FIJI POLITICS
MILITARY 'CLEAN-UP' - FROM BLESSING TO A BIG QUESTION MARK

Fiji's fourth coup may have come as a blessing for the people of Fiji. In the last 36 years, indigenous leaders and their militant nationalist allies set in train race-based development policies that cemented inequality and poverty. But the interim government line-up has placed a big question mark over the army's agenda.

By SANJAY RAMESH

Fiji Times link to interim cabinet profiles: http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?ref=archive&id=54916

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FIJI'S fourth coup may have come as a blessing for the people of Fiji. In the last 36 years, indigenous leaders and their militant nationalist allies set in train race-based clientelistic development policies that plundered indigenous resources, divided the community, engineered a cadre of indigenous elite, cemented inequality and poverty and encouraged above all unprecedented levels of corruption and financial mismanagement.

But the interim government line up announced on 8-9 January 2007 has placed a big question mark over the army’s “clean up” agenda. Placing people with vested political interest in the interim government has raised questions about the military’s “moral” authority on issues such as corruption and good governance.

In 1987, a third-ranked colonel in the Royal Fiji Military Forces ousted the democratically elected multiracial government of the late Dr Timoci Bavadra. Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka within months was promoted as Commander of the Fiji military by the late Governor General Ratu Penaia Ganilau. A Military Council was established with the participation of defeated politicians from the Alliance Government (1970 – 1987).

The Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), the Methodist Church and the indigenous nationalist Taukei Movement became the “traditional” voice in support of the takeover. Moderate indigenous views in support of multiracial democracy were quickly expunged and prisoners were released to protest in Suva against a writ filed in the Fiji High Court by Dr. Bavadra, challenging the dissolution of parliament by the Governor General.

Moreover, Indo-Fijians were attacked and harassed by the Taukei Movement members, who became increasingly violent after a political solution, in the form of a Government of National Unity (GNU), was reached at Deuba in September 1987. Coup leader Rabuka remained unhappy with the turn of events since May and after stating publicly that “the objectives of the coup had not been met” executed the second coup on 25 September.

At the end of 1987, the reputation of the Fiji’s chiefly leaders lay in tatters and worse perhaps the Methodist fundamentalists, with the assistance of the army, imposed a ban on all commercial activities on Sunday.

Racially-weighted constitution
From 1987 to 1992, Fiji was under a military-backed interim government. Discrimination, detention and harassment of Indo-Fijians continued as many left Fiji for a better future overseas. Through attrition, the Indo-Fijian population dwindled and a new racially weighted constitution was promulgated by the coup makers in July 1990. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka went on to become the leader of the GCC sponsored party: Soqosoqo ni Vakevulewa ni Taukei. Indo-Fijians fought the interim regime on the sugar front as the National Farmers Union (NFU) led by the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) leader Mahendra Chaudhry extracted concessions on the Sugar Master’s Award.

By 1992, Indo-Fijians were divided between the National Federation Party (NFP) and the FLP with the FLP refusing to contest the 1992 elections. Indigenous Fijian members of the FLP split from the party and formed the New Labour Party (NLP) but failed to win any indigenous communal seat.

The NFP argued that by not contesting the elections, Indo-Fijians would be further alienated from the political process. Led by Jai Ram Reddy, the NFP made a come back from the political wilderness of the late 1980s in the 1992 general elections.

From 1992 to 1999, Fiji went through a series of political transformations. The SVT split in 1993 after members of the SVT party defeated the 1994 Budget. No longer with the SVT, rebel members formed the Fijian Association Party (FAP) under the leadership of late Josevata Kamikamica. Fiji went to the polls in 1994 and the SVT was once again returned to office. Despite the SVT win, divisions within the indigenous Fijians became apparent as Prime Minister Rabuka sought to improve his failing political fortunes by seeking assistance for constitutional reforms from the NFP leader Jai Ram Reddy.

Constitutional review
In 1995, a Constitution Review Commission (CRC) was established to review the 1990 Constitution. The CRC recommended drastic changes to Fiji’s constitutional make up. Some of the changes were so far reaching that the indigenous Fijian leadership used the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee to “soften” the impact of the CRC Report. In the end, indigenous Fijians were unhappy with the new constitutional arrangement whereas Indo-Fijians saw constitutional reforms as the only way of safeguarding minority rights in the country.

The consequence of Rabuka’s constitutional reforms was two-fold. Firstly, a number of Fijian provinces withdrew support for the GCC- backed SVT party and secondly, there was an upsurge in indigenous nationalism, which led to the formation of the Christian Democratic Alliance party or Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito (VLV). Both these developments spelt disaster for Rabuka and the SVT in the 1999 elections as the party was abandoned by a majority of the indigenous Fijians.

On the Indo-Fijian front, Jai Ram Reddy’s cordial relationship with Rabuka ended the political hopes of the NFP party. Many Indo-Fijians saw the NFP has a “weak” party unable to champion the rights of the Indo-Fijians.

As a result, the NFP was wiped out of the Fiji’s political landscape as Fiji’s first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry formed the Peoples’ Coalition Government with the indigenous Fijian FAP, VLV and the Party of National Unity (PANU) parties.

While a new era dawned on Fiji’s race-based politics, the indigenous nationalists remained unconvinced with the political outcome and privately expressed shock with the election of the first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister. Chaudhry, a former trade union leader and a Minister for Finance in the deposed Bavadra government, reintroduced some of the Labour policies that had led to the coups of 1987.

People's Coalition faced showdown
Within six months in office, the Peoples’ Coalition Government was heading for a showdown with the GCC and the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) over sugar lease arrangement under Agricultural Landlord and Tenants Act (ALTA). Capitalising on the sensitivities over land, indigenous nationalists led by George Speight with the support from a section of the Fiji military, deposed the Peoples’ Coalition Government on 19 May 2000.

Unlike the 1987 coup, the 2000 takeover saw government ministers incarcerated for fifty six days. The President of Fiji, late Ratu Mara, was forced out of office by the Fiji army after the group supporting the 2000 coup refused to recognise his authority.

To counter the lawlessness of the Speight group, the Fiji army Commander Frank Bainimarama abrogated the constitution and established an interim government under the leadership of Suva banker Laisenia Qarase. Before the interim government under Qarase was sworn in, both the army Commander and Qarase supported strengthening of affirmative action programs for the indigenous Fijians.

The policy of appeasing the Speight camp backfired when supporters of the coup within the army mutinied at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks (QEB) at Nabua. Bainimarama survived only to have his military installed interim government dismissed by the High Court in 2001.

Those in the interim government quickly reinvented themselves and launched the Soqosoqo ni Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party (SDL). Seeing opportunity for an indigenous Fijian coalition against Indo-Fijians, supporters of the Speight coup formed the Conservative Alliance Matainitu Vanua Party (CAMV).

Following the August 2001 general elections, the SDL and the CAMV formed a coalition government and ensured that the FLP was not allowed to join cabinet as stipulated under the 1997 Constitution. As expected, the FLP leader challenged his party’s exclusion from government and in a landmark judgment in 2003, the Supreme Court of Fiji upheld the multiparty cabinet provision in the Fiji Constitution but allowed political parties to resolve differences and agree to a multiparty government rules.

SDL fuels tension
Unfortunately the SDL refused to cooperate with the FLP and the two parties drifted further apart. By 2003, the military Commander had lost all faith in the SDL government. While initially supporting affirmative action for indigenous Fijians, Bainimarama saw the SDL’s Social Justice Act and the blueprint on indigenous supremacy as divisive and counterproductive for Fiji. Moreover, the army was equally concerned about the SDL’s support for the individuals implicated in the 2000 coup.

The tensions between the army and the SDL government escalated from June 2005 with the release of the Racial Tolerance and Unity Bill (RTU), which provided amnesty to the individuals involved in the events of 2000.

The government proposed not only the RTU but it had plans to enact the Qoliqoli and the Lands Claims Tribunal Bills. The bills in its totality were seen by the army Commander as a threat to “national security”. In January 2006, there was another mutiny at the QEB as the Commander accused the SDL government for plotting to depose him.

As Fiji headed towards elections in May 2006, the SDL absorbed the nationalist CAMV party and went to the polls with an agenda to divide the Indo-Fijians along religious lines. A large number of the SDL Indo-Fijian candidates were Muslims whereas the FLP candidates were predominantly Hindu.

Such type of religion-based electioneering backfired when the SDL failed to win a single Indo-Fijian communal seat. Seeing the country divided ferociously along racial lines, the triumphant SDL Prime Minister invited nine FLP members to join his government. While the FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry throughout the previous SDL term was enthusiastic about multiparty government, after May 2006 elections, his response was lukewarm and at times obscurantist.

Despite nominating party members to join the SDL government, Chaudhry wanted to be the leader of the opposition. One cannot be part of the government and be in opposition at the same time. It is contrary to the fundamental principle of parliamentarianism.

Just before the 5 December coup, Chaudhry remained committed to derail the multiparty government after four FLP cabinet ministers voted against the 1997 Budget. Chaudhry warned earlier that all nine FLP cabinet ministers had to vote against the budget.

However, five FLP cabinet members were granted leave of absence by the deposed Prime Minister Qarase on the day of the budget vote. Chaudhry was unhappy after the 2007 budget passed with forty votes to twenty six. In a last bid to save the multiparty government, Qarase on 24 November came up with a compromise.

Qarase proposed that he would allow FLP cabinet ministers who voted against the budget to stay in cabinet provided the FLP did not take any disciplinary action against the other five. This was rejected by Chaudhry who argued that party directives superseded those of the cabinet in what was the final nail into a disintegrating multiparty government.

Qarase poor political strategist
Deposed Prime Minister Qarase was a poor political strategist because he made futile attempts to make Chaudhry a substantial stakeholder by offering him the position of the Deputy Prime Minister in the ill fated multiparty government, especially after the army wrenched up its anti- government rhetoric with the reintroduction of the controversial RTU, Qoliqoli and Land Claims bills. Instead of trying to salvage the multiparty government, Laisenia Qarase should have agreed to the demands of the army.

The army Commander was on a path of no return and on 5 December, the SDL government was deposed in a bloodless military coup. Soon after the coup, the GCC, sections of the Methodist Church, the NGOs, and the Fiji Law Society condemned the takeover and called for a quick restoration of democracy.

Previously in 1987 and in 2000, both the GCC and the Methodist Church supported armed takeover of government but this time around the deposed government was voted into office by more than 80 per cent of the total eligible indigenous Fijian communal votes.

The deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s fight to restore the SDL government became stuck because in 2001 Qarase reiterated that democracy was a “foreign flower” and that it was incompatible with the indigenous tradition and culture.

The army moved quickly against its critics and in less than a month secured its grip on the country. Laisenia Qarase was banished to his island home of Mavana in Vanuabalavu, parliament was dissolved, all SDL appointed board members dismissed and dissidents silenced.

On 4 January, the army Commander handed executive authority to the President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who appointed Frank Bainimarama as the interim Prime Minister of Fiji. A new interim government was sworn in on 8 and 9 January 2007 as the 1987 coup was repeated with some slight modifications.

While the SDL was entirely excluded from the interim line up, the FLP and the NAPF were given substantial portfolios, leading to criticisms from the deposed leader of the opposition, Mick Beddoes and the deposed Prime Minister Qarase. The return of veteran politician and the FLP leader Chaudhry to the portfolio of finance was observed with interest in both Fiji and abroad.

Some are questioning why certain political parties like the FLP and the NAPF are given predominance in interim positions over the SDL. The FLP polled 44 per cent of the total national votes in the May 2006 and the NAPF received a disappointing 6 per cent. The SDL party got 51 per cent, the United Peoples’ Party (UPP) 2. 5 per cent and the Independent candidates polled 2. 5 per cent.

Why appoint politically linked ministers?
Why couldn’t the President appoint an interim government that did not have any individuals from the existing political parties. Interim ministers Jainend Kumar, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau and Taito Waradi are good choices because they have no vested political interest whereas Commander Bainimarama and Dr Jona Senilagakali are members of the Fiji military and their presence only fuels speculation of continued military influence and intervention in the political affairs of Fiji.

Then there are three FLP members Mahendra Chaudhry, Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi and Poseci Bune. While Chaudhry and Vayeshnoi had worked hard to derail the multiparty government and to silence dissent within the party, Poseci Bune is more of an opportunist who changes position to suit his interest.

What makes the line up even more interesting is that the Interim Minister for Youth and Sports Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi supported the military’s campaign against the SDL government in a speech in parliament just before the coup.

Others in the interim line up include members of the NAPF party Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Netani Sukanaivalu and Manu Korovulavula. There is one SDL interim minister, Ratu Jone Navakamocea and it looks like he accepted the position for financial reason than anything else.

To accept the position of the Interim Minister of Local Government and Urban Planning, Ratu Jone first resigned from the SDL.

United People’s Party (UPP) member - and now the Interim Labour and Tourism Minister - Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau also resigned from the UPP, after being requested to take the offer in the interim administration by her constituency.

However, Mahendra Chaudhry, Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, Poseci Bune, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Manu Korovulavula and Netani Sukanaivalu have not done the same, raising suspicion that the FLP and the NAPF members in the interim government may use their position to secure their political parties in the next general election, just like the members of the SDL had done during their short reign in the interim government after the Speight coup.

The military Commander Voreqe Bainimarama cannot perform any meaningful “clean up” with a less than a “fully clean” interim administration.