In December 2006, military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government of Fiji in a military coup. The military claimed to be acting to protect the constitution from Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who it accused of creating instability. Today, the Court of Appeal called bullshit on that:
Fiji’s Court of Appeal has declared that the removal of Laisenia Qarase and his ministers from government in a military takeover in December 2006 was unlawful, and has ruled it lawful for the President to appoint a caretaker Prime Minister to issue a writs for general elections.
However, it has ruled against the argument by Qarase’s lawyers that he be reinstated and that he advise the President to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections, given the length of time since Qarase’s removal.
A scan of the judgement is here [PDF].
The government has been granted leave to appeal, but they haven’t been granted a stay – meaning that the President will have to act before the case is finally resolved. It’s a solid victory for the constitution and the rule of law, and a poke in the eye for the military thugs. The decision was carried live on national TV, so everyone in the country knows their regime is illegal. The question now is what they will do about it: go back to their barracks, and let the people decide – or end any pretence of legality and conduct a second coup, this time against the courts.
That is very courageous of the court. I hope the Army chooses to accept the ruling.
I had always thought ex-premier Qarase a bit of a stooge for the conservative Council of Chiefs, but in his persistence with court challenges to the big commodore – who else maitains such ranks these days? – I have to say he maintains the rage. Even former premier Choudery had a role in Bainamarama’s government for a while.
As to the outcome my guess is that the commodore will wrap himself in the Fijian flag and ask what two aussi’s and a Hong Kong judge (appeal court) are doing ‘dictating’ to Fiji?
However, it has ruled against the argument by Qarase’s lawyers that he be reinstated and that he advise the President to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections, given the length of time since Qarase’s removal.
Can someone explain what this means – was the court deciding that he shouldn’t have the benefits of being the incumbent in any election?
David: That is very courageous of the court. I hope the Army chooses to accept the ruling.
They seem to be, so far.
MHW: Can someone explain what this means – was the court deciding that he shouldn’t have the benefits of being the incumbent in any election?
It means that they’re not sure whether he still is PM, despite the fact that he never resigned; they’re not even sure that parliament hasn’t been dissolved (they are sure however that Qarase’s removal and that of his Ministers,a nd the “appointment” of Bainamarama were unlawful). Rulings after the Speight coup stressed elections as the constitutional reset switch, and so they’re following that precedent (plus simple sanity).
Given that Qarase had said publicly that he only wanted to be reappointed in order to advise elections, he’s quite happy with it. He will almost certainly win any fair election – and that is the army’s real problem (and their proposed changes to the electoral system, while ultimately desirable if enacted properly by a legimate government, would not actually solve that problem for them).
I thought it looked like Banimarama was going to ignore it.
Paul: he’s resigned as Prime Minister and will be returning to barracks. President Iloilo will addres the nation in the next hour or so, so hopefully we’ll see what the next step is.
So much for hope. Iloilo has abrogated the 1997 constitution and sacked the entire judiciary. There’s no way out after all.
I thought it was too good to be true.
pablo @ 2 – Commodore is a legit naval rank, and the RAN would have a few. From memory, it occupies the point between Captain and Admiral, and is therefore the equivalent in pay and conditions to Brigadier.
Personally, I’ve always thought democracy is over-rated. It works well enough in countries like Australia, despite its propensity to give political power to sport stars, union hacks and lawyers. But Australia is a relatively homogenous country in which minority groups, be they Buddhists or Scientologists, have no option other than to fit in with the majority. But, in countries like Iraq and Fiji with a substantial minority group, democracy seems too often to be a tool for the majority to impose their political will on the minority to an extent that is disproportionate to the respective populations, and must inevitably cause tensions.
In such a situation I suspect that a benevolent dictator is a reasonable political solution and that Bainamarama is exactly that. In any case his argument that the current system aggravates divisions between the indigenous majority and the ethnic Indian minority and that consequently there is a need for electoral reform seems plausible.
Thanks David Irving (nr)/Sean, Commodore it is. I’ve been duped by those poncy motor yacht club types who love the title for their favourite drinking holes. A wonder the big fella hasn’t made himself an admiral or first sea lord. But now that the president has told the Appeals Court where to go with their pro-democracy finding, maybe he will add the stripes and brocade to the naval regalia.
I agree with much that Jenny offers. It will be interesting to see if the five year extension given to the benevolent dictatorship will see the release from prison, and possible political re-emergence of George Speight, leader of coup No 2.
“Personally, I’ve always thought democracy is over-rated.”
Except when compared to the alternatives, etc……
There’s no reason to believe that Bainimarama is committed to a multi-ethnic Fiji beyond the tactical pro-Fiji Indian card he currently finds it useful to play in ensuring his own primacy. Mahendra Chaudry (Leader of the Opposition when Laisenia Qarese was PM) is similarly [self-interestedly] supportive of Bainimararama. Fiji Indians have fled the country in droves since the first coup – they’ve declined from 50% to around 38% of the population – so the old spectre of Indians overwhelming the indigenous population has receded. Playing the multi-ethnic card in these circumstances is less portentous.
The back story is one of chiefly intrigue, shifting factions, divisions in the aristocratic lines of Lau and Tailevu (on Viti Levu), personal honour besmirched, naked ambition and personal slight and rivalry. It has absolutely nothing to do with minority/majority “tension” apart from the transient tactical advantage offered in referencing it.
If this was a win for democracy, I’d not enjoy watching a loss.
Jenny @ 12 – Singing the praises of the institution of “benevolent” dictatorship is just plain silly, about as helpful as saying that all that is needed to produce a good society is for everyone to be nice to everyone else. For every benevolent dictator who can be identified, there are dozens and dozens who simply use their positions to benefit themselves or their tribes or support bases, or just to express their underlying sadism. Lord Acton had it exactly right: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Its obviously far from clear that democracy has in fact won, as the last 48 hours have shown.
Whoever is now actually in power (be it 88 year old President Ratu Josefa Iloilo or more likely Commodore Bainimarama) is saying no election till 2014 – that will be eight years since Qarase was overthrown. That’s simply too long.
And all stoned on kava. You see Iloilo’s froggy eyes. The reason people don’t riot is because the men are all stoned on kava and the women keep feeding them.
Derek: well, democracy had seemed to win at the time of posting. And then, the next morning, the thugs stuck a gun in people’s face again.
Fiji is now under a state of emergency. The media is subject to censorship, and there are police thugs stationed in newsrooms. There is no judiciary, and the courts, when they reopen, are barred from inquiring into the validity of government pronouncements. And there will be no elections until 2014.
Savant
And you predicted exactly that thuggish possibility. Very sad for the people of Fiji now, and for the longer term future.
Pedant @ 16
I don’t think benevolent dictatorship should be imposed as an ideal solution to the substantial minority problem, since as you indicate the chances are pretty good that it won’t turn out to be benevolent for long. But I am saying that when you’re lucky enough to have one that is truly benevolent, then there’s no pressing reason to impose or re-impose democracy.
Well The columnist on the OO who always say judges have to much power,well Janet move to FIJI,you will love it there no pesky judges to change anything
Jenny @ # 12 and 21. I find your suggestions very worrying. Have I missed the wisdom of your posts, or is this all just clap-trap?
“benevolent dictatorship” Can’t think of one myself!
“should be imposed” Maybe like the leaders of all coups do – with whatever force they deem necessary?
“as an ideal solution” Wow! Ideal for whom?
“to the substantial minority problem,” Do you mean the “problem” of racial hatred? Ethnic cleansing has been deemed by some to be an “ideal solution” to the “problem” of minorities.
You’ve lost me.
Responses to Mervyn Langford @ 23:
Too easy – you missed the wisdom.
Fiji
I was actually opposed to this. BUT if you have got a ‘benevolent dictatorship’ I don’t think you should rush to replace it with democracy.
But that’s the issue that concerns me. In Oz, 47% didn’t vote for Rudd on 2PP basis, yet the ALP now have all the power. That works for us because there’s sufficient common ground amongst the huge majority of Australians that it doesn’t cause hatred and bloodshed. But no way that model works for Fiji, Iraq or Afghanistan. At the time of Indian independance, despite some of the most enlightened leaders of all time, democracy was impossible without creation of a separate country. It may even be that an unenlightened despot like Saddam Hussein may have been better for Iraq than the carnage to come after the Americans pull out. I hope I’m wrong.
I’d also argue that democracy compels the leaders to take a short-term view for the sake of their own political survival, whereas a secure dictator can focus on long-term solutions – something a country like Fiji desperately needs.
Over to you.
Jenny, Mate. Sorry, it looks more like clap-trap. You cover such huge areas of contemporary and historical events with such amazing waves of the hand, that it’s just next to meaningless. I like the thought of being able to draw underlining principles, to make clear and perceptive – inspired – conclusions about human behaviour. But for me, your assertions just don’t cut it. We could spend the next few days talking about any of the topics you raise: that the Fiji military government is benign, or that the leaders of the post-colonial Indian sub-continent were “the most enlightened leaders of all time”. And as for being able to wrap up Iraq and Mr Hussein – the Puppeteer’s dog that bit the Puppeteer on the hand – in 2 lines, leaves me breathless. Oh to have your level of simplicity, certainty and ease of understanding!
Mervyn Langford @ 25. You obviously have the democratic ideal ahead of all the rest but a dose of reality south pacific style needs attending. In supporting Jenny’s position @ 12 I don’t believe either of us liked what was happening. But the reality is that many of these island states simply don’t share our view of the optimum way of dispensing power. Fiji’s Council of Chiefs is just one example of an extraordinary domestic power that could be realistically seen to pose a problem for any Westminster style democratic order. In the same way the aristocratic kings and courtly favoured in Tonga aren’t going to easily bow to a universal commoner franchise. The ‘big men’ of PNG could be said to manipulate the voting populace in a form of commercial democracy. Even our own ATSIC with a short history of very low voter participation represents a form of failed democracy.
We can all hope for something better to emerge particularly in our own backyard, but let’s accept the reality of the moment as something short of an ‘ideal’.
Well, Jenny, at least Lord Reith (once head honcho of the BBC)was on your side. When asked what form of government he preferred (after earlier espressing scepticism about democracy, his reply was,
“Despotism, tempered by assassination.”
I suppose it might work, depending on the frequencies of the assassinations.
“We can all hope for something better to emerge particularly in our own backyard, but let’s accept the reality of the moment as something short of an ‘ideal’.”
Do not speak too soon pablo. The local white people, we elected, plan to relegate democracy to the frontyard of “Museum” status.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/18/2495045.htm
What bollocks. Fiji’s Great Council of Chiefs was created by the British Colonial regime, so as to present a thin veneer of democracy, http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/\papers23\paper2212.html.
Bainimarama’s original stated reason for seizing power, reiterated on a number of occasions, that Qarase’s government was corrupt and pursuing racist policies against the large minority of Indo-Fijians. A large part of the underlying problems is the Fijian system of land tenure, which substantially prevents Indo-Fijians from owning land.
I don’t see all this discussed currently. On the other hand, despite Bainimarama’s claimed altruistic motives, he does not seem to have actually done anything about the problem and he is now aggressively censoring the news media.
Hey, Jen and Pablo: “Journalists have been told not to publish or broadcast stories that present the reinstatement of the military government in a negative light, and police censors have been installed in newsrooms across Suva.” (ABC News – I’d hook in the link if I knew how!)
This doesn’t sound like traditional / indigenous style hierarchy – implicitly understood and maybe accepted by those who have grown up in this community system (in days gone by), but 21st century military dictatorship.
I understand a massive percentage of Fiji’s foreign exchange income is in the form of wages to Fijian soldiers on active service as UN Peacekeepers elsewhere in the world.
What are the implications here?
Reading this from Suva, I am quite convinced that democracy has not won. Nor are these latest developments – any of them – to the advantage of ordinary Fiji citizens. For the last two years there has been an fairly effective and reasonably benevolent dictatorship in place, whatever the legal fiction may have said. But life has gone on, except that, as always, coups are bad for the economy and ordinary people are suffering.
Now the rather convenient (to most people) legal figleaf has been stripped away. The decision in the Appeal Court, especially the refusal to allow a stay while the matter went to the Supreme Court, pushed Bainimarama into a corner. He was never likely to back down, though I thought he might force the matter to the Supreme Court first. So he’s abrogated the Constitution. What did the 3 judges think he was going to do??
Pablo suggests ‘my guess is that the commodore will wrap himself in the Fijian flag and ask what two aussi’s and a Hong Kong judge (appeal court) are doing ‘dictating’ to Fiji?’ Well, he hasn’t yet, but it’s sure to come. The TV coverage on Thursday showed a very white court – all judges and most counsel. It didn’t look good.
Now Bainimarama’s reacted with the usual military lack of subtlety. While some radio stations are carrying ‘approved news’, others are refusing to, and the Fiji Times will presumably have even more rugby coverage than usual to cover for the gaps. Both sides, press and military, are spoiling for a fight, so goodness knows what the outcome will be. Probably a compromise in a few days – this is the Pacific. In the meantime things are peaceful; contrary to SMH reports there were no roadblocks on the road into Suva this morning, and the rugby matches continue.
The main public response seems to be “Oh no, not again” – dread mostly that the economy will go down further, fear that there will be sanctions, that tourism will fall further. Jobs, money for school fees, the difficulties of making ends meet – these are the dominant concerns, not elections.
Speaking as a Kia Viti m’self, I hafta to say the takes on the situation of Geoff@14, Nanu leva@18 and Manulevua@31 pretty much jibe with what I saw and understood of the place.
And both Nanu levu and Manulevu raised in different ways, the X-factor. It’s the Pacific, the blokes are all on yaquona while the women get a lot of stuff sorted out behind the scenes (I used to play scrabble with Adi Lady Mara and she’s about the only person I’d trust in the whole wide wild world to be a truly benevolent dictator. In fact I have little problem with a true global government, provided it’s helmed by a smart, tough, funny and worldly Fijian matriarch.)
Look at it this way. What happened in Fiji happened with many third world countries after being granted independence by carefree/bitter/confused/broke/scheming colonial powers. And yet compared to say Africa, Fiji took 17 years for the first coup, the killing has barely reached double figures and very little blood has been deliberately split elsewhere (And what there was killed and spilled, has I bet led to many long circular yet sincere apologies over the yanqona bowl).
Which is not to say I’d enjoy being driven hooded in a Landrover to the QV Barracks for a “detailed appraisal of the situation” at the hands of some of Bainimarama’s more messianic junior officers and troops.
It’s bad and sad what’s happened to Fiji since May 1987. But it could be worse. At least a tough, proud, tribal and caste-ridden island warrior nation with a great sense of humour and certain savoir-faire/lazzie-faire attitudes towards sea-surrounded trade garrisons got to colonise Fiji before the French, Germans or Americans.
“Fiji’s Council of Chiefs is just one example of an extraordinary domestic power that could be realistically seen to pose a problem for any Westminster style democratic order.”
“What bollocks. Fiji’s Great Council of Chiefs was created by the British Colonial regime, so as to present a thin veneer of democracy,”
Um MikeM, these two points do not contradict eachother.
“I understand a massive percentage of Fiji’s foreign exchange income is in the form of wages to Fijian soldiers on active service as UN Peacekeepers elsewhere in the world.
What are the implications here?”
It means that in addition to Fijians being naturally brilliant small unit soldiers, the RFMF is now very skilled in running roadblocks, checkpoints and other ways of managing the flow of civilians.
A few closing observations.
Fiji is the only country ever to ask to join the British Empire. Got knocked back twice. Third time lucky.
Fijians are as not as good barroom fighters as you expect. The ratio of shouting and strutting to effective punches thrown is entertaining but not always effective. I’ve seen on Victoria Parade at different times, usually outside The Golden Dragon and across from the Olympic Baths, a wiry little West Indian guy take down to two massive Fijians, a USN SP defuse a looming bashing by smartly rapping a local in the nuts with a baton and a Fiji vs Tonga rugby match where the spectators thought they join the on pitch riot efficiently broken up by Fiji fijian and Indian police auxiliaries. I say efficiently because the riot rapidly dispersed and as we left the stadium, the Fijian and Tongan thumpers and thumpees were all mixed together, affably chatting away. A good old-fashioned punch up – followed by ‘grog’! And then another punch-up. In slow motion.
I don’t think the phrase “coup d’etat” is really that applicable to Fiji anyway. Ruthless split-second timing to install a brand regime overnight is just not the Fijian way. Yes, they’ve done it but it keeps devolving down into
everyone knows eachother so how can you be really ruthless when it’s your aunty’s cousin’s brother in law who forgot to call Inoke to leave the Raiwaqa service station open so the countercoup plotters could fill up their Landrovers. During the Hibiscus Festival.
Also, vakamalooma. What’s the hurry?
Here is a link to the fijiexilesboard http://fijiboardexiles.yuku.com/topic/2820 set up in 2000 when Fiji Military/Intelligence closed down a Fiji based board. G
It would be nice if the Australian Govt. could come up with a more measured response than the unhelpful abuse which they are currently heaping on Bainamarama’s regime. That sort of thing leads nowhere, except maybe to increase the level of paranoia and defensiveness in Fiji. Silence would be better, or a suitably open-ended and general expression of goodwill towards the Fijian people.
In general, Nabakov, what you say rings true. Things here peaceful but rather tense. Apparently there have been arrests.
Interesting post at http://crosbiew.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-on-earth-did-court-expect.html
Yes. All very well for the Sydney blow-ins. A bit different for those who live here, especially the poor.