Asia-Pacific Network: 20 June 2000
FIJI: THE RACE BANDWAGON
If for any reasons indigenous Fijians were unhappy with the Mahendra Chaudhry government, then they certainly should have waited and voted as a bloc and defeated Chaudhry in the general elections of 2004. A group of people with guns cannot determine constitution, order and government in any society - let alone Fiji. It is therefore imperative that the hijackers are condemned by all Fijians.
By SANJAY RAMESH
RACE IS a crude fact of life in Fiji. But the recent hijacking of an elected government in Fiji has nothing to do with race. It has to do with factional and provincial warlords, who seized the opportunity to facilitate their agenda.
Indigenous Fijians were unhappy with the Chaudhry government and in particular with ALTA, changes to constitution, mahogany, and the Land Use Commission. The discontent gave rise to the Taukei Movement in April and number of similar movements thereafter.
Landowners and chiefs denounced the government for acting contrary to the interest of indigenous Fijians and wanted the government dissolved and the 1997 Constitution abrogated.
Whipping up antagonism against the government were opposition politicians as well as factions from within the government's own coalition. The bizarre but understandable configuration of political interest in Fiji saw a strong anti-government mobilisation with some 5000 strong protesters on 28 April in Suva and the number rising to 10,000 by 19 May. All this came at a time when the government was fighting hard to sell its policy to indigenous Fijian chiefs.
The 1997 Constitution became the centre of discussion as opposition groups lobbied for its abrogation. The President of Fiji Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was presented with a petition to remove the Chaudhry government and rescind the 1997 Constitution. While all this was happening, rumours in early April surfaced that a group of soldiers were behind moves to topple the government in May 1987 type coup. The Fiji Military Forces (FMF) denied that there were any such moves from within the army. However, the rumour proved true when George Speight and seven FMF officers from the First Meridian Squadron hijacked the elected government on 19 May.
In what was to be a short stint at removing the Chaudhry government became a gruelling stalemate with the hijackers jumping from one demand to another. Unlike the 1987 coup, the May 2000 takeover is seriously bungled. Without a clear objective and direction, the rebel leader George Speight attacked and accused Indo-Fijians for all the social and economic ills plaguing indigenous Fijians.
However, he further illustrated that Indo-Fijians were different in all respect from their indigenous Fijian counterpart and as a result they had to be removed entirely from the political scene. This was the initial Indo-Fijian bashing, which took a rather sinister form when Indo-Fijian residents of Muanirewa were attacked by bandits loyal to George Speight, who argued that Indo-Fijians controlled the economy and lived in style and luxury while indigenous Fijians lived in abject poverty. Once again the focus was on the business community in Fiji.
Most of the shops in the towns and cities across Fiji are owned by Gujaratis whereas descendants of indentured labourers are still on the farm or part of the growing Indo-Fijian middle-class. Some have acquired fame and fortune while others have gone into business. Compared with non-indenture labourers Gujaratis, descendants of indentured labourers own less than 20% of businesses in Fiji. Shopping strips in all major towns and cities are predominantly Gujarati and hence the myth that Indo-Fijians own businesses and have a lot of wealth.
While Indo-Fijians perform better in education, commerce and agriculture, indigenous Fijians are not far behind. Educated indigenous Fijians are also part of a growing middle class while a large number of Fijian families, mostly from the islands, continue to struggle in urban slums of Suva. A lack of proper housing, compulsory education measures and some form of national employment service breed violent and disillusioned indigenous Fijian youths, who take on a profession of crime at an early age.
All this point to a system that is strongly elitist. Under the 1990 Constitution, cronies of the SVT party amassed huge wealth and privilege under the guise of "Fijian political paramountcy."
Under the 1997 Constitution much of the elitist centralised system remained and the indigenous Fijian grassroot never understood what the constitution provided for them. When the Chaudhry government released Bills 15 and 16 to amend the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) Act, the opposition cried foul and demanded an immediate repeal.
In fact, under the proposed law, future legislation governing Crown Schedule A and B would not go before the NLTB. Instead, the cabinet reserved the authority to recommend changes to the President of Fiji. The intention was that Crown Schedule A and B would eventually revert back to the original indigenous Fijian landowners. Apart from that, changes to Section 194 of the Constitution allowed indigenous Fijian Members to continue holding both political and traditional offices.
Under the 1997 Constitution, the Bose Levu Vakaturaga or Great Council of Chiefs, Fijian Affairs Board, Bose ni Yasana (Head of the Provincial Council), and Bose ni Tikiai (Head of the District Council) were deemed public office.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, Adi Kuini Speed, made it absolutely clear that on amendments to NLTB Act, a sub-committee would be established and views of all affected parties sought. However, by then, the SVT mounted a massive disinformation campaign which largely downplayed the entrenched constitutional safeguards for all indigenous Fijian institutions. Under Section 185. (1) of the 1997 Constitution, the following indigenous Fijian institutions are fully protected:
(a) Fijian Affairs Act
All Bills regarding the above are deemed not to have been passed by the Senate unless at its third reading in that House, it is supported by the votes of at least 9 of the 14 members of the Senate appointed by the Bose Levu Vakataturaga.
Disinformation continue to play a large part in Fiji today. The hijackers claim that an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister can single-handedly dismantle entrenched indigenous Fijian institution does not hold up to scrutiny. It confirms that race has been used to facilitate sectional provincial interest under the guise of "Fijian political paramountcy."
However, all the half-baked effort of George Speight will amount to zero if constructive programs to lift the overall standard of disaffected indigenous Fijians are not put in place. There has to be number of initiatives put in place straight away. These include a Fijian business institute, compulsory education, rural development and creation of a viable communal-based village economy.
This will arrest unskilled and uneducated Fijian youths from migrating to the cities. A good start will be to establish an office of Indigenous Fijian Improvement with qualified and skilled policy specialists. This office shall advise the Interim Government on specific measures and programs.
Once implemented, the programs have to be evaluated against stringent performance criteria. All of these cannot materialise without the support of Indo-Fijians, who must be included in any Interim Government of Fiji. By right, they should constitute 40% of the total number of Ministers.
If the above is not done soon, a majority of indigenous Fijians will unlikely see any changes to their economic life even in this century. Finally, George Speight and his group has no credibility whatsoever when it comes for fighting for indigenous Fijian rights and the abrogation of the 1997 Constitution- agreed by SVT, FAP and GCC- is a grave error on the part of the military.
If for any reasons indigenous Fijians were unhappy with the Chaudhry government, then they certainly should have waited and voted as a bloc and defeated Chaudhry in the general elections of 2004. A group of people with guns cannot determine constitution, order and government in any society let alone Fiji. It is therefore imperative that the hijackers are condemned by all Fijians.
(b) Fijian Development Fund Act
(c) Native Lands Act
(d) Native Land Trust Act
(e) Rotuma Act; Rotuman Lands Act
(g) Banaban Lands Act; or
(h) Banaban Settlement Act; including a Bill prepared in consequence of the enactment of this Constitution: