Australia, NZ 'misunderstand' Fiji politics, coup leader tells Māori TV

"Let's Be Frank" is due to be aired again on Māori Television tomorrow (Friday) night at 10pm.

By David Robie, of Pacific Media Watch

Fiji’s military-backed prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama has vowed not to be bullied by Australia and New Zealand, and has defended his curbs on the Pacific country’s media.

“I’m trying to do what is good for Fiji, not what’s good for New Zealand, not what’s good for Australia,” he told Māori Television’s current affairs programme Native Affairs presenter Julian Wilcox in an interview broadcast last night.

But he added that Fiji “treasured” its traditional relationship with both countries and blamed the neighbouring governments for the current damaged relationship.

Bainimarama said New Zealanders did not understand democracy in Fiji and he hinted that an improvement might come in relations with New Zealand if Prime Minister John Key “changed his views” on Fiji.

He said it would be “a good thing” for the future relationship if New Zealand appointed a new high commissioner to the vacant post in Suva.

Bainimarama was interviewed in Suva during “48 hours in the Pacific’s military zone” last week, as the bilingual Māori and English public broadcaster billed the special report.

The wide-ranging Wilcox interview and a report by Carmen Parahi on grassroots responses from Fiji Islanders to the military regime coincided with a brief visit to Suva by the special Commonwealth emissary, former NZ Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves.

“This is our one and only chance to right the wrongs. We have had four coups. We don’t want any more coups,” Bainimarama said.

‘No secret’
Asked by Wilcox why he had seized power in December 2006, Bainimarama replied: “It was no secret that what we wanted to do was get rid of corrupt practices [under the previous elected government of Laisenia Qarase], get rid of the racial policies that were around us – especially the racial policies that were going to take our country down …

“It boiled down to the public service not doing their thing … their bit.

“We have removed just about all the people for abuse of authority, abuse of office and abuse of funds. These people were part of the elite group of government …

“It was nepotism throughout and we could see that. So we wanted to get rid of it.”

Bainimarama called for more understanding of the complexities of the Fiji political and social system and why changes were needed.

“People see this nation as a failed state. The European Union sees it as a failed state. The Commonwealth, the whole reason why they have suspended us is that they see this nation as a failed state.

“The [Pacific Islands] Forum, Australia and New Zealand see this nation as a failed African state.
“You have a preconceived idea of what is happening [in Fiji] when you don’t understand what is happening here … and people don’t want to understand because you want to interfere in the way we do business.

Peacekeeping
“In fact, right now … Australia is trying to get us out of the United Nations peacekeeping [role]. What benefit will there be for the Australians? Would it benefit the Māori, for instance; would it benefit the Aborigines if we were removed from the UN peacekeepers?

Wilcox: “You feel Fiji is being bullied by, principally New Zealand and Australia?”
Bainimarama: “Yes, because you don’t understand what is happening here, what we’re trying to do.

“All you see is the military removing an elected government and it wants to remain in power for the next five years [until an election in 2014].

“Yes, we removed an elected government – for good reason. We wanted to bring about development in this country. We wanted to bring this country forward instead of keeping us in the old cannibalistic days.”

Asked why Bainimarama had not left it to elections and democracy to make political reforms, the self-appointed prime minister said the politicians “don’t want reforms – if they bring about reforms, the people won’t vote for them”.

Bainimarama said an authoritarian government was needed to make the political and electoral reforms in Fiji needed to ensure no more coups would happen.

“In Fiji, you don’t come up with your own vote. Your vote is dictated by the chiefs, it is dictated by the Great Council of Chiefs, it is dictated by the provincial councils, and it is dictated by the [Methodist] Church.

‘Not democracy’
“So it’s not your vote. So don’t tell me that it’s democracy.”

Asked by Wilcox about media censorship, Bainimarama said: “The press is still churning out newspapers. The TV station is still on, the radio is still on.

“What we have censored is irresponsible reports, that’s what we have censored.”
Wilcox: “What exactly does that mean?”

Bainimarama: “That you report the facts. I am sure Māori Television understands that …
“The media are free to express what they want – just say the right things, don’t say rubbish.”

Challenged to talk to the people of Fiji about how they viewed his regime, Native Affairs reporter Carmen Parahi contributed a segment on responses from ordinary Fiji Islanders.

Taking a quick break from a game of touch rugby at Lami, Radio Fiji sports reporter Sikeli Qounadovu said: “Life goes on. The politicians are causing the headaches, while we are enjoying ourselves.

“He [Bainimarama] has done a lot for the rural areas of Fiji compared to other leaders … We let them do what they think is for the good of the country.”

Positive view
Several speakers in the Suva city markets were also positive about the state of Fiji.
However, the media were less complimentary.

Fiji Times editor-in-chief Netani Rika, recent winner of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Pacific Media Freedom Award and who came in for personal criticism from Bainimarama during the interview, was not available for on camera comments.

But he declared that the Fiji Times would continue its independent role.

Merana Kitione, news manager of Fiji Television, described the daily censorship operation, adding that it spite of the repression it was “business as usual” at the station.

However, asked by Parahi if Fiji Television feared being closed, she replied: “I can’t answer that question – no comment.”

A Native Affairs studio panel discussion following the Bainimarama interview featured a former senator, Dr Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, and Nik Naidu, spokesperson of the Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji.

Both speakers argued for dialogue with the regime but while Naidu called for a free media to enable wider debate with the Fiji public, politicians, civil society and aid donors, Dr Nailatikau said dialogue needed to exclude the media.

Asked by Wilcox to put media censorship in Fiji in perspective, Naidu said: “If this was Fiji, what would happen is the military would be here by now, close down the station, most probably put all of us into custody, and this programme would not air.”

Naidu also added it was an irony that Bainimarama was now calling for New Zealand to post a new high commissioner to Fiji when the military government had twice before expelled NZ high commissioners.

Dr Nailatikau said Fiji’s elected politicians had in the past divided the country with racism and the regime was contributing to a sense of unity.

Dr David Robie of Pacific Media Watch. This article is republished from the Pacific Media Centre's Pacific Scoop.
www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz

Europe cancels sugar grant, Fiji regime remains defiant

“There has been no civil disturbance among Fijians of either Melanesian or Indian descent. The army is well-disciplined and trained and it’s there to ensure law and order and the people have respect for this,” says Alton Shameem, president of Fiji Club of New Zealand.

By Pippa Brown: Pacific Media Centre

Thousands of Fiji Islanders will be hit by the European Commission’s decision to cancel a grant worth more than $US31 million to help the Pacific country’s ailing sugar industry just days before the harvest is due to begin.

But Fiji still refuses to be bullied after this month’s suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum on May 2 after ignoring a deadline by the Forum to set a date for elections this year.

Regime leader Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama maintains his stance that elections will not be held before 2014, allowing changes to the electoral system to be put in place.

He claims he is providing a better system for the Fiji people and calls the system under the previous Laisenia Qarase government biased and racist.

Bainimarama says he has extended the current media ban in an effort to maintain calm within the country.

Alton Shameem, chairman and president of Fiji Club of New Zealand, says Bainimarama is on the right track bringing democracy to Fiji the way western people want it.

Shameem is among people from Fiji who agrees with the media controls Bainimarama put in place and says Fiji needs to proceed quietly, step by step and not rush things.

He says it takes time to take a country to “freedom” and that is why the elections are not being held until 2014.

‘Anzac bullies’
Both Australia and New Zealand are refusing to engage in dialogue with Bainimarama’s regime in the absence of any internationally recognised government.

Shameem says countries like New Zealand and Australia have a condescending attitude and are trying to sabotage Bainimarama’s ideals and make it harder.

He says the foreign policies of both the Labour and National parties are similar but says the previous Labour government acted as “a very hard bully”.

Shameem thinks the New Zealand and Australian governments are deliberately acting to keep Fiji subservient.

“Fiji is a good country with lots of resources. It is doing well and they don’t want it to prosper,” says Shameem.

He says New Zealand and Australia are threatened and do not want Fiji to be “democratically independent”.

Earlier this month, leaders of the Māori Party were invited to visit Fiji but New Zealand Prime Minister John Key banned ministerial members from making visits to the military dictatorship, even in a private capacity.

The Māori Party says it does not necessarily support the Bainimarama regime as it is unclear what the interim government is doing.

The party still plans to send a delegation on a fact-finding mission to get an understanding of what is happening at grassroots level.

It does not agree with the way the New Zealand government is dealing with Fiji as being the right way forward.

Support for regime
Most Fiji Islanders support the Bainimarama regime, claims Shameem.

“There has been no civil disturbance among Fijians of either Melanesian or Indian descent. The army is well-disciplined and trained and it’s there to ensure law and order and the people have respect for this,” he says.

“The army is not committing ethnic cleansing or genocide. It is there to protect all Fijians.”
He claims New Zealand and Australia have made up their mind to bully the people of Fiji.

He cannot understand why the New Zealand government is doing everything to "make life hell" for the Fijians.

“It’s the everyday people that suffer like the vulnerable and the poor. Why are they making it harder for them,” he says.

He thinks that the Pacific Islands Forum have been pressured by New Zealand and Australia.
“Look at Tonga. It doesn’t have democracy and no one is saying anything about that,” he says.

A few days ago, Fijilive reported that Tongan Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele had asked for a rethink on Fiji’s situation after being suspended from the Forum. He thought Australia and New Zealand were acting with a heavy hand.

Chinese influence
China’s aid programmes have resulted in a sevenfold increase in pledged aid to Fiji since the coup - from $US23 million in 2006 to $US160 million in 2007.

China is ambitious to be a super power and is moving closer to the Pacific, says Shameem.

He says recently $NZ280 million was awarded to Chinese companies to build state housing in Fiji.

“The real losers will be Australia and New Zealand,” he says.

Shameem says there has been a clamp down on media because foreign media have been seen to be agitating and not telling the true Fijian story.

Most foreign journalists are “parachute journalists”, he claims.

“They think they can fly in and be experts. People can see through the fact that they are trying to just promote themselves.”

Squatter problem
Shameem claims references to an increasing squatter problem is just western media blowing it out of proportion.

“In Fiji, you can’t buy land - especially the Indo-Fijian population. When the land leased for farming expires, they need to go somewhere. The Indo-Fijians have never wanted to take land by force,” he says.

Shameem says this is a byproduct of the Qarase government which made a “real mess of everything” with allegedly corrupt and racist appointments. And it is why Bainimarama has needed to interfere.

Bainimarama did not necessarily want to go into politics, says Shameem. He is an army man and that is why he is direct.

He is not a politician but circumstances mean that he has been thrust into this situation.

Shameen says there is no undercurrent of tension. People are happy but there will be a group with a vested interest.

Bainimarama wants to give power to the people. Democracy is about people like you and me.
“Fiji is progressing fast,” he says.

“The Fijians are everyday people who just want to put food to the table,” says Shameem.
“Bainimarama is a good guy, bringing democracy, doing the right thing and making life better for the Fijians,” he says.

Dr David Robie, associate professor in communication studies and director of the Pacific Media Centre at AUT University, says the regime is saying the colonial system has failed Fiji and past politicians have failed to deliver to their people.

He believes the regime is moving toward China and Asia, particularly.

“I don’t think our political advisers are reading the situation particularly well.

Fiji is vitally important to the rest of the Pacific and excluding it is not in the region’s best interests. If we aren’t careful, it will dramatically change the balance of power in the region,” he says.

Pippa Brown is a Graduate Diploma in Journalism student and she is on the AUT Asia-Pacific Journalism course.

Europe cancels Fiji sugar grant
Fiji tightens grip, plans own media

Blogs rule as Fiji regime cracks down on media

By David Brooks: Agence France-Presse

Fijians keeping up with political developments since the media clampdown by Voreqe Bainimarama's military regime this month are turning to a growing band of internet blogs.

The latest political upheaval in Fiji was triggered by the regime's repeal of the constitution on April 10, accompanied by the sacking of the judiciary and emergency regulations to control free speech.

Regime censors have been sent into newsrooms to prevent sensitive political stories being published or broadcast.

Most media have responded by refusing to run any political news, leaving a vacuum quickly filled by the blogs, many contributed to by journalists who have lost their conventional outlets.

Blogs played a part in the 2000 coup and again when military chief Bainimarama toppled the elected government in late 2006, with authorities helpless to restrict them in the same way as the traditional media.

"I think the Fiji journalists are enormously resilient and courageous and they have shown in the past they are very adaptable at dealing with oppressive regimes as they have with the previous three coups," says Pacific journalist and academic David Robie.

Experienced journalists in Fiji are all too familiar with attacks on media freedom after a series of four coups between 1987 and Bainimarama's 2006 takeover.

"But this is the first time we have had really systematic censorship and for getting on for two weeks now," said Dr Robie, an associate professor and director of the Pacific Media Centre at New Zealand's AUT University.

More rumours
Former Fiji Broadcasting Corporation chief executive Sireli Kini said the clampdown on the media was creating more uncertainty, with news being replaced by rumours.

"It's human instinct, people want to know what's happening and when somebody spreads a rumour it spreads like wildfire and it's very destructive," said Kini, who now lives in Auckland.

Some of the blogs have relayed rumours and wild anti-regime rhetoric, but others, such as Fiji Uncensored and Coup Four and a Half, have a strong news focus.

With Fijian journalists contributing material, these blogs are filling the gap left by the muzzled media.

"They have taken over the role of the conventional journalism by informing the members of the public," said Kini.

"Some of them are on the target. There are some well written stories there."

Under the latest crackdown, Bainimarama has announced any person or entity which fails to comply with government media orders may be told to "cease operations".

"We want to come up with these reforms and the last thing we want to do is have opposition to these reforms throughout. So that was the reason we've come up with emergency regulations," Bainimarama said in explanation.

When the censors first entered the newsrooms on April 11, the newspapers and broadcasters devised their own ways of protesting.

Blank columns
The television news bulletin was cancelled and the next day the Fiji Times appeared with blank columns with "This story could not be published due to government restrictions" written across them.

The rival Fiji Post tried a satirical approach, reporting on what staff had eaten for breakfast on the front page.

These reactions angered the regime, which threatened to close down the offenders if there was any repeat.

The government also expelled three foreign journalists who had arrived to report on the upheaval and at least two local journalists were detained but later released because of work they had done for foreign media.

Now the main media are not carrying any political news at all, leaving Bainimarama unable to communicate effectively with Fijians.

"They've shot themselves in the foot by doing this, because by clamping down they've cancelled out any chance of getting their side of the story across as well," said Dr Robie, who was coordinator of Suva's University of the South Pacific journalism programme during the 2000
coup.

Judging by past experience, the regime is likely to gradually ease the restrictions.

"I think there will be a loosening in time, but it's hard to say with the degree of paranoia at the moment just what will unfold," Dr Robie said.

Until then, the blogs will continue filling the news void.

David Brooks is New Zealand and Pacific correspondent for Agence France-Presse. Cartoon by Malcolm Evans from Pacific Journalism Review.

Fiji regime leader's brother slams 'bad guy' image

By Violet Cho: Pacific Media Watch

The older brother of Fiji’s military strongman, Sefanaia Bainimarama, has defended the commodore against criticisms as a “bad guy”, saying many people are involved in the coup.

“I don’t think he is [a bad guy],” said Sefanaia Bainimarama during a panel discussion about the Fiji crisis in the weekly Maori-language Marae current affairs programme on Television New Zealand.

“He [Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama] has been put up as a bad guy, but there are a lot of people involved in this coup and all of these problems. They haven’t come to the fore.

“It’s Frank that’s bearing all this things - all the other people are not visible in there.”

Sefanaia Bainimarama justified the coup by saying his brother was trying to achieve a “peaceful country” for the future. Fiji has been hit by four coups in two decades.

The commodore had to do what was needed - “when the country’s in trouble, somebody needs to step in and take order.”

He also compared the situation in Fiji with countries in Africa.

“We do not want to be like other countries in Africa that are taking arms and fighting with each other - that’s the last thing we need in the Pacific and in Fiji.”

Though international and local media strongly portray Voreqe Bainimarama negatively, some claim he is the only person who can restore a fair and non race-based democracy in Fiji.

But, said Nik Naidu, spokesperson for the Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji (CDF), it was the commodore himself who had “stolen democracy from the people”.

On April 10, the Fiji President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, abrogated the 1997 constitution, sacked the nation’s judiciary, postponed elections until 2014 and reappointed Commodore Bainimarama as prime minister.

The regime has imposed draconian censorship by decree on the media as part of a 30-day martial law.

“The problem in Fiji is not about democracy or elections, it is about some people retaining power, privileges and money,” said Naidu.

“As long as elections are not held to put them back into power that will never be acceptable.

“So they will wait until the time is right for them when they brainwash the population and social engineer people to think in their way. And they can guarantee a result that can put them back into power. Otherwise, they will not have election.”

Naidu confirmed that Bainimarama had choices to put things right and he could also do it.

But “there are other forces that are pushing him along to their agenda,” he said without clarifying this.

Sefanaia Bainimarama said media hype was a big thing that spoiled much in every country in the Pacific, including Fiji.

Sireli Kini, a former chief executive of Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Ltd, said a lot of Fijians relied mainly on radio for their news.

Due to the crackdown on media, Radio Fiji news now hardly carried anything for the people about what was happening in the country at present.

For a good country with good government, there should be media freedom and information was very important, Kini said.

He said people needed to know what was happening and what the government was doing.

If people did not get information, it was hard for them to "react” and they did not know what they were supposed to do about the crisis.

Since the Fiji regime declared martial law, there has been a massive crackdown on media with journalists being asked questions, intimidated, detained - and three Australian and New Zealand journalists were deported.

The government gagged Fiji Television and has forced the regional Suva-based Pacnews agency to self-censor its news on the republic.

Picture: Commodore Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama. Photo: Radio Fiji.

Media freedom organisations condemn censorship
Fiji on TVNZ's Maori-language current affairs programme Marae [video]

Media freedom groups keep up pressure over Fiji censorship

By Violet Cho: Pacific Media Watch

International media freedom organisations and human rights advocacy groups continue to raise concerns over freedom of the press and civil rights in Fiji.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has appealed to the Fiji’s regime to repeal its gag on the media.

On Good Friday, President Ratu Josefa lloilo abrogated the 1997 constitution, sacked the judiciary, postponed elections until 2014 and reinstated coup leader Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama as prime minister.

He also declared martial law for 30 days in Fiji.

Since then, the regime has gagged Radio Australia broadcasting repeater stations in Fiji, imposed censorship, and intimidated, detained and deported journalists.

The IFJ also urged the regime to avoid international isolation.

It argued that harsh government suppression of both foreign and local media risked isolation from international communities and this would “greatly harm the people of Fiji”.

“There is no right to propaganda,” said Aidan White, general secretary of the IFJ.

'Warped view'
“Fiji’s military leaders have a warped view of the role of a healthy media if they believe that they are entitled to media reporting that put them in a good light, regardless of their actions.”

The International Press Institute also condemned the regime’s crackdown on media.

David Dadge, director of IPI, said the regime’s strong control would only accelerate the problem in the country and he called for an end to censorship and the intimidation of journalists.

In response to Bainimarama, who blamed media for the Fiji political turmoil in an interview with Radio New Zealand, Dadge argued that it was a “deplorable attempt to hide the truth at a time of political uncertainty”.

Instead, he said: “Contrary to what the regime says, the media can contribute to better understanding and can ease tension in divided societies.”

The Pacific Media Centre at New Zealand’s AUT University condemned the regime’s "ruthless censorship" and harassment of media organisations.

Associate professor David Robie, director of the PMC and a former head of the University of the South Pacific regional school of journalism in Fiji during the 2000 coup, criticised the government repression of media and dissidents.

Dr Robie praised Fiji journalists for a “creative and courageous” response to martial law.

'Burmese-style system'
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) appealed to Fiji’s president and coup leader to reverse the regulation against media institutions and the Paris-based organisation also compared Fiji military government with Burma’s military dictatorship.

“The military government is heading dangerously towards a Burmese-style system where the media are permanently subject to prior censorship and other forms of obstruction,” said RSF.
The Pacific Freedom Forum, an advocacy group of journalists, criticised the intimidation and detention of journalist.

"This bullying behaviour on the part of Fiji authorities will only serve to still further focus attention on that country's situation, because the story will still, eventually be told," PFF chair Susuve Laumaea, of Papua New Guinea, said.

Amnesty International said Fiji’s military government’s “draconian measures” had systematically caused deteriorating human rights in the country and civilians were feeling insecure living in the unstable country.

A Pacific researcher for Amnesty International based in London, Apolosi Bose, said after a fact-finding visit to Fiji: “What is developing is a culture of extreme fear and intimidation.”

He added: “The government’s emergency regulations, which include exoneration of police and soldiers from responsibility for actions, even when they cause injury or death, are having a major impact.”

In the statement, Amnesty International also said that the regime had threatened human rights defenders and government critics as well as detaining reporters.

Key actions
In key developments since the repeal of the constitution on April 10:

• April 13: Three foreign journalists - Sean Dorney of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Sia Aston and photographer Matt Smith from New Zealand’s TV3 - were expelled from Fiji.

• April 13: Fiji Television reporter Edwin Nand was detained for about 36 hours over an interview he did with expelled Australian reporter Dorney.

• April 15: The regime ordered ABC to shut down its two FM transmitters in the capital Suva and in the tourist town of Nadi. This move also affected Radio New Zealand International because it also relays programmes via the ABC transmitters.

• April 16: The regime detained Pita Ligaiula, a reporter for Pacnews, a regional news agency owned by Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), over his stories filed to the international news wire Associated Press. He was released after being held for about 12 hours.

According to IPI, the regime has warned Fiji journalists not to speak to foreign media about the political crisis and some journalists have been taken into custody for questioning.

The regime announced in a change of policy it would accept “approved” foreign journalists into the country. It also asked local reporters to practise the “journalism of hope”.

Meanwhile, news media organisations in the country such as the Fiji Times, the Fiji Sun and Fiji Television have stopped publishing political stories after the regime warned the Sunday Times not to carry on publishing blank spaces or it would be closed down

Violet Cho is the Asian Journalism Fellow at the Pacific Media Centre.

The Fiji crisis - behind the headlines

By Fr Kevin Barr for the Pacific Media Centre

Many believe that coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama’s intentions are good and are in opposition to the aims of the previous indigenous supremacy coups. Some think he is power-hungry but others say that he needs time to carry out the necessary reforms and set in place a new non-racial vision for Fiji.

Background
In order to understand the current situation in Fiji we need to go back a little.

In 2000 the democratically elected People’s Coalition Government of Mahendra Chaudhry was ousted by George Speight in a coup involving civilians and some elements of the army. The proclaimed aim of the coup was to protect indigenous Fijian rights. Political hostages were taken, parliament was trashed and orgies held for almost a month. Finally Commodore Frank Bainimarama (newly appointed head of the army) tricked Speight and put down the rebellion and released the hostages.

He took over the reins of government temporarily until he was able to appoint a civilian interim government led by Laisenia Qarase (a banker). The deal he struck was that Qarase and his interim government were not to seek election but be a caretaker government until elections were held. However, Qarase and his team used their position to fight the election. They won and proceeded to introduce very racist or pro-Fijian legislation which discriminated against Indo-Fijians and other races. They even took back into their government a number of people associated with the 2000 coup. Bainimarama objected and by 2006 friction between Qarase and Bainimarama was high and Bainimarama threatened to take over the reins of government if Qarase did not back down on his pro-Fijian legislation. He was very stubborn and refused. Finally on 6 December Bainimarama took over in a bloodless coup.

Bainimarama in charge
Unlike the 1987 and 2000 coups, which were carried out in the name of “indigenous Fijian rights”, this coup was in the name of multiculturalism. Moreover, while the 1987 and 2000 coups sought to protect the economic interests of certain business and traditional elites, this coup aimed to address corruption and economic mismanagement and see that the economy works in the interest of all Fiji’s people (35- 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line).

Despite some opposition from various political parties and other groups, Bainimarama took over and appointed an Interim Government. There was strong opposition from the SDL party (Qarase’s Party) and the Methodist Church (which took a very strong pro-Fijian nationalistic stance in the 1987 and 2000 coups).

Bainimarama tried to unite people by inviting everyone to come together and draw up a People’s Charter – a way forward for Fiji. The Catholic Archbishop (who had firmly stated his opposition to the coup) agreed to be co-chair of the People’s Charter Committee with Bainimarama. Unfortunately the SDL Party and the Methodist Church refused to be part of the Charter and stood in opposition. After 6–8 months of work, the People’s Charter was promulgated by the President. It is a very good document and tries to address Fiji’s problems and show a way forward.

Since December 2006 life in Fiji has been very calm and relatively peaceful. There were three unfortunate incidents of men being taken into police or army custody and dying because of the severe treatment they received. (Courts have since brought the perpetrators of two of the incidents to justice.) Some women’s NGO groups have taken a strong stand in opposition to the Interim Government and the army and have spoken up against any appearance of human rights violations. However, they have a very narrow interpretation of human rights. Other prominent NGOs (such as the Citizen’s Constitutional Forum and ECREA) while condemning the unlawful take-over of government and occasionally voicing opposition to some decisions, have tried to work with the Interim Government in helping to find a way forward.

One constant problem has been the holding of elections. Australia, New Zealand and the countries of the Pacific Forum have been pushing for elections as soon as possible in order to return Fiji to democratic rule. Early on Bainimarama (under pressure) said elections would be held in April-May 2009 but he withdrew this promise. In fact he does not want to have elections until some of the big problems underlying previous coups have been addressed. These are ethno-nationalism (often mixed with religious fundamentalism), the position and authority of the Great Council of Chiefs, economic mismanagement, and most of all the biased electoral process enshrined in the Constitution. Many agree on the need for electoral reform but it was difficult to undertake this because it was part of the Constitution. Unfortunately Australia, New Zealand, the US and the EU have been obsessed with pushing Fiji to have immediate elections. If this happened we would almost surely have another racist government followed by another coup. Elections alone will not ensure democracy.

The media (newspapers and Fiji TV) have taken a very negative approach to Bainimarama and the Interim Government and have often been very unbalanced in their reporting of the news. Despite many calls for a better reporting of the news from within the country the media have taken a very negative stance. The Government expelled the expatriate publishers of two of the newspapers.

Court cases
Qarase took out a court case to challenge the authority of the President to appoint Bainimarama as Prime Minister after the 2006 coup. The three local judges of the High Court unanimously (and without any pressure) declared the President did have the power to do so and that the Bainimarama Interim Government was legal. The case then went to the Court of Appeal. The three judges were from Sydney and they declared Bainimarama’s regime illegal. They said he must resign and that the President should appoint a new caretaker Prime Minister (not Qarase) to be in charge until elections were held as soon as possible. Bainimarama resigned but the President then abrogated the Constitution and said he would rule by decree. He appointed Bainimarama as Prime Minister and basically reinstated the Interim Government. Bainimarama said elections would not be held until 2014. A state of emergency for one month has been declared, foreign journalists expelled and a curb placed the local media. Constitutional appointments are being re-negotiated. The currency has been devalued by 20 percent

To all intents and purposes the country goes on as usual. There is the usual peace but everyone knows that temporary controls have been set in place. No public protests and gatherings are allowed. But day to day life goes on without interruption. Kids go to school, workers go to work, tourists arrive (in slightly less numbers maybe) and no-one is harmed.

With the Constitution abrogated the way is open for electoral reforms to be carried out so that a more free and fair non-racial election can be held. Almost surely the People’s Charter will provide a road-map for the way forward.

After the Supreme Court decision of the Sydney judges (which hopefully was not biased but which nevertheless upheld Australia’s position) I think the rest was inevitable – abrogating the Constitution, the President ruling by decree, clamping down on the media, the appointment of Bainimarama as Prime Minister and the re-appointment of the Interim Government.

Conclusion
Many believe that Bainimarama’s intentions are good and are in opposition to the aims of previous coups. Some think he is power-hungry but others say that he needs time to carry out the necessary reforms and set in place a new non-racial vision for Fiji. Maybe he does not always get the best advice and certainly some mistakes have been made. There is division in the political parties, the judiciary, the churches and the NGO community. Your position depends on the perspective you take.

There has been some religious mirth surrounding the coup. Some called it a “Catholic coup” because many of the army officers involved were Marist Brothers Old Boys (and then the Archbishop became co-chair of the People’s Charter and two catholic priests had non-political positions on the electoral and other boards). Some called it a “Muslim coup” because a number of Muslims took up positions of authority under the Interim government. Again, others called it a “Hindu coup” because it received support from a number of Hindu organizations.

Very recently New Zealand seems to have taken a different stance towards Fiji. The Foreign Minister says perhaps they should not criticise Fiji and harp on about elections. Perhaps they need to offer their assistance and leave Fiji decide what is best for itself. They recognise that Fiji needs to be allowed to solve its own problems in its own way. This has been a dramatic change and a very welcome one. Hopefully Australia and the US will take a similar approach. Because of the strong opposition from Australia and New Zealand, Fiji has been turning for help to India and China and receiving it. This “look north” policy may in effect be a good balance to the previous strong influence of Australia and New Zealand.

Picture: Squatters in Suva - up to 40 percent of people in Fiji live in poverty. Photo: Fiji government.

Father Kevin Barr is economic and social justice coordinator of the Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education and Advocacy (ECREA). He is an outspoken advocate on the issue of poverty and squatters in Fiji.

ECREA
www.ecrea.org.fj

IPI deplores Fiji crackdown on media

Pacific Media Centre

Authorities in Fiji are removing articles from news websites under emergency rules imposed after a court declared the military-backed government illegal. These actions, combined with censorship of other news reports, represent a concerted effort by the government to block access to information in a time of political crisis, the International Press Institute said today.

The censorship and interference with media in Fiji follow an emergency decree imposed on April 10, a day after an appellate court declared the provisional government led by the army commander, Voreqe Bainimarama, to be illegal. In response to the ruling, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, a Bainimarama ally, suspended the constitution and abolished the judiciary.

Journalists in Fiji told IPI that government censors have “cleaned up” newspaper websites to remove current as well as archived stories. IPI’s sources also said authorities from the Ministry of Information, backed by police officers, have gone into newsrooms and censored articles due to be published in newspapers.

Bainimarama, who took power in 2006 in a military-backed coup, told Radio New Zealand that the media are to blame for the current political turmoil. But IPI director David Dadge called the accusation a “deplorable attempt to hide the truth at a time of political uncertainty”, and called for an end to censorship and the intimidation of journalists. Dadge said:

The military regime is looking for a convenient excuse to mask its failure to restore order, stabilise the economy and allow Fijians to choose their leaders through the ballot box. Contrary to what the regime says, the media can contribute to better understanding and can ease tension in divided societies, and I fear Mr. Bainimarama’s desire for control will only exacerbate the problems in Fiji .

The Public Emergency Regulations imposed on April 10, along with other directives that impose severe restrictions on the news media, forbid journalists to report critically on politics or the government, or to publish stories perceived as inciting violence. Journalists said even stories about recent civil unrest in Thailand were pulled from newspapers for fear they may incite the local population.

Some newspapers in Fiji have run blank pages as an act of defiance after the authorities banned publication of certain articles. Several foreign journalists have been expelled or barred from entering the country.

Three foreign journalists -- Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith from New Zealand’s TV3, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Sean Dorney -- were expelled from Fiji on April 13. The government also ordered ABC to disconnect its FM transmitters in the capital Suva and in the tourist town of Nadi. This move also affects Radio New Zealand International, which rebroadcasts programmes via the ABC transmitters.

Fijian journalists have been warned not to speak to foreign media about the situation, and some have been taken into custody for questioning.

Graphic: A Malcolm Evans cartoon for PMC's Pacific Journalism Review adapted by Josephine Latu.

IPI statement
Other media reaction
PMC on Media7 [video]

Fiji regime crackdown on media but calm prevails

By Shailendra Singh in Suva: Pacific Media Centre

Fiji remains calm days after its President has abrogated the constitution, promulgated emergency regulations, and reinstated the 2006 coup leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, as the interim Prime Minister.

Bainimarama’s administration immediately began rule by decree, including a crackdown on the media.

The extraordinary developments followed Thursday’s Appeal Court ruling in the capital declaring that the appointment by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo of Bainimarama and his interim government after the 2000 coup was unlawful.

The challenge was filed by ousted elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase against an earlier High Court ruling that upheld the President’s appointment of the interim government.

Hours after the ruling, Bainimarama, in a national address, said he was returning to barracks to comply with the judgment and to await the President’s next move, leaving the nation without a government.

The following day, the President abrogated the constitution, promulgated emergency regulations, dismissed the judiciary and appointed himself as head of state under a new “legal order”.

On Saturday, he predictably reappointed Bainimarama as interim Prime Minister, drawing widespread international condemnation.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully described the move as a serious backward step that would “merely compound the problems faced by ordinary Fijians”.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Bainimarama’s actions had virtually turned Fiji into a military dictatorship, with the suspension of press freedoms and other actions that would undermine prosperity for the ordinary people of Fiji.

Bainimarama, characteristically, thumbed his nose at the international reaction. In his national address on Saturday, he made it clear that elections would be held in 2014 - after the completion of electoral reforms to ensure equality.

He added that the abrogation of the constitution marked a new beginning for Fiji. “We must rid ourselves of our past prejudices, our past negative influences; we must be focused on building a better Fiji,” he said.

Political tensions
Touted as a Pacific Islands tourism paradise, Fiji has suffered four coups in the past 20 years due to political tensions between indigenous Fijians and ethnic Indo-Fijians.

Indigenous Fijians make up 56.8 percent of the 837,000 population, while Indo-Fijians, descendents of cane farm labourers brought to Fiji from India under British colonial rule, make up 37.5 percent.

In 1987, a third-ranked army colonel, Sitiveni Rabuka, staged two military coups in Fiji to prevent what he claimed was an Indian-dominated government from consolidating power.

The third coup in 2000 was staged by failed businessman George Speight, also in the name of indigenous rights.

In 1986, Indo-Fijians made up 51 percent of Fiji’s population but heavy migration since the coups and lower birthrates since the 1960s have seen their numbers steadily decline.

Bainimarama dubbed his coup a “clean up campaign” against what he described as a racist and corrupt government under Qarase.

The international community, led by Australia and New Zealand, rejected this. With the allegations of corruption against Qarase unproven, they upped the pressure on the military strongman after he backed down on a pledge to hold elections in March this year.

Last week’s developments were a surprise turn of events for the two regional powers. Australia and New Zealand were working on the hope that constant pressure, and threats of exclusion from the Commonwealth and the regional political and economic grouping - the Pacific Islands Forum - would eventually cause Bainimarama to capitulate.

Strategy backfired
The strategy seems to have backfired, and Bainimarama has now not only consolidated his hold on power, but also placed further restrictions on freedoms under emergency laws.

All the mainstream news media newsrooms have had plainclothes policemen and information officials vetting the news since Saturday to stop the publication of any material that is “inciteful”.

On Sunday, the nation’s leading daily, The Fiji Times left blank spaces to mark the spots where stories would have been placed and Fiji Television did not run its normal 6pm news bulletins due to the restrictions.

Three foreign journalists - Australia's Pacific correspondent for the ABC, Sean Dorney, and New Zealand TV3's Sia Aston and Matt Smith - have been ordered out of the country.

In the face of all this, Bainimarama indicated that he was willing to work with neighbouring partners, and would contact them in due course with “a plea” for their cooperation, even while stating unequivocally that his government would stay in power until 2014.

This places Australia and New Zealand in a bit of a quandary. Having taken a tough and uncompromising position previously, they would not want to be seen as being cooperative and accommodating at a time when the regime had become even more audacious.

To many, it would seem as if Australia and New Zealand, instead of Bainimarama, had capitulated, and that Bainimarama had taken on, and won over the two regional power brokers.

Some critics have described Australia and New Zealand’s stance towards Fiji as intransigent and unhelpful.

At the Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting in January, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said he was against moves by Australia to push for Fiji’s suspension from the group as punishment for Bainimarama’s backing down on a pledge to hold elections.

"I am of the strong view that adopting an isolationist approach would not be helpful,” Somare had written in a speech released to the 15 ministers while their meeting was in progress.

Moving ahead
The Fiji Sun daily newspaper, in an editorial on Saturday, had predicted the obvious - the return of the interim government - and said it looked set to rule until 2014: “Like it or not, this is the way it’s going to be. It’s time to start moving ahead.”

The paper called on Australia and New Zealand to rethink their attitudes, travel sanctions and advisories. “They have had minimal impact on those calling the shots here,” it said.

While New Zealand has ruled out trade sanctions against Fiji in consideration of the needs of the general population, Australia has so far refused to rule out more punitive measures.

Fiji’s situation, even before the latest developments, was dire. The Reserve Bank in its latest report had predicted that a 2.4 percent growth forecast for 2009 would not be achieved- the economy has been shaken by the effects of massive floods in January and lower tourism forecasts due to the global recession.

The sugar industry, once the mainstay of the Fiji economy, is also in deep trouble. If the European Union refuses to release the F$350 million allocation for the rehabilitation of the industry, it will mean only further trouble for the people of this poor nation stuck in coup cycle they have no control over.

Shailendra Singh is divisional head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific and a research associate of the Pacific Media Centre at AUT University.

Cafe Pacific
Croz Walsh's Fiji
Pacific Media Watch

PMC condemns 'ruthless censorship' in Fiji

Pacific Media Watch

The Pacific Media Centre has condemned the Fiji regime's 'ruthless censorship' of news organisations and called for an end to intimidation.

The condemnation follows a canned news bulletin by Fiji Television tonight and a blank page and story spaces in today's Sunday edition of the Fiji Times by news editors in protest over censored content.

Fijilive also reported "withdrawing" some news items as censors maintained a presence in the country's newsrooms since the 30-day public emergency regulations came into force.

Some journalists reported a "climate of silence" in some newsrooms in response to the censorship.

Associate Professor David Robie, director of New Zealand's AUT University-based PMC, called on the Fiji regime of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama to "end this Orwellian era of ruthless censorship and intimidation".

"The people of Fiji should be allowed free and unfettered media coverage, especially at this time of uncertainty and anxiety," he said.

"A gagged and intimidated media will only lead to rumours, disinformation and more instability."

The regime earlier called on the nation's media to refrain from publishing "negative" stories about the actions of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo over the past few days.

On Good Friday, the president abrogated the 1997 Constitution, sacked the nation's judges and declared himself Head of State.

This followed a Court of Appeal judgment on Thursday which ruled that the interim government of Prime Minister Bainimarama was illegal.

The president reappointed Bainimarama as prime minister and Fiji is now being ruled by decree, including one that has imposed newsroom censorship by Ministry of Information officials and police.

Editors were told not to publish or broadcast items that may involve "incitement" and undermine law and order.

Major Neumi Leweni, who is also Permanent Secretary of Information, asked all news media to “immediately refrain from publishing and broadcasting any news item that is negative in nature, relating to the assumption of executive authority on 10 April by his Excellency the President, and the subsequent appointments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers”.

Section 3 of the regulations state that anybody or organisation that “fails in any way whatsoever" to comply with the state provisions may be ordered to "cease all activities and operations".

In today's Sunday Times, page 2 was left blank apart from a downpage box that declared: "The stories on this page could not be published due to government restrictions."

Five dummied up story spaces were left blank on page 3 and a political cartoon space on the page 6 opinion section was also blank.

The ministry has reportedly warned the Fiji Times to stop leaving blank spaces or face closure under the decree.

After leaving out an item in last night's 6pm bulletin news due to censorship, Fiji Television pulled its main bulletin tonight.

Cafe Pacific on censorship
Fiji Times editorial - A sad day for Fiji
Croz Walsh's blog comment

Fiji's mood - the raging rhino

By Thakur Ranjit Singh: Pacific Media Centre

They say, when a rhinoceros rushes on its prey, it puts its head down, with its deadly horn protruding with a resolute to accomplish its mission of striking and demolishing its target and opposition.

It is unfortunate that sections of the Fiji community, especially the SDL and NFP and certain NGOs and sections of the international community have failed to realise or understand the mood of Fiji's interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. This can be summed up as a raging rhino which is out to accomplish what he had wanted to achieve.

Despite all forms of threats and demand for deadlines for an election, Bainimarama has stuck to his guns and is almost like a raging, unstoppable rhino.

Fiji's second political leaders' forum was held at the Parliamentary Complex on March 14, 2009 where Bainimarama addressed the leaders. He emphasised the need for political leaders to accept changes to the electoral system so that the racially divisive provisions in the electoral system could be removed.

He reiterated that to hold elections under a communally divisive system, for the sake of satisfying deadlines imposed by outsiders, would not solve Fiji's deep seated problems.

He emphatically warned that it was not the time to arouse ethnic fears and racial mistrust as grounds to win elections because indigenous interests were protected by the Constitution.

He added that the interim government would oppose those who undermine Fiji's independence and sovereignty. And he had been doing exactly that.

He recently told an international agency to go and jump in Suva Harbour. He effectively told them in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry style: "Go ahead, punk, make my day and sack Fiji from the Commonwealth."

The advantage of doing a Masters in Journalism while being a columnist is that you are required to read articles as part of your studies which are quite pertinent to the subject being pursued.

Human rights
In this context I read an article by Mark Revington in the Listener of August 2000 where Dr David Robie, associate professor in communication studies at AUT University was quoted, questioning what Fiji had achieved in the aftermath of Rabuka's coups of 1987. Chauvinistic, nationalistic struggles of this kind (like Rabuka's coups) based on nepotism, racism, opportunistic crime, opportunities for corruption and suppression of human rights of others undermine genuine indigenous struggles such as the Kanaks struggles for independence from France in New Caledonia.

Fiji, which has been independent from Britain since 1970, has had indigenous government except for one month in 1987 when Bavadra was Prime Minister and one year in 1999-2000 with Chaudhry.

It has been questioned what the indigenous leadership had done in all this time for the underprivileged indigenous villager? Why were they blaming the Chaudhry government after three decades of failure by Mara and Rabuka and the chiefly oligarchy?

Those who are rushing Fiji into an election need to honestly ponder this.

They need to answer, what would an election achieve for Fiji when it did not do so in the past three and half decades? Why should Fiji not be allowed to sort out its unique problem in its own unique way which those pushing for elections conveniently forget that elections of the past failed to deliver democracy and social justice to Fiji.

We have politicians hijacking democracy which allows unscrupulous leaders to discriminate against their own people under the revered shelter of democratic sovereignty.

What will the Commonwealth, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island Forum do if an election sends back the same culprits who were raping democracy under the sanctity of supposedly democratic elections, and continue doing what they were doing before December 2006? It is time Fiji was allowed to sort out and find home grown permanent solutions to its political problems.

Other stakeholders
This looked a step closer to being realised when the leaders' forum met under very cordial atmosphere and even the greatest critics of Bainimarama were pleasantly supportive of the move to involve all leaders, NGOs and other stakeholders to seek a permanent solution to Fiji's fundamental problems.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the deposed prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, supporting the forum and seeing the positive side of the meeting. It is good that politicians and trade union leaders realise the reality of the situation and understand the mood of the raging rhino.

For those who cannot appreciate the reason why Bainimarama is pushing for changes and coming hard on his opponents, they need to realise that he had come within a hair's breadth of becoming history. His opponents need to delve into Pacific history. Since 1981, there have been 10 political assassinations in Melanesian countries.

Frank Bainimarama narrowly escaped becoming assassination victim number 11. It was through good luck and a band of loyal soldiers, who enabled a dramatic dash through a cassava patch in a gully behind Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks when the elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit rebel soldiers mutinied on November 2, 2000.

In light of this background, can you really blame the rhino for its raging mood?

Thakur Ranjit Singh is winner of the 2008 AUT University-Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) Pasifika Communications postgraduate scholarship and is attached to the Pacific Media Centre. This article first appeared in The Fiji Times.

Interim government's broken promises

Re: Pacific Media Watch 5921 FIJI: Opinion - media 'freedom' failure symptom of malaise:

[Snippets with Croz Walsh's blog comments on Jennifer Blake's article in the Jakarta Globe.]

Bainimarama promised change and led a bloodless coup with much popular support. But his initial popularity has faded because he has failed to deliver on his promises. The embattled interim government is now making dangerous moves to maintain order. The diplomatic snub (of Forum meetings) foolishly reinforces Fiji’s isolationist position ... [It is difficult to estimate his support when the media, some NGOs, and those who stand to lose from electoral reform are so vocal. Both sides, of course, will claim majority support.]

His alleged 'broken promises'
>> Commitments to media freedom broken. [Hastened perhaps by irresponsible reporting].

>> He promised to reinvigorate the economy, yet under his leadership, the national GDP has contracted by 3.1 percent. [Many factors at work. Most world economies contracting.]

>> He pledged to unify the people, but his methods have created nothing but division. His perceived pro-Indian policies have done nothing to heal the bitter rifts that span its history. [At least, he's trying. Jennifer, I note your comment that --

"Fiji stumbled on the road to democracy — a fall brought on partly by his former prime minister’s unabashed distaste for the “foreign flower” and its flawed ideology. Qarase’s government was riddled with corruption, blatantly racist and fatally short-sighted."
[Is it not possible that the "pro-Indian" tag is being promoted by the pro-Qarase faction?]

>> Perhaps unintentionally, he has sidelined the powerful Fijian nationalist voice, a gamble that could cost him his leadership, provide grounds for a future coup or justify a violent backlash.

[You could well be right but the "sidelining" of extreme nationalists and the chiefly elite was a reason for the coup. I hope for Fiji's sake that your prediction is wrong.]

>> Bainimarama is being backed into a corner, facing attacks from the national press, the regional and international community, and a potential massive and humiliating loss at the polls should he call elections this year. The likelihood is he will soon face a challenge from the Fijian nationalists, perhaps presenting itself in the form of a coup — Fiji’s fifth in 22 years

[Unfortunately, being backed into a corner makes your prediction more likely.]

>> Bainimarama needs to act quickly in order to prevent another violent grasp for power, which would devastate the Fijian economy and decimate any hopes for democracy in the near future.

[Yes, but how, without checking the media and acting against opponents, for which you, among others, criticise him.]

>> This brief "leftist" venture might soon see an enormous pendulum swing to the "right". [The Fiji situation does not fit neatly into "left" and "right", but a counter-coup would certainly undo the good that the interim government has achieved and give new strength to the anti-democratic forces of intolerant ethno-nationalism and religious fundamentalism.]
Croz Walsh's blog