its offices from Suva because of current press censorship.
There is no question that, in normal circumstances, the media should be free, and no question either that in all circumstances the media should publish fair, honest, informed and balanced reports. Anything less is media negligence, media licence or sheer propaganda, not media freedom. It is not enough for people within the media to protest. Freedom has to be earned. Others, outside the media, will decide where the pendulum rests between "freedom" and "licence."
My crude "contents analysis" of the Fiji media since this blog started is that it often fell short of its stated goals. Its idea of balance, as stated in earlier posts, was usually to publish one statement from the Government and one each from up to five Government opponents, making the tally not 1:1 but 1:5. Its selection of news was also biased, focusing far more frequently on what someone said Government got wrong than on what the Government was trying to do.
While not in agreement, I have some sympathy, therefore, for Permanent Secretary of Information Lt. Col. Neumi Leweni when he said: “If I was given the choice, I’d leave [the censorship controls] there for the next five years, ” thereby making it clear that Fiji media should not expect to go back to reporting the "irresponsible" way they did prior to April 10 when the Public Emergency Regulations were enacted. He said the controls would be lifted if media organizations agreed to willingly follow the direction that was being set by his ministry.
While this may seem Orwellian and outright draconian, Leweni does have a point. Much reporting, he said, "constantly focused on the negative ... [and] carried one-sided and sensationalized stories in its coverage of politics, crime and most other events.'
"The government’s position," he said, " is you feed the public with bad things and it registers. In some instances it could lead to people doing whatever is being published. You’d be surprised if you asked the police for statistics on people breaking the law. They’ll tell you it’s dropped tremendously in the past month. It’s to do partly with the media. You feed the public good things and shape public perception with positive things, they will react accordingly. When you dish out negative issues and a lot of other things like crime, etc, it gets to people and in the end they produce those sorts of activities themselves.”
“From my discussions with people on the streets, they actually appreciate the news more now with a lot of positive issues being addressed,” he said. "... and it’s also come from government departments that they’re now getting calls from reporters on positive stories whereas before, a lot of them were reluctant to answer questions because it was based mostly on negative issues.”
“It [is said] bad news sells [but] the media is still selling their newspapers....and there are a lot more positive issues being addressed in the media now."
(+) Rev. Manasa Lasaro Detained: Let All the Worms Come Out of the Woodwork
Today's Citizen's Constitutional Forum (CCF) press release condemned "the arrest and detention of people by the police and military, including "a Methodist preacher." I agree with their general position, but on the CCF's "Methodist preacher" and NZ journalist Michael Field's "churchman" we should be better informed of the man whose human rights we seek to protect.
"Lasaro," Field writes, "is a well known indigenous nationalist linked to the Taukei movement which supported the first coups [in 1987] of Sitiveni Rabuka. He played a key role in getting Sunday observance as compulsory during Rabuka's era. He has also called for the creation of a Christian state, expelling ethnic Indians."
But Lasaro's story does not start or end there. He helped organize the protest parade that "coincidentally" coincided with Rabuka's storming of parliament. He became an important Rabuka "lieutenant" and mentor. Later, Rabuka personally ordered his release from jail, on a community service order (sic!), when he organized roadblocks to protest the lifting of the Sunday ban.
In 1993 he helped create the schism in the Methodist Church that resulted in the expulsion of moderate leadership. In 1998 he founded an "unofficial Methodist party," the Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito party (VLV, Christian Democrats!) that opposed the 1997 Constitution, supported the return of the Sunday ban that banned all work on Sundays, and demanded Fiji be declared a Christian state. He has "constantly played on fear that Fijian land and, by association, their culture, will be taken away from them by foreigners" (Fraenkel and Firth). In the 2001 election he stood, unsuccessfully, as a VLV candidate. In 2000 he supported the Speight Coup. In 2003 he opposed the Family Law Bill, wrongfully accusing it of approving same sex and de facto marriages, and of undermining Fijian custom. In 2006, having hijacked a church leaders' meeting,he was the co-writer of the 20-point statement put out by the Methodist Church opposing Interim Government actions that calling the Bainimarama coup as treasonous and illegal. He is a former general secretary and president of the church.
"The church," writes Field of the detention, "has not said what Lasaro was doing, but sources in Fiji say he was calling for some kind of 'spiritual revival' next week. The military regime, through its Police Commissioner Esala Teleni, has been trying to run a counter Methodist Church called the New Methodist Church."
I support the CCF general statement, but not on Lasaro. Anyone informed of Lasaro's record would know he was planning far more than an innocent get-together for the revival of the human spirit.
[And, for the record, I do not see how Michael Field can state the "regime ...has been trying to run a counter Methodist Church." The actions of Teleni can be no more attributed to the whole regime than the actions of Lasaro can be attributed to all Methodists. Evidence, please, not conjecture. ]
Flashback -- Yabaki on Lasaro: In July 2008 CCF's CEO Rev. Akuila Yabaki said he was "alarmed at the sudden takeover of the Methodist Church by Rev Manasa Lasaro ... he is undermining the Methodist leadership ... ." Yabaki went on to say: “Rev Lasaro was part of the group of people that took over the Methodist Church after the 1987 coup, and they basically removed everyone from the church hierarchy who were opposed to the 1987 coup ... Now Rev Lasaro is back in the limelight and causing political problems again. The church has no business in threatening any government or the military ..Rev Lasaro should be investigated for his role in supporting the 1987 and 2000 coups. There must be enough evidence to charge him.”
"Rev Lasaro and his supporters are misusing religious freedom to support a particular political party. This is morally and ethically wrong. The church should be involved in reconciliation and dialogue processes; they should not be involved in politics or in any activities that could destabilise the country. Fiji is still reeling from the coups that have happened since 1987. For Rev Lasaro to stage a comeback now, is very worrying. Rev Lasaro has basically reversed all the progress made in talks between the army and the Methodist Church this year.”
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
(-) Australian PM's Statement on Fiji
To read in full, click here.
Kevin Rudd's main points (with my attempts to correct inaccuracies appended) were:
"It is not the Forum which has walked away from Fiji ...Bainimarama [did not attend] the last two Forum Leaders meetings ... no constructive engagement with the Forum’s Ministerial Contact Group ... has visited Fiji twice ...the officials-level Fiji/Forum Joint Working Group remains in existence – but Fiji has stopped attending its meetings."
" ... the real tragedy is what is occurring on the ground to the good and proud people of Fiji ... he has moved to sack the judiciary, censor the media, prohibit free assembly and step up intimidation of the Fijian people. All the normal checks and balances on government have now been eliminated." [cw. Yes, this is very serious, but the judges were not sacked and all checks have not been "eliminated." The judges were appointed under 1997 Constitution provisions, and their appointments lapsed with its Abrogation. New judges are now being appointed. Hopefully, checks and balances will be progressively restored when the Emergency Regulations cease.]
"The political crackdown is compounded by the incalculable damage ... to Fiji’s economy ... more vulnerable to the current global economic crisis ... poverty has never been higher ...40 basic-needs poverty 40 percent ..."
"Cdre Bainimarama is ignoring the major political parties in Fiji... he is now publicly saying that elections won’t be held until 2014. Privately, he is telling his military that it may take up to ten years. This is the behaviour of a military junta."[cw.Not in private; at a military parade. He actually said ten years -- if this is what it took.]
"The people and their representatives must be part of the process of governing Fiji. We don’t think genuine reform can be achieved through threats and force. We don’t think the rule of law can be strengthened by breaking the law. We don’t think accountability can be strengthened by arbitrary rule. But we do think that the longer elections are delayed in Fiji, the worse Fiji’s problems will get." [cw. I doubt any moves would have been made towards "genuine reform" had Qarase remained in power. Where were you then, Australia?]
"... There is no credibility to the interim government’s claim that, of those people who were consulted about the People’s Charter, over 92 per cent approved of it. In any event it is absurd to suggest that up to five more years are needed to prepare for elections."[cw: I thought the overall claim was 60% plus. The "need" is for time to re-educate people away from race-bound thinking, racially divisive political parties and racially arranged elections. ]
"Electoral reform was on the agenda of Fiji’s political dialogue process, a process which was cut short on 9 April." [cw: Bainimarama made several unwise moves regarding the Political Party Leaders' meetings and the President's Political Dialogue Forum, but the Australian Appeal judges must bear some responsibility for the precipitous foreclosure. They denied Government the right to appeal. Lawyers had warned them of possible consequences.]
"Australia will continue to seek constructive ways of helping ... continue our targeted sanctions against regime leaders and supporters ...maintaining significant support ... in the areas of health, education and humanitarian relief. Australia also stands ready to provide significant economic assistance to Fiji to assist it through its current economic problems provided there is a restoration of democracy. This would include support for elections and would also extend well beyond this, to help rebuild Fiji’s broken economy."
Kevin Rudd's main points (with my attempts to correct inaccuracies appended) were:
"It is not the Forum which has walked away from Fiji ...Bainimarama [did not attend] the last two Forum Leaders meetings ... no constructive engagement with the Forum’s Ministerial Contact Group ... has visited Fiji twice ...the officials-level Fiji/Forum Joint Working Group remains in existence – but Fiji has stopped attending its meetings."
" ... the real tragedy is what is occurring on the ground to the good and proud people of Fiji ... he has moved to sack the judiciary, censor the media, prohibit free assembly and step up intimidation of the Fijian people. All the normal checks and balances on government have now been eliminated." [cw. Yes, this is very serious, but the judges were not sacked and all checks have not been "eliminated." The judges were appointed under 1997 Constitution provisions, and their appointments lapsed with its Abrogation. New judges are now being appointed. Hopefully, checks and balances will be progressively restored when the Emergency Regulations cease.]
"The political crackdown is compounded by the incalculable damage ... to Fiji’s economy ... more vulnerable to the current global economic crisis ... poverty has never been higher ...40 basic-needs poverty 40 percent ..."
"Cdre Bainimarama is ignoring the major political parties in Fiji... he is now publicly saying that elections won’t be held until 2014. Privately, he is telling his military that it may take up to ten years. This is the behaviour of a military junta."[cw.Not in private; at a military parade. He actually said ten years -- if this is what it took.]
"The people and their representatives must be part of the process of governing Fiji. We don’t think genuine reform can be achieved through threats and force. We don’t think the rule of law can be strengthened by breaking the law. We don’t think accountability can be strengthened by arbitrary rule. But we do think that the longer elections are delayed in Fiji, the worse Fiji’s problems will get." [cw. I doubt any moves would have been made towards "genuine reform" had Qarase remained in power. Where were you then, Australia?]
"... There is no credibility to the interim government’s claim that, of those people who were consulted about the People’s Charter, over 92 per cent approved of it. In any event it is absurd to suggest that up to five more years are needed to prepare for elections."[cw: I thought the overall claim was 60% plus. The "need" is for time to re-educate people away from race-bound thinking, racially divisive political parties and racially arranged elections. ]
"Electoral reform was on the agenda of Fiji’s political dialogue process, a process which was cut short on 9 April." [cw: Bainimarama made several unwise moves regarding the Political Party Leaders' meetings and the President's Political Dialogue Forum, but the Australian Appeal judges must bear some responsibility for the precipitous foreclosure. They denied Government the right to appeal. Lawyers had warned them of possible consequences.]
"Australia will continue to seek constructive ways of helping ... continue our targeted sanctions against regime leaders and supporters ...maintaining significant support ... in the areas of health, education and humanitarian relief. Australia also stands ready to provide significant economic assistance to Fiji to assist it through its current economic problems provided there is a restoration of democracy. This would include support for elections and would also extend well beyond this, to help rebuild Fiji’s broken economy."
(o-) Human Rights Watch's Cloud Cuckoo Land
"... work around the edges of the possible; demanding the impossible entrenches attitudes -- and leads nowhere."
Erudite Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch (Asia Division) deputy director, says its "not too late for Fiji's interim government to reverse the path it has taken, and return the country to constitutional rule." The New York-based organization has written to President Iloilo urging him to annul the decrees he has made since April 10. Here are some extracts from her (to me, incredibly naive) interview on Radio Australia
Q. But 'isn't the path you're suggesting in direct opposition to the path taken ...? Why should they consider that path?
A.Well, I mean I think that if Fiji wants to be taken seriously by the international community, and I think if there is sustained international pressure there, then really they should look at their commitments to the citizens of Fiji ... really the steps that we are asking for, it is very easy for them to take those steps. It's very easy to go back and revoke those judicial decrees ... and to reinstate the judicial offices. We are only asking for a return to the position prior to April 10, not to a position prior to the coup. So it is not actually that difficult for them to really reverse their position if they actually have the genuine will to return to being a rights respecting nation.
Q.Bainimarama has said elections will not be held before September 2014. How's that being seen by the rest of the world?
A (speaking for the world): Well, I mean I think quite clearly it's not seen as adequate by the rest of the world. The fact that the Pacific Islands Forum has suspended Fiji shows that that cannot be taken seriously. I mean we don't think that the period of five years is necessary for the interim government to put in place the reforms and processes that they are talking about. We really believe that those kinds of processes and electoral reform can be pursued through the democratic processes that are guaranteed under the Constitution.
Q: What role do you see for Pacific island nations in helping Fiji back to democracy?
A: Well, I think certainly it would be helpful if Pacific islanders were lobbying Fiji a bit more strongly ... I think we need to think about concerted pressure in order to ensure that Fiji and the president takes these kinds of concerns about human rights abuses seriously.
Q: Australia is hosting the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns in August. What role should Australia be playing to assist Fiji's return to democracy?
A: Well, I mean I think Australia has been playing a very important role. I think maybe we also need to think about ... putting more pressure on the UN peacekeeping ...This is an extremely important source of revenue for Fiji and it seems like it's getting to the point where we need to be considering targeted sanctions or other kinds of action in order to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights and a return to the rule of law.
Comments: (1) Returning to before April 10th would mean returning to the 1997 Constitution, as interpreted by the Appeal Court judges, and elections under the then existing and demonstrably unfair and racially-bound political system. In effect, this would be asking Bainimarama to abandon all ideas of serious electoral reform, the People's Charter, and all other of its "positive"step taken since the 2000 Coup. Only asking? Very easy? Impossible!
(2) More sanctions? Think of Cuba!
If international human rights groups "want to be taken seriously" and play a role in resolving the Fiji situation -- and they can play such a role -- their spokespersons need to work around the edges of the possible; demanding the impossible entrenches attitudes -- and leads nowhere.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
(B) Separation of Church and State: New Methodism* and the Police Force
Nine weeks ago on February 20th I published a post commenting on Police Commissoner Esala Teleni's "Police Christian Crusade Against Crime." At that time allegations were made that non-Christian officers had been forced to attend Crusade parades, and that officers who converted to the New Methodist Church, run by Teleni's brother Atu Vulaono, were being promoted. It seemed, at that time, the reports were false or exaggerated. New allegations surfaced last week.
The question of the separation of church and state is a contentious issue in Fiji. Many ethnic Fijians perceive their identity as embedded in the traditionally inseparable union of vanua (land), lotu (church) and matanitu (state). This belief underpins their support for their chiefs and church, and on more than one occasion has resulted in calls, by Fijian nationalists, for Fiji to be delared a Christian state, the absolute sanctity of Sundays, Christian teaching to underpin government, the denial of permanent residence to non-Fijians, and legal provisions to safeguard all Fijian values. Were this ever to become the case, all Christians except Methodist and all non-Christians would in effect become second-class citizens, or not citizens at all. Many others, ethnic Fijians included, do not hold with this view and, while the 1997 Constitution contained a Christian prologue, other provisions guaranteed the equality of all religions and the separation of church and state. The draft People's Charter, recognizing how Fijian "traditional" beliefs were manipulated in the 1987 and 2000 coups, has similar provisions. The intrusion of "religion" in a vital state institution, the police force, should be seen against the backdrop of these two opposing viewpoints, Fijian "tradition" v. the modern Fiji state.
Last week the Coupfourpointfive blog reported a Wednesday "normal weekly parade" (attended by 300 police officers of diverse religious, cultural and social backgrounds) at which a New Methodist preacher delivered, in Fijian, a ten-minute sermon during which he said Christianity is the only true religion and all other religions are untrue. The blog, I think rightly, interpreted this as the "indoctrination of New Methodist Church’s version of Christianity on members of the Fiji Police Force."
But just as -- and possibly of more -- importance, at this particularly time in Fiji's history, is the question of Government credibility.The inclusion at a compulsory police parade of a Christian sermon that belittles the beliefs of others contradicts key clauses in the draft People’s Charter that call for multi-ethnic tolerance, the equality of all religions and the separation of church and state.
The different signals sent out by different members of the Government "team" sometimes leave one wondering whether they have different agendas, and, if this is the case, whether Government's central claims and stated intentions will prevail.
* The New Methodist church website states "The Church was a result of Spiritual revival within the Methodist Church .. a move of the Spirit ... whereby members were drawing and seeking God earnestly through prayers and fasting... com[ing] together and worship God like they had never done before; with music, lifting of hands, weeping and speaking in tongues." Registered in 2002, the church now has branches throughout Fiji.
The question of the separation of church and state is a contentious issue in Fiji. Many ethnic Fijians perceive their identity as embedded in the traditionally inseparable union of vanua (land), lotu (church) and matanitu (state). This belief underpins their support for their chiefs and church, and on more than one occasion has resulted in calls, by Fijian nationalists, for Fiji to be delared a Christian state, the absolute sanctity of Sundays, Christian teaching to underpin government, the denial of permanent residence to non-Fijians, and legal provisions to safeguard all Fijian values. Were this ever to become the case, all Christians except Methodist and all non-Christians would in effect become second-class citizens, or not citizens at all. Many others, ethnic Fijians included, do not hold with this view and, while the 1997 Constitution contained a Christian prologue, other provisions guaranteed the equality of all religions and the separation of church and state. The draft People's Charter, recognizing how Fijian "traditional" beliefs were manipulated in the 1987 and 2000 coups, has similar provisions. The intrusion of "religion" in a vital state institution, the police force, should be seen against the backdrop of these two opposing viewpoints, Fijian "tradition" v. the modern Fiji state.
Last week the Coupfourpointfive blog reported a Wednesday "normal weekly parade" (attended by 300 police officers of diverse religious, cultural and social backgrounds) at which a New Methodist preacher delivered, in Fijian, a ten-minute sermon during which he said Christianity is the only true religion and all other religions are untrue. The blog, I think rightly, interpreted this as the "indoctrination of New Methodist Church’s version of Christianity on members of the Fiji Police Force."
But just as -- and possibly of more -- importance, at this particularly time in Fiji's history, is the question of Government credibility.The inclusion at a compulsory police parade of a Christian sermon that belittles the beliefs of others contradicts key clauses in the draft People’s Charter that call for multi-ethnic tolerance, the equality of all religions and the separation of church and state.
The different signals sent out by different members of the Government "team" sometimes leave one wondering whether they have different agendas, and, if this is the case, whether Government's central claims and stated intentions will prevail.
* The New Methodist church website states "The Church was a result of Spiritual revival within the Methodist Church .. a move of the Spirit ... whereby members were drawing and seeking God earnestly through prayers and fasting... com[ing] together and worship God like they had never done before; with music, lifting of hands, weeping and speaking in tongues." Registered in 2002, the church now has branches throughout Fiji.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
(B)How Independent is the Judiciary?
This background (B) post compares how judges were appointed and lawyers registered before and after last month's abrogation of the 1997 Constitution. The issue of concern is the independence of the judiciary.
The Chief Justice and the Attorney-General. Under the 1997 Constitution the Chief Justice was appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister following consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Judges were appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission following consultation by it with the Minister and the Sector Standing Committee of the House of Representatives responsible for matters relating to the administration of justice. Since the military takeover the President has received advice on the position of Chief Justice only from the Interim PM and his Cabinet, most especially by the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Khaiyum (photo), a lawyer who is also Minister of Justice. The positions of attorney-general and minister of justice are political appointments, often held by the same person, as in many other Commonwealth countries.
The Judicial Service Commission. The JSC consisted of the Chief Justice, the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, and the President of the Fiji Law Society. The FLS had the responsibility of "registering and regulating" lawyers. The society checked their professional qualifications and good standing. Although the appointment of judges could on occasion have been subject to some political influence, this would not have been the case with the registration of lawyers.
The Administration of Justice Decree gazetted on 17 April replaced the judicial provisions of the 1997 Constitution and excluded the Fiji Law Society from the Judicial Service Commission. JSC membership now consists of "the Chief Justice as chairperson, the President of the Court of Appeal, a legal practitioner with not less 15 years post-admission practice, to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Attorney-General and a person, not being a legal practitioner, appointed by the President on the advice of the attorney general." The Decree also made provisions for the President to appoint Judges, Justices of the Appeal Court, Judges of the Supreme Court, Master of the High Court, Chief Magistrate, Magistrates and other Judicial officers." All appointments to the bench will be made on the recommendation of the Judicial Services Commission.
The Government and the Fiji Law Society. The problem for Government has been that past and present presidents of the FLS (and a goodly slice of it membership) deny the Government's legitimacy, and have been vocal opponents of its almost every move. In early 2007 the society barred seven military lawyers from practising, and it continues to warn both local and overseas lawyers not to take up appointments. On 23 April Radio NZI reported that present President, Dorsami Naidu, said the society may expel members who took up appointments, and the NZLS, taking its lead from the FLS, has warned NZ lawyers not to work in Fiji. More pragmatic tactics might have permitted some accommodation, and kept the door open for the society's continued influence.
It would have come as no surprise to the FLS that it was cut out of any direct or indirect influence on the composition of the judiciary. Its actions assured its exclusion. President Dorsami Naidu and the Attorney-General made it quite clear they could not work with each other. But if -- and it is a very big if -- the non-government members of the Judicial Service Commission can maintain an "acceptable" distance from political influence, its exclusion will not have compromised the judiciary. For compromised it must not be. Judges must maintain their independence from the legislative and executive branches of government, even if (especially if) there has been political influence in their appointment, a situation that cannot be entirely discounted under both Qarase and Bainimarama regimes.
The Licensing of Lawyers. What now seems likely is that the Society will also lose the authority to license lawyers it held under the Legal Practitioners Act. The Coupfourpointfive blog reports that its legal sources say the Attorney-General will become the new licencing authority, and given that licences will continue to be issued annually, as they were under the FLS, there is a possibility that "well known lawyers like Dorsami Naidu, Tupou Draunidalo, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Graham Leung, Richard Naidu, Florence Fenton, Jon Apted, Niko Nawaikula, Akuila Naco, to name a few, are likely to be discriminated against and may not be issued practicing licences.These lawyers have criticized the military regime."
Unfortunately, this is a quite possible outcome, but in itself the termination of the FLS's authority may bring no great change.The Society exercised special powers not enjoyed by its sister organizations in NZ and Australia. There, the law societies have no direct involvement in the appointment of judges or the registration of lawyers, other than to ensure the latter are properly qualified and of good character. Judges are appointed by executive government without intervention from their law societies or the existing judiciary. The assumption is that the appointments are not politically-influenced.
The critically important issue is not the Fiji Law Society but the independence of the judiciary and the fairness of its judgments. Recent events may have made this more difficult, but not impossible. The senior judges so far reappointed give some cause for confidence, but last week's early release from prison of the soldiers and policeman convicted of manslaughter is not a good sign. See post "Justice Is What Justice Does."
Friday, 8 May 2009
(+) Ba Chiefs Pledge Support to President
Fiji Live reports that in a traditional visit to Government House today, more than 60 chiefs from 20 tikina (districts) in Ba, Fiji's most populous province, pledged support for the Tui Vuda, President Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda. Ratu Iloilo said it was a relief to see his people and his province supporting him in the decisions he has made in the past few weeks. He reminded the chiefs that the decision they have made today is important since it will also affect the next generation who are relying heavily on them to make the right choices for a better Fiji. He called on his people to truly worship God and always work together with the other races, and ensure that they live together in harmony.
MEANWHILE
A Fiji Live poll shows that to date 38% of those polled thought Fiji's Forum suspension justified, and 62% did not.
MEANWHILE
A Fiji Live poll shows that to date 38% of those polled thought Fiji's Forum suspension justified, and 62% did not.
(o-) Justice Is What Justice Does
"Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done."
The release from prison on Wednesday, on Community Supervision Orders, of eight soldiers and a policeman, barely four months into their four year four month sentence for manslaughter raises serious doubts about the sincerity of the Fiji Government, and does nothing for its credibility. I do not know who authorized their release but Attorney-General and Acting PM Aiyaz Khaiyum must have known about the decision and if he did not know then, he does now.* It is not too late for him to correct this wrong.
No government purportedly intent on justice can condone the unecessary, brutally prolonged and cowardly assault on 19-year old Sakuisa Rabaka, in January 2007 (yes, it took that long to come to court). But the early release of his assailants does just that. The assault may be "written off" as a one-off abuse of power by nine over-zealous or sadistic individuals; their release -- uncorrected -- can only be attributed to one huge misuse of power by the State.
Their release has been rightly condemned by Citizens' Constitutional Forum CEO Rev. Akuila Yabaki, Peter Waqavonovono of the Young People's Concerned Network , the Coupfourpointfive blog and others. Yabaki called it "an abhorrent decision that undermines the rule of law" adding that, with no High Court yet in place, there is no opportunity for judicial review of the decision. He said the Interim Government is behaving in a partisan manner and giving preferential treatment to soldiers and police who support the regime, adding that the “CCF is alarmed that the military is making a mockery of the justice system in a similar manner as the Qarase government."
This last comment is particularly telling because it refers to the Qarase government's release of seven chiefs, two former military officers and a politician, also on Compulsory Supervision Orders, who had been convicted for offences of unlawful oath, unlawful assembly, possession of firearms and wrongful detention, in relation to the May 2000 coup. At that time the CCF and Bainimarama had protested their release. Indeed, Qarase's tolerance to the 2000-coup perpetrators was a major reason Bainimarama gave for his 2006 military takeover.
The YPCN is discussing a process to campaign against the release and send the murderers back to jail. "We owe this to the memory of Sakuisa Rabaka, our hero and the reason youth activism needs to continue under these strange circumstances." My thanks to the CCF and YPCN postings. I shall attempt to comment on the even more serious implications of the assailants' release -- the non-separation of the judiciary from the legislative and executive arms of government -- in my next, or a later, post.
* POSTCRIPT. The release was authorized by Brig.Gen. Ioane Naivalurua, Commissioner of Prisons. The new prison policy of using community rehabilitation to reduce the incidence of reoffending is commendable in many cases, but most definitely not in this high profile case.
The release from prison on Wednesday, on Community Supervision Orders, of eight soldiers and a policeman, barely four months into their four year four month sentence for manslaughter raises serious doubts about the sincerity of the Fiji Government, and does nothing for its credibility. I do not know who authorized their release but Attorney-General and Acting PM Aiyaz Khaiyum must have known about the decision and if he did not know then, he does now.* It is not too late for him to correct this wrong.
No government purportedly intent on justice can condone the unecessary, brutally prolonged and cowardly assault on 19-year old Sakuisa Rabaka, in January 2007 (yes, it took that long to come to court). But the early release of his assailants does just that. The assault may be "written off" as a one-off abuse of power by nine over-zealous or sadistic individuals; their release -- uncorrected -- can only be attributed to one huge misuse of power by the State.
Their release has been rightly condemned by Citizens' Constitutional Forum CEO Rev. Akuila Yabaki, Peter Waqavonovono of the Young People's Concerned Network , the Coupfourpointfive blog and others. Yabaki called it "an abhorrent decision that undermines the rule of law" adding that, with no High Court yet in place, there is no opportunity for judicial review of the decision. He said the Interim Government is behaving in a partisan manner and giving preferential treatment to soldiers and police who support the regime, adding that the “CCF is alarmed that the military is making a mockery of the justice system in a similar manner as the Qarase government."
This last comment is particularly telling because it refers to the Qarase government's release of seven chiefs, two former military officers and a politician, also on Compulsory Supervision Orders, who had been convicted for offences of unlawful oath, unlawful assembly, possession of firearms and wrongful detention, in relation to the May 2000 coup. At that time the CCF and Bainimarama had protested their release. Indeed, Qarase's tolerance to the 2000-coup perpetrators was a major reason Bainimarama gave for his 2006 military takeover.
The YPCN is discussing a process to campaign against the release and send the murderers back to jail. "We owe this to the memory of Sakuisa Rabaka, our hero and the reason youth activism needs to continue under these strange circumstances." My thanks to the CCF and YPCN postings. I shall attempt to comment on the even more serious implications of the assailants' release -- the non-separation of the judiciary from the legislative and executive arms of government -- in my next, or a later, post.
* POSTCRIPT. The release was authorized by Brig.Gen. Ioane Naivalurua, Commissioner of Prisons. The new prison policy of using community rehabilitation to reduce the incidence of reoffending is commendable in many cases, but most definitely not in this high profile case.
(o) Fiji's Geographic Importance
On cue to reinforce Fiji's geographic centrality and ease of access (and, incidentally, cause further misgivings about its suspension from the PI Forum) comes the news that all UNESCO National Commissions within the Pacific region will convene for a week-long meeting in Nadi on Monday. They will discuss issues and papers for the 2009 General Conference in Geneva; UNESCO programmes and budget for 2010-2011; regional submissions for funding ("collectively, as small island states, they can make an impact with a loud and clear voice"); further uniting regional educational systems; and the development (sic!) of UNESCO's Suva office.
(o+) Forum Suspension: All Stick, No Carrots
Keeping Fiji in, ‘safest option for region’
May 08, 2009 09:03:10 AM
An Australian academic says ejecting Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum is an extension of Australia’s failed “sticks and no carrots” approach, which he says has not worked since December 2006.
“Bainimarama has said that Fiji won't bow to external pressures such as our strict travel bans or Australia's mean-spirited decision to cut Fiji from our Pacific agricultural guest-worker scheme,” says Anthony Bergin, “Ejecting Fiji from the Forum just extends our failed approach. It's in a similar vein to the crusade that Australia and NZ have led to ensure that Fiji can't supply peacekeepers to the UN,” says Bergin.
Author of Democracy Postponed: Fiji and Director of Research Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra, Bergin has made the comments in an article published in The Australian newspaper today, in which he argues keeping Fiji within the Forum may be the best way ahead for the island nation, the Forum and Australian security interests in the Pacific.
He has questioned how suspending Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum will cause elections to be held this year.“It's hard to see how suspending Fiji from the Forum will cause Bainimarama to change his mind on holding an election this year. Weakening the Forum simply adds lustre to the Melanesian Spearhead Group, whose backer is China. Australia isn't part of this regional group.”
Bergin agrees with veteran Pacific analyst Graeme Dobell that the Forum will do itself damage by casting out one of its founding states. “With Papua New Guinea, Fiji is at the economic and security heart of the region,” he says. “It is central to the Pacific's transport and communications networks and hosts more than half of the most important regional bodies, including the region's main university.”
Bergin says banning Fiji from international peacekeeping missions will result in unemployed Fiji military personnel. “The remittances the Fiji military provide from UN deployments are critical to alleviating poverty for many military families in Fiji. It's hard to see how this measure would change Bainimarama's mind anyway.” - Taken from The Australian
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Mixed Reactions to Fiji's Suspension from Forum
Click on map to enlarge. MH Marshall Is., FM Fed.States of Melanesia, PW Palau, NR Nauru. Lighter shading associate members New Caledonia and French Polynesia.(-) Niue. Niue Premier and Forum Chairperson, Hon. Toke Talagi, in announcing Fiji's suspension and full participation in the Forum on May 2nd, did so "with considerable sorrow and disappointment" adding that the decision was difficult but unanimously decided by Forum leaders in Port Moresby on 27 January." It is," he said, also "particularly timely given the recent disturbing deterioration of the political, legal and human rights situation in Fiji since 10 April 2009.” [This, presumably, was his own opinion, not an official statement by the Forum.]
(-) Australia. PM Kevin Rudd said "Australia's position is hard line." Fiji could also be suspended from the 53-member Commonwealth group by September if Bainimarama does not make progress towards democracy.
(-) PNG. PM Sir Michael Somare said he had worked to keep fellow Melanesian nation Fiji involved with the Forum, but had lost patience with Bainimarama's regime.
(+) Kiribati. The PM had earlier spoken of the need for more dialogue with Fiji (without Australia and NZ.)
(o+) Solomon Islands. PM Dr Derek Sikua says his government wrote to the Chair of the Forum, Toke Talagi, seeking a postponement of any action against Fiji, pending further reflection by Forum leaders (Radio NZ). "New developments in Fiji did not form the body of information that was available to the forum leaders at their Port Moresby deliberations" Sikua (ABC).
(+) Cook Islands. The Deputy PM Sir Terepai Moate said "talks should be pursued."
(+) Tuvalu. The ABC reports that in Tuvalu, its support of the suspension has proved unpopular there, and the government is keen to see the Forum soften its stance on Fiji.
(+) Fiji. Fiji Trades Union Congress president Daniel Urai has blamed Australia and New Zealand’s ‘bullying tactics’ as the driving force behind Fiji’s suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum.Urai said “smaller island countries have always been bullied by countries like Australia and New Zealand and because of their cheque book diplomacy with these island states, they always have a louder voice in the Forum.” He said the two regional powers have influenced the Forum to keep Fiji out.“Smaller island countries trading with Fiji may be the only ones affected by this suspension.” Urai said Fiji has always been regarded by other pacific island countries as a “big brother”, especially when most of the regional organizations are based here.“The Forum Secretariat for one, is based in Suva, the South Pacific Commission and the main campus of the University of the South Pacific to name a few.”
(o) Invitation from SPC. Despite Fiji’s suspension, Fiji has been invited to chair a ministerial meeting on maritime transport in Nuku'alofa,Tonga, on 14 May, funded by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Works and Transport Ministry spokeswoman Sainiana Waqainabete said, the invitation indicates "how important Fiji is to the region, despite its suspension from the Pacific Island Leaders Forum, the SPC is going ahead with Fiji being involved." She added that the invitation further indicated the commitment by Pacific Island Countries in continuing to engage Fiji in regional affairs.
(-) Samoa. PM Tuilaepa Sailele says "We weren't pushed (by Australia and NZ). We supported it. Fiji needs to stop implying that this is all about Australia and New Zealand and accept we don't want them either," Tuilaepa told AAP on Tuesday."We are sick of the arrogant bullshit they are giving out". Discussions are now underway over whether the Forum's Suva headquarters need to be relocated, with several Australian and New Zealand politicians arguing it is untenable for it to remain.
(+) Tonga. PM Dr Feleti Sevele said we should "engage and maintain an ongoing dialogue."
(-) New Zealand. PM John Key has backtracked on his earlier comment ("This is a free country") that a Maori Party delegation could go to Fiji. But TVNZ reports that a delegation could still go ahead, possibly accompanied by Green Party representatives.
(o-) Maori Party MP Hone Harawira said on tonight's TV1 that the situation was a "stalemate that someone needs to break." He did not support Bainimarama's actions but said "If you've got a relative who's not feeling well, you go and see him."
(o+) Australia. The Director of the Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Sydney based think-tank, the Lowy Institute, believes American Samoa's Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin makes some valid points in criticising Australia and New Zealand's treatment of Fiji. Jenny Hayward-Jones believes suspending Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum for its failure so far to move closer to restoring democratic rule is unhelpful. Click here for her very important comments on the suspension and Australia's role in the Pacific.
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Breaking News. Anti-Government bloggers FijiCoup2006 and Raw Fiji News (see links, left column) have written to President Iloilo protesting about what they describe as the "escalation" of human rights abuses.
(o) "The Main Reason" for the Coup?
It would seem from a document posted on Sai Lealea's blog that Bainimarama was planning to remove the Qarase government as early as 2003. A statement written and signed on 11 March 2004 by Col. Alfred Tuatoko (and witnessed by Lt Col. S V Raduva and Cdre (N) T T Koroi) stated that Bainimarama had ordered them to make preparations to remove the government "except for the MFA&ET and the GCC..... if his term of Comd RFMF was not renewed ... He also said he must remain as Comd because there was no one who could be Comd and pursue the May 2000 prosecutions as he is doing." Bainimarama told the officers to "put the plan together quickly or else you would be surprised I am going down (dou cakava vakatotolo na plan de dou qai kidacala au sa liu sobu)."
Officers who did not agree with him were told to "stick to their principles, take all outstanding leave and [then] do the honourable thing and resign." No one would be forced to resign. Col. Tuatoko says he and other officers told Bainimarama that his proposed action was illegal and amounted to treason. "I advised him there were legal ways to settle his disagreement with Government". Bainimarama responded that his action "may be legally wrong but was morally correct" because of the May 2000 prosecutions.
In an email to me, Sai concludes that the "main reasons for overthrowing the Government in 2006 was to protect himself ... Getting rid of corruption was a red herring" This would certainly seem to be one reason, though even then it was linked to Bainimarama's concern the 2000 Coup-plotters and Mutineers were appropriately punished.
However, the miltary takeover did not take place for another two years by which time far more more water had passed under the bridge, providing Bainimarama will further reasons. The Fiji Times had accused the Qarase government of racism and corruption. Bainimarama and several NGOs were vehemently opposed to the proposed Reconciliaton and Tolerance Bill (that would have seen the plotters avoid punishment). Bainimarama opposing the Qoliqoli and Land Tribunal Bills that would have granted ethnic Fijians access to more resources at the expense of other races.
Also, during this time Qarase had Australian police chief Andrew Hughes investigate Bainimarama's supposed complicity in military deaths during the November 2000 Mutiny (he was cleared of the accusation in 2004); he unsuccessfully approached another officer to take over command of the RFMF when Bainimarama was overseas, and he asked the President to cancel Bainimarama's appointment.
Jonathon Fraenkel makes a not dissimilar statement (Fraenkel, Firth, Lal 2009) about Bainimarama's motives when he says Bainimarama did not mention the need for non-racially based elections until mid-2007, as evidence that elections were never part of Bainimarama's agenda.
The evidence, to me, looks to point not to a single cause, or any inherent contradiction, but to an evolving -- but related -- list of complaints against the Qarase government, to be "corrected" in the post-coup period, by Bainimarama and his advisers. But, of course, all of our views are interpretations.
Officers who did not agree with him were told to "stick to their principles, take all outstanding leave and [then] do the honourable thing and resign." No one would be forced to resign. Col. Tuatoko says he and other officers told Bainimarama that his proposed action was illegal and amounted to treason. "I advised him there were legal ways to settle his disagreement with Government". Bainimarama responded that his action "may be legally wrong but was morally correct" because of the May 2000 prosecutions.
In an email to me, Sai concludes that the "main reasons for overthrowing the Government in 2006 was to protect himself ... Getting rid of corruption was a red herring" This would certainly seem to be one reason, though even then it was linked to Bainimarama's concern the 2000 Coup-plotters and Mutineers were appropriately punished.
However, the miltary takeover did not take place for another two years by which time far more more water had passed under the bridge, providing Bainimarama will further reasons. The Fiji Times had accused the Qarase government of racism and corruption. Bainimarama and several NGOs were vehemently opposed to the proposed Reconciliaton and Tolerance Bill (that would have seen the plotters avoid punishment). Bainimarama opposing the Qoliqoli and Land Tribunal Bills that would have granted ethnic Fijians access to more resources at the expense of other races.
Also, during this time Qarase had Australian police chief Andrew Hughes investigate Bainimarama's supposed complicity in military deaths during the November 2000 Mutiny (he was cleared of the accusation in 2004); he unsuccessfully approached another officer to take over command of the RFMF when Bainimarama was overseas, and he asked the President to cancel Bainimarama's appointment.
Jonathon Fraenkel makes a not dissimilar statement (Fraenkel, Firth, Lal 2009) about Bainimarama's motives when he says Bainimarama did not mention the need for non-racially based elections until mid-2007, as evidence that elections were never part of Bainimarama's agenda.
The evidence, to me, looks to point not to a single cause, or any inherent contradiction, but to an evolving -- but related -- list of complaints against the Qarase government, to be "corrected" in the post-coup period, by Bainimarama and his advisers. But, of course, all of our views are interpretations.
My sincere apologies to Prof. Wadan Narsey....
.... for publishing incorrect comments on his Niukula lecture (post 28 April, The Horrifying Consequences of the Coup.) He is not, as I reported, "a long-standing NFP supporter or an opponent of FLP." Quite the contrary. He was a founding member of the FLP but left the party prior to the 1987 election, due to policy differences. He was a NFP MP from 1996-99, having stood unopposed on the NFP ticket, but as a joint candidate with the FLP. Since 1999 he has had no political affiliation. My reference to his brother-in-law Brij Lal might have suggested to readers that he supports the 1997 Constitution because of this relationship. This is not the case. He thought, and still thinks, the Alternative Vote electoral system advocated by the Reeves Commission, and later included in the 1997 Constitution, to be "disastrous for Fiji." Readers may read more of Wadan's views on electoral systems, coups and the economy on the USP website.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Snippets: Maori Party for Dailogue; Forum Suspension Will Hurt Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji; Regime Paranoid:Dorsami Naidu
(o) NZ's Approach "Harsh" and "Wrong": Maori Party
NZ Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia
But PM John Key says the delegation could only go in a private capacity, and he'd be surprised if a Maori negotiating team succeeded where others have failed. "The government is going to continue to negotiate for democracy in Fiji through the Pacific Forum leaders and through the Commonwealth." [I can see John Key's point but why doesn't he accompany the delegation? It would be in line with his familiar hands-on, up-front approach to other issues: a round-the-table dialogue by a down-to-earth pragmatist rather than hands-off bureaucratic negotiations? Unlikely, but it could actually help.]
(o) Fiji's Forum Expulsion will Hurt Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga More ...
... than Fiji, says well-known USP political sociologist, Dr Steven Ratuva. “What’s going to happen is that regional cooperation as we knew it for a long time since 1972 is going to go through a significant and substantial shift. And the shift is going to affect mostly the small island states like Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga [which] rely significantly on Fiji for economic survival.” Dr Ratuva says the suspension will see Fiji fall more under the influence of China, while Australia and New Zealand will lead the other power block in the region.
(-+) Regime Paranoid: Dorsami Naidu
President of Fiji's Law Society, Dorsami Naidu, a long-time vocal opponent of the Bainimarama Government, says the extension of the Emergency Regulations for a further 30 days from 10 May, is unnecessary and evidence of paranoia. For its part, Government has justified the extension, whose main effect is in curbing the media, saying Fiji needed a period of calm after the tumultuous events of recent weeks.
(o) Outsider's Media Freedom Report
The main reason given for the extension of the Emergency Regulations was a purportedly irresponsible Fiji press. Calm was said to be need after the Abrogation of the 1997 Constitution, and a "free" press would not help this process.
Did the Government have reason for concern? For the past 12 months the Fiji media has published reports by a string of outside observers (e.g., the International Bar Association, the US world report on human rights, and the International Jurists) without informing its readers of the full identity and credentials of these observers. Readers were left assuming they were qualified, informed, objective and unbiased, even though their sources came exclusively from opponents to the then Interim Government.
The latest report, on media freedom, by Freedom House ranked Fiji 85th out of a total of 195 countries, Tonga 73rd and Timor Leste 78th. They were classified, together with one-third of the countries reviewed, as "partly free". The other 12 Pacific Island nations in the report were "free". New Zealand and Palau were 11th, Marshall Islands 21th, Federated States of Micronesia 33rd, Australia 38th, Vanuatu 43rd, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu 53rd, Kiribati 59th, Nauru 60th, Samoa 63rd and Solomon Islands 66th.) Fiji's media freedom was reported to have suffered from “official pressure”, the deportation of two foreign national publishers and the Fiji Times being held in contempt for publishing “unflattering letters about three judges” (the High Court judges who ruled the President's action in appointing the Interim Government legal. Not the Appeal Court judges who found otherwise. They escaped censure!)
Many such international comparisons are often pretty meaningless, because we are seldom told the measures by which each country is measured (some things are just not comparable or measurable, and may be culturally or contextually specific) but we do at least in this case know who did the measuring. Freedom House is an "independent, non-profit organization" (aren't they all?). It styles itself as "a strong voice for a U.S. foreign policy that places the promotion of democracy at the forefront." It is "bipartisan", favouring neither US Democrats or Republicans; it condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan but not the US invasion of Iraq.
So, you can take whatever you like from its Fiji assessment: only 85th (worse than last year, and likely to be judged worse now), or only 85th, in the top half (44%) of the "freer" press. I doubt its political and cultural credential, but I have little doubt that its primary Fiji sources were the Fiji Times and the Fiji Media Council.
My thanks to Pacific Media Centre and Josephine Latu for the report but I should not need to have checked the credentials and credibility of its source.
Did the Government have reason for concern? For the past 12 months the Fiji media has published reports by a string of outside observers (e.g., the International Bar Association, the US world report on human rights, and the International Jurists) without informing its readers of the full identity and credentials of these observers. Readers were left assuming they were qualified, informed, objective and unbiased, even though their sources came exclusively from opponents to the then Interim Government.
The latest report, on media freedom, by Freedom House ranked Fiji 85th out of a total of 195 countries, Tonga 73rd and Timor Leste 78th. They were classified, together with one-third of the countries reviewed, as "partly free". The other 12 Pacific Island nations in the report were "free". New Zealand and Palau were 11th, Marshall Islands 21th, Federated States of Micronesia 33rd, Australia 38th, Vanuatu 43rd, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu 53rd, Kiribati 59th, Nauru 60th, Samoa 63rd and Solomon Islands 66th.) Fiji's media freedom was reported to have suffered from “official pressure”, the deportation of two foreign national publishers and the Fiji Times being held in contempt for publishing “unflattering letters about three judges” (the High Court judges who ruled the President's action in appointing the Interim Government legal. Not the Appeal Court judges who found otherwise. They escaped censure!)
Many such international comparisons are often pretty meaningless, because we are seldom told the measures by which each country is measured (some things are just not comparable or measurable, and may be culturally or contextually specific) but we do at least in this case know who did the measuring. Freedom House is an "independent, non-profit organization" (aren't they all?). It styles itself as "a strong voice for a U.S. foreign policy that places the promotion of democracy at the forefront." It is "bipartisan", favouring neither US Democrats or Republicans; it condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan but not the US invasion of Iraq.
So, you can take whatever you like from its Fiji assessment: only 85th (worse than last year, and likely to be judged worse now), or only 85th, in the top half (44%) of the "freer" press. I doubt its political and cultural credential, but I have little doubt that its primary Fiji sources were the Fiji Times and the Fiji Media Council.
My thanks to Pacific Media Centre and Josephine Latu for the report but I should not need to have checked the credentials and credibility of its source.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
(o+) The 55+ Retirement Age, the Fiji National Provident Fund, and Pensions
As with most Government announcements these days, the decree making 55 the compulsory retirement age (except in some circumstances) is seen by some as a diabolical act with horrendous consequences. This post seeks a more balanced account.Government says the move is to save Government expenditure by reducing the size of an over-heavy civil service; create job opportunities for some of Fiji's 1,000 unemployed graduates and other young unemployed people, and encourage some of those retiring to start their own business or otherwise enter the private sector.A Fiji Times editorial on March 15 agreed with them.
Anti-Government Bloggers, however, say the money saved will be spent on the military, and the decree will be used as a way of getting rid of civil servants the Government does not like. NZ Public Service Association Nat.Sec.Richard Wagstaff, who lives in a country with longer life expectancies and far lower levels of unemployment, says its a "deplorable" move that discriminates against age and breaches, fundamental human rights. [I wonder why someone thought his opinion is relevant to Fiji.]
Some Government opponents have also expressed concern that the Fiji National Provident Fund could be bankrupted, not just by the retirees claiming their pensions, but because nominees of an "unelected military clique" have taken over the FNPF and, apart from general mismanagement, are using the funds to service recurrent government expenditure and debt, military overspending, and several unwise investments, such as the purchase of BP Pacific and several tourist ventures - the Natadola and Momi developments, and the restoration of the historic Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.
Prof. Waden Narsey wrote of "people's life savings being under threat." This, and the fact that commercial banks, unlike the FNPF, had "wisely" decided not to lend to Government, is one of the points in his Fiji Times May 13 article "Coup Wolves Circling FNPF." (The Fiji Times cartoon that accompanied the article neatly summaries his argument.) It is unfortunate that the FNPF was not invited to respond to Narsey's attack and was obliged to take out a full page advertisement to make its case.
Prof. Narsey saw "nothing wrong per se with FNPF financing the Fiji government's budget deficit" but with an unelected government in place "we are unlikely to see the required economic growth, income and increased tax revenues, which could repay the loan. All that is likely to happen is an increase in the money supply, increased imports, reduced foreign reserves, bigger public debt, and an upward pressure on inflation."
The FNPF replied that it is not the normal function of private banks to lend to governments; that budget deficits are often used in recessionary times to stimulate economic growth; the Funds bond investments were earning more than the inflation rate; that the FNPF cannot become insolvent because, unlike banks, there cannot be a "run" on its money, and that it always has significant cash reserves. The Fund is thought to have assets worth more than $F3million. Readers wishing to follow these arguments further are referred to the Fiji Times and FNPF links above.
For the record, the FNPF was established in 1966 to provide financial security for workers when they retired aged 55 (sic!). Membership is compulsory for state sector employees who contribute 8% of their wages or salaries to which Government adds another 8%, and interest accrues to these contributions. As of June 2005 there were 317,000 members and 9,000 pensioners whose average monthly pension was $F372. Since 1976 members have been able to opt for a single or joint (with spouse) pension in lieu of a lump sum payment. The average single pension was $F407 and the joint pension $F322. The 55-year old pensioner living in rented or mortgaged housing in Suva, with no other savings and with dependent children, will certainly not be well off, but he or she will be much better off than the female garment worker earning less than a dollar an hour; the estimated one-in-three people in Fiji who are living in poverty -- and the many unemployed graduates without a job. There is no unemployment benefit in Fiji.
Friday, 1 May 2009
(+o) Forum Deadline: For Whom The Bell Tolls; it Tolls for Thee ...
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee..."John Donne (1572-1631) Meditation 17, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.Fiji is downplaying (and Australia and New Zealand "up-playing") the effects of tonight's "automatic" suspension of Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum. If the suspension goes ahead, both are likely to be proved wrong.
For Fiji, the suspension could well lead on to suspension from the Commonwealth, the termination of EU aid for its ailing sugar industry, and UN sanctions, including possibly the termination of existing Fiji soldiers' contacts as UN peacekeepers. It is, however, unlikely to face trade sanctions, at least from NZ whose exports are worth five times more than its imports from Fiji, or actions that will further impact on NZ-owned tourist businesses in Fiji. Suspension will also further strengthen the hand of Qarase's SDL party and others in Fiji hostile to the Government, perhaps with deadly consequences. As one person put it: "The Pacific’s failed policies will simply ratchet up the response and counter-response until what … a counter-coup and ruin for the region?" For Australia and NZ, Fiji's suspension will demonstrate just how badly they have misread the Fiji situation, and expose the total failure of their "diplomatic" responses to the 2006 Coup.
For the Forum itself, it may not be the end of the road. Phoenix-like, it may relocate to Samoa and reinvent itself without Fiji's crucial representation, but it is unlikely to be quite the same ever again. When further dialogue was desperately -- and obviously -- needed, Melanesian leaders in particular will have noted Australia's and New Zealand's total inflexibility. As David Robie says in Cafe Pacific: "The Forum has never taken such drastic action against a member in almost four decades of virtual “Pacific way” consensus. If it does so this time – excluding the most influential and crossroads island nation of the region – the isolationist policy will come back to bite the Forum in most unpredictable ways. It will also open the door to a dramatic rise in Chinese influence in the region, at the expense of Canberra and Wellington."
The supposed unanimity of the Forum's decision should not be taken as total agreement with the two Pacific “super powers."Click here. In mid-April Kiribati President Anote Tong spoke of the need for "a new approach" and ‘talks [that] should proceed without input from New Zealand and Australia, because the two countries' foreign policies have failed on many levels. Pacific leaders may have a better understanding of how to reach Commodore Frank Bainimarama." On April 15 Radio NZI reported that “some leaders in Pacific nations are calling for more dialogue with Fiji’s interim government but they say input from New Zealand and Australia won’t be helpful, and the failure of the two countries’ foreign policies in bringing about a return to democracy needs to be taken into account. Cook Islands Deputy PM, Sir Terepai Maoate, said: “Fiji’s Cdre Frank Bainimarama feels cornered and bullied…and talks should be pursued. You only have to find a process where there will be trust in the two parties to sit down and go through the process of dialogue." Two days later, Tonga’s PM Dr. Feleti Sevele said, “Fiji needs help and the Pacific Islands Forum countries should engage and maintain an ongoing dialogue with the Fiji regime and help them to find their way back to normality." And on April 20 Solomon Islands PM Derek Sikua said: “The Pacific Islands Forum should not rush into implementing sanctions against the Fiji government." On tonight's TV Barbara Dreaver said PNG's Sir Michael Somare was coming around to the Australian position. Niue and Samoa support NZ's position.
As Rajendra Prasad, author of Tears in Paradise and a Indian Newslink columnist, put it in a recent article which offers an individual Indo-Fijian perspective with which, naturally not all Indo-Fijians would agree :"Country Needs Understanding, not a Shotgun."
One wonders what advice Helen Clark received from MFAT, and whether she took it? This is an important question, but my gut feeling is that most such advisers would think similarly, and those who differed kept quiet or were marginalised. I certainly felt marginalised at an NZAid meeting in early 2007 when I said our consultancy team about to visit Fiji should not prejudge the situation. The official NZ position was already set in concrete.
And, however distasteful it may be, we must also ask how much it goes back to our undoubted feeling of cultural superiority, less changed than we may wish from the days when Europeans "protected the 'natives' from the Indians", and knew what was best for all of them. Tonight's TV news said Fiji is heavily dependent on aid. All the Pacific nations have been tarred with this brush since we accepted the notion of MIRAB* economies, a useful term to describe the smallest PIN but not Fiji, where NZ aid plays only a small part. But aid seen as "charity" fits the superior image.
All of these factors, to differing degrees, no doubt played a part, and still influence our actions.
Diplomacy, the art and practice of conducting negotiations between states, to be fair and effective, requires states of equal power. NZ never saw Fiji as its equal. This is why from Day One Helen Clark among others could speak in such derogatory terms of Cdre Bainimarama. Why our High Commissioner, until he was deported, could ignore the Interim Government while consulting the deposed Qarase Government, and why we continue to support Bainimarama's opponents. It is why we are so short of diplomatic and academic expertise on the Pacific, a region considered hardly worth studying. Why we continue to accept such sloppy journalism. Why we could impose such inflexible travel bans. And why, even now, we appear not to have adopted so-called Track II diplomacy where informal, behind-the-scenes efforts are made, by academics, think tanks and others, to suggest diplomatic ways of resolving the impasse that Fiji presents. We have closed our eyes to coups and human rights abuses in bigger countries, but not in Fiji, a small and less powerful country.
Do I hold New Zealand primarily responsible for the way things have developed? Yes, but obviously not entirely. Bainimarama staged the Coup. His Government dug itself ever deeper into mud, much of its own making. Australia has also played an important role but seems, in most matters, to have taken its lead from us. Regretfully, I think we are the more culpable. I expected us to do better. Fiji's string of crises need not have come to this. We have been the most insistent on an election deadline that, for technical reasons alone, most probably could not have been met on time. Australia still has a High Commission in Suva, and has offered technical and other support. We have no High Commissioner and only skeletal HC staff.
We have offered nothing to help Fiji out of its mess-- no forsensic accountants, no judicial or electoral expertise, no progressive easing of the travel bans, not even an air accident inspector. We, more than any other country, in our direct attacks and support for his opponents, drove Bainimarama back into a corner, provoking retaliation. Other Forum countries merely followed our lead, some with extreme reluctance. Let us hope dialogue continues, with or without the Forum. In a year or two, looking back, we may have cause to recall that it was at this Midnight we "send to know for whom the bell tolls." We will then know whether is was Bainimarama, Qarase, Fiji, Australia's and New Zealand's mana, or the Forum we helped create and destroy.
Meanwhile, in displays quite uncharacteristic of good diplomacy, we have bailed ourselves and Bainimarama into a corner leaving neither a way to escape with dignity intact.
* MIRAB Migration Remittances Aid Bureauacy (small countries' major sources of income).
(+-) Lay Off Bainimarama
If anyone is used to criticism, it's Frank Bainimarama. So starts an article in today's Fiji Sun, "Lay Off Bainimarama, He's Doing it for Fiji." The article goes on to cite academics Hugh Laracy and Crosbie Walsh, and journalist Graham Davis, who support this view, and academic Stewart Firth, who does not. All, in different ways, are "experts" on Fiji. The road you follow depends on where you start from. Click here to read the article in full.
(+) Bainimarama Speaks on Eve of Forum Deadline
The original heading, "Dictator's Plea to Kevin Rudd: Let's Talk to Help Restore Fijian Democracy" by Graham Davis, does not accurately convey text content. I suspect it was selected by The Australian sub-editors. My thanks to Graham for allowing Bainimarama to speak, and to the Pacific Media Watch for this link.
Fiji’s military leader, Frank Bainimarama, has proposed a summit meeting with Australia and New Zealand to try to resolve the impasse over his refusal to hold elections for another five years.
With the expiration of the deadline today for Cdre Bainimarama to announce an election date this year or face suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum, the dictator has defiantly said his own agenda stands."It is not going to happen. There will be no elections until September 2014," he said. Commodore Bainimarama said an election this year would restore the "racist" government of former prime minister Laisenia Qarase, whom he deposed at gunpoint in 2006. "Qarase is finished. He will only return over my dead body," he insisted.
But the Fiji Prime Minister wants to map out a way forward to rebuild Fiji's shattered relationship with its traditional partners and has challenged the Australian and New Zealand leaders to confront him in person. "I would like to see Kevin Rudd and John Key face to face so I can explain things clearly to them about the changes we need to bring about," Cdre Bainimarama said.
Stressing that the summit should be "immediate", the Fijian leader expressed frustration about the attitude of Australia and New Zealand to his attempts to purge Fiji of racism and undertake electoral reform before elections in 2014."That's the sad part about it. I don't think the international community much appreciates what's happening here. "They need to come and find out," he said.
Cdre Bainimarama was speaking after Fiji suffered fresh political upheaval early last month, when the Fiji constitution was abrogated, a clampdown launched on dissent and the media, and President Josefa Iloilo said elections would be delayed until September 2014. Fiji faces becoming the first member to be suspended from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian, Cdre Bainimarama was both conciliatory and pugnacious.He predicted that the forum would baulk at suspending Fiji in spite of sustained lobbying from Australia and New Zealand. He announced that the month-long state of emergency imposed in Fiji would be extended, including media restrictions. And he repeated allegations that Australia was spying on Fiji and tapping his telephones.
He revealed that his long-term plans to produce a multi-racial democracy included the restoration of the Queen as Fiji's head of state.
Canberra and Wellington
On his summit proposal, Cdre Bainimarama called on Canberra and Wellington to drop their insistence on an election in Fiji this year. "That will only ensure the return of the racist government I overthrew in 2006. We need to get rid of racism in the next five years and then have elections that people recognise will bring about true democracy in Fiji."
Cdre Bainimarama said he was prepared to give the Australian and New Zealand leaders a "cast-iron guarantee" that elections would be held in 2014, but not before. Anticipating their response that he had broken a pledge to hold elections this year, Cdre Bainimarama denied that it was ever a formal undertaking. "The Tongan Prime Minister, who was chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, came to me for an informal chat and said 'Look, there's a lot of pressure on us and on you to set a date for elections. Why don't you come up with 2009?' So I said, 'If we want to change that, we can talk about it later on'. I thought it was something we could discuss, a possibility, not something set in stone," Cdre Bainimarama insisted.
The Pacific Islands Forum
The military chief said he did not believe the Forum would proceed with its threat to suspend Fiji. "No one has ever been suspended from the forum, and I just can't see it happening. It's beyond its mandate to suspend a member nation. In fact, if it was up to me, we would have removed Australia and New Zealand because they're putting undue pressure on the Pacific islands and that's not how we operate in the Pacific," Cdre Bainimarama said.
The region's elder statesman, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, warned on Tuesday that he was running out of patience with Cdre Bainimarama's regime, and the Forum had no choice but to suspend Fiji if it failed to meet today's deadline. But the Fijian leader said Sir Michael "would be thinking twice" about telling member countries of the need to do so."Sir Michael Somare and Fiji have a very wonderful, strong relationship going back to the days when he and Ratu Mara (the founder of modern Fiji) were friends. That relationship will remain," he said.
Cdre Bainimarama appealed to his fellow island leaders not to be swayed by Australia and New Zealand."Fiji was one of the initiators of the Forum. Why would they want to suspend Fiji? Is there killing on the roadside? Why suspension, just because we don't go along with what the Australians and the Kiwis want?"He also asked his fellow leaders to consider, in their deliberations, supportive comments last week to a US congressional hearing by a Samoan member of the congress, Eni Faleomavaega. He told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Australia and New Zealand were making "nasty accusations" against Fiji and "acting with a heavy hand" about a "situation that is more complex than it appears".Ms Clinton promised to examine Mr Faleomavaega's complaints and acknowledged Australia and New Zealand as the source of much of the US's information about Fiji."She should listen to his advice," Cdre Bainimarama said, expressing his hope for a change in US policy. "There's someone who understands what's happening in Fiji. At least she will have somebody else besides Australia and New Zealand to listen to."
Cdre Bainimarama also said he was unfazed by threats to move the Forum Secretariat from Suva, Fiji's capital. "There's no need to move the forum headquarters, but I guess if they come to that decision, we'll assist them. I don't think it's going to happen."
Emergency to be Extended
In his interview with The Australian, the military chief also announced that Fiji's month-long state of emergency, due to expire on May 10, would be extended. The clampdown has seen the media muzzled and a prominent indigenous nationalist, Iliesa Duvuloco, detained for allegedly distributing pamphlets calling for a military uprising. We want this calm to continue for a while. The emergency regulations were brought in entirely for media censorship to ensure calm. I'm very worried about people like Duvuloco inciting people to rise up against the military and the government of the day," Cmde Bainimarama said.
He repeated allegations previously made by his Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, that Australia has been spying on Fiji. He said he had personally confronted Foreign Minister Stephen Smith with evidence that his telephone calls had been tapped in breach of Fiji's laws. "We had to caution Stephen Smith about spying on us, that this was illegal in Fiji, and in that meeting he didn't say anything. He didn't deny or admit it, but I took that as confirmation, bugging our phones and listening to our conversations." But the military chief described it as an irritant, and said it had not made him more cautious about what he said on the phone. "I really don't give a damn what they hear," he said.
China and India Ties
The Fijian leader outlined some of his plans, including closer ties with China and India, which have replaced Australia and New Zealand as Fiji's confidants and evident means of support. Confirming that Chinese aid to Fiji had risen dramatically, he said: "Yes, the Chinese are giving us money. We have a wonderful relationship with China and we're trying to build on that. They're very sympathetic and understand what's happening here, that we need to do things our own way."
Main Task - Promoting Notions of Racial Equality
Commodore Bainimarama said his main task in the next five years before an election was to promote the notion of racial equality over the indigenous supremacist agenda of the government he deposed. Pointing to recent high-level Indo-Fijian appointments, including the governor of the Reserve Bank, Sada Reddy - who replaced an indigenous Fijian - the military chief said:( "My vision for Fiji is one that is free of racism. That's the biggest problem we've had in the last 20 years and it needs to be taken out. "It's the lies that are being fed to indigenous Fijians that's causing this. We need to get rid of Qarase and everything associated with the 2000 coup and begin entirely on a new path."
The military chief envisaged that when democracy was eventually restored in five years, Fiji would ask the Queen to resume her position as head of state. The country declared itself a republic during the first coups of 1987. "I'm still loyal to the Queen - many people in Fiji are," he said, acknowledging her photograph above his desk. "One of the things I'd like to do is see her become Queen of Fiji again."
Fiji’s military leader, Frank Bainimarama, has proposed a summit meeting with Australia and New Zealand to try to resolve the impasse over his refusal to hold elections for another five years.
With the expiration of the deadline today for Cdre Bainimarama to announce an election date this year or face suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum, the dictator has defiantly said his own agenda stands."It is not going to happen. There will be no elections until September 2014," he said. Commodore Bainimarama said an election this year would restore the "racist" government of former prime minister Laisenia Qarase, whom he deposed at gunpoint in 2006. "Qarase is finished. He will only return over my dead body," he insisted.
But the Fiji Prime Minister wants to map out a way forward to rebuild Fiji's shattered relationship with its traditional partners and has challenged the Australian and New Zealand leaders to confront him in person. "I would like to see Kevin Rudd and John Key face to face so I can explain things clearly to them about the changes we need to bring about," Cdre Bainimarama said.
Stressing that the summit should be "immediate", the Fijian leader expressed frustration about the attitude of Australia and New Zealand to his attempts to purge Fiji of racism and undertake electoral reform before elections in 2014."That's the sad part about it. I don't think the international community much appreciates what's happening here. "They need to come and find out," he said.
Cdre Bainimarama was speaking after Fiji suffered fresh political upheaval early last month, when the Fiji constitution was abrogated, a clampdown launched on dissent and the media, and President Josefa Iloilo said elections would be delayed until September 2014. Fiji faces becoming the first member to be suspended from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian, Cdre Bainimarama was both conciliatory and pugnacious.He predicted that the forum would baulk at suspending Fiji in spite of sustained lobbying from Australia and New Zealand. He announced that the month-long state of emergency imposed in Fiji would be extended, including media restrictions. And he repeated allegations that Australia was spying on Fiji and tapping his telephones.
He revealed that his long-term plans to produce a multi-racial democracy included the restoration of the Queen as Fiji's head of state.
Canberra and Wellington
On his summit proposal, Cdre Bainimarama called on Canberra and Wellington to drop their insistence on an election in Fiji this year. "That will only ensure the return of the racist government I overthrew in 2006. We need to get rid of racism in the next five years and then have elections that people recognise will bring about true democracy in Fiji."
Cdre Bainimarama said he was prepared to give the Australian and New Zealand leaders a "cast-iron guarantee" that elections would be held in 2014, but not before. Anticipating their response that he had broken a pledge to hold elections this year, Cdre Bainimarama denied that it was ever a formal undertaking. "The Tongan Prime Minister, who was chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, came to me for an informal chat and said 'Look, there's a lot of pressure on us and on you to set a date for elections. Why don't you come up with 2009?' So I said, 'If we want to change that, we can talk about it later on'. I thought it was something we could discuss, a possibility, not something set in stone," Cdre Bainimarama insisted.
The Pacific Islands Forum
The military chief said he did not believe the Forum would proceed with its threat to suspend Fiji. "No one has ever been suspended from the forum, and I just can't see it happening. It's beyond its mandate to suspend a member nation. In fact, if it was up to me, we would have removed Australia and New Zealand because they're putting undue pressure on the Pacific islands and that's not how we operate in the Pacific," Cdre Bainimarama said.
The region's elder statesman, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, warned on Tuesday that he was running out of patience with Cdre Bainimarama's regime, and the Forum had no choice but to suspend Fiji if it failed to meet today's deadline. But the Fijian leader said Sir Michael "would be thinking twice" about telling member countries of the need to do so."Sir Michael Somare and Fiji have a very wonderful, strong relationship going back to the days when he and Ratu Mara (the founder of modern Fiji) were friends. That relationship will remain," he said.
Cdre Bainimarama appealed to his fellow island leaders not to be swayed by Australia and New Zealand."Fiji was one of the initiators of the Forum. Why would they want to suspend Fiji? Is there killing on the roadside? Why suspension, just because we don't go along with what the Australians and the Kiwis want?"He also asked his fellow leaders to consider, in their deliberations, supportive comments last week to a US congressional hearing by a Samoan member of the congress, Eni Faleomavaega. He told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Australia and New Zealand were making "nasty accusations" against Fiji and "acting with a heavy hand" about a "situation that is more complex than it appears".Ms Clinton promised to examine Mr Faleomavaega's complaints and acknowledged Australia and New Zealand as the source of much of the US's information about Fiji."She should listen to his advice," Cdre Bainimarama said, expressing his hope for a change in US policy. "There's someone who understands what's happening in Fiji. At least she will have somebody else besides Australia and New Zealand to listen to."
Cdre Bainimarama also said he was unfazed by threats to move the Forum Secretariat from Suva, Fiji's capital. "There's no need to move the forum headquarters, but I guess if they come to that decision, we'll assist them. I don't think it's going to happen."
Emergency to be Extended
In his interview with The Australian, the military chief also announced that Fiji's month-long state of emergency, due to expire on May 10, would be extended. The clampdown has seen the media muzzled and a prominent indigenous nationalist, Iliesa Duvuloco, detained for allegedly distributing pamphlets calling for a military uprising. We want this calm to continue for a while. The emergency regulations were brought in entirely for media censorship to ensure calm. I'm very worried about people like Duvuloco inciting people to rise up against the military and the government of the day," Cmde Bainimarama said.
He repeated allegations previously made by his Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, that Australia has been spying on Fiji. He said he had personally confronted Foreign Minister Stephen Smith with evidence that his telephone calls had been tapped in breach of Fiji's laws. "We had to caution Stephen Smith about spying on us, that this was illegal in Fiji, and in that meeting he didn't say anything. He didn't deny or admit it, but I took that as confirmation, bugging our phones and listening to our conversations." But the military chief described it as an irritant, and said it had not made him more cautious about what he said on the phone. "I really don't give a damn what they hear," he said.
China and India Ties
The Fijian leader outlined some of his plans, including closer ties with China and India, which have replaced Australia and New Zealand as Fiji's confidants and evident means of support. Confirming that Chinese aid to Fiji had risen dramatically, he said: "Yes, the Chinese are giving us money. We have a wonderful relationship with China and we're trying to build on that. They're very sympathetic and understand what's happening here, that we need to do things our own way."
Main Task - Promoting Notions of Racial Equality
Commodore Bainimarama said his main task in the next five years before an election was to promote the notion of racial equality over the indigenous supremacist agenda of the government he deposed. Pointing to recent high-level Indo-Fijian appointments, including the governor of the Reserve Bank, Sada Reddy - who replaced an indigenous Fijian - the military chief said:( "My vision for Fiji is one that is free of racism. That's the biggest problem we've had in the last 20 years and it needs to be taken out. "It's the lies that are being fed to indigenous Fijians that's causing this. We need to get rid of Qarase and everything associated with the 2000 coup and begin entirely on a new path."
The military chief envisaged that when democracy was eventually restored in five years, Fiji would ask the Queen to resume her position as head of state. The country declared itself a republic during the first coups of 1987. "I'm still loyal to the Queen - many people in Fiji are," he said, acknowledging her photograph above his desk. "One of the things I'd like to do is see her become Queen of Fiji again."
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