Fiji's Intervention: Statement By PM Bainimarama

Fiji's Intervention: Statement Of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister Of The Republic Of The Fiji Islands To The 38th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting

Chairman, Leaders and Heads of Delegation of Member Governments,

Malo eleilei, Ni sa Bula Vinaka and Good Morning.

Mr. Chairman I seek your indulgence to make a brief statement given that Fiji is on the agenda.

Mr Chairman I wish to congratulate you, the Government and people of the Kingdom of Tonga for the wonderful welcome and reception that you have accorded us in your hosting of this 38th Pacific Islands Forum.

I was greatly moved by the speech of His Excellency the King of Tonga at the opening ceremony in which he through his wisdom reminded us of the two great Pacific idealists and statesmen, hailing from Fiji and New Zealand who gave priority to and had a vision of Pacific solidarity and regional co-operation.

I believe we all in this room, including myself need to be reminded that we should put regional co-operation as our priority, put our differences aside and work for peace and understanding.

I would also like to convey my deep appreciation to the Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare, and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea for stepping in as Chairman of the Forum following the events of 5 December 2006 in Fiji.

Sir, our relationship with Papua New Guinea and you is enduring. We in Fiji, and I am sure I speak on behalf of the leaders here today, and the Pacific Forum look forward to and rely on the experience and wisdom of your good self.

I would like to also extend my appreciation to all the Pacific Island Countries for giving me and Fiji a warm welcome. I was deeply moved by the adulation that was shown by the people of Tonga yesterday.

Realities

Mr Chairman at the conclusion of the consultations with the European Union under the Cotonu agreement in April this year in which Fiji made a number of commitments, it was noted in the joint commitment statement that following 5 December 2006 (and I quote):

Certain issues can only be effectively addressed through a pragmatic approach which acknowledges the realities of the present and which focuses on the future.

Sir I come to this Forum and to this Pacific community of leaders asking for the same understanding and acceptance of realities. I come before you Sir with nothing to hide. I wish to tell you very briefly what are the ground realities in Fiji and what are our vision and goals are. I will speak with my heart and, my mind.

The reality is Sir that we have an interim Government in Fiji. The events and actions of 5 December 2006 carried out by me and the Republic of Fiji Military Forces have been berated and questioned by some.

The legality or otherwise of those actions and events are before the courts and therefore it would not be right or prudent for me to comment on them.

But I can say this. The actions of 5 December 2006 were not a grab for power by the RFMF. Today in the interim Government I am the only non-civilian in the Cabinet. Contrary to the misinformation spread, following deliberations Cabinet decisions are made independently of the RFMF.

I say this also. The coming to power of a political party through elections does not mean real democracy is guaranteed. My point is that the holding of parliamentary elections does not mean that the Government that will be formed will be truly democratic if irregularities are found in the actual conduct of the elections; it does not mean that the Government elected will practice real democracy; it does not mean that the Government will not interfere with the judiciary; it does not mean that the Government will not seek to institutionalise discrimination against minorities; and, that the Government will protect and uphold the Constitution. These unfortunately were the traits of the previous Government.

Any dogmatic commitment to holding of Parliamentary elections or having elections for the sake of holding elections will not solve our problems or get rid of what some have called the 'coup culture'

History-Coup Culture

In April 1987 a democratically elected Government came to power but was removed a month later in a coup. Some months later when a Government of National Unity was being formed, a second coup was staged again by Rabuka. The Constitution was suspended, the judiciary removed, there was substantial abuse of human rights and freedom of the media was curtailed. We had three years of decree led governance with no elections. In 1990 at midnight a skewered and racist constitution was promulgated.

In 1992 some 5 years later elections were held under the skewered and racist 1990 Constitution. In 1997 Parliament approved an amendment to that Constitution. In 1999 elections were held under the amended 1997 Constitution and a year later the new democratically elected Government was removed.

The country subsequently started spiralling into anarchy and it was the Republic of Fiji Military Forces that brought law and order.

Following the restoration of law and order, the RFMF handed the reigns of Government to an entirely civilian leadership. That Government did not adhere to the fundamental principles of good governance, transparency and equal citizen rights. It subsequently after the elections flaunted the rule of law and condoned nepotism and corruption. It very alarmingly sought to consolidate its political survival by engaging in and promoting divisive and racial policies, practices and laws. It breached the trust that was entrusted to it by the RFMF.

Sir this brief historical account demonstrates that the holding of elections has not solved the coup culture in Fiji. But more so it is evidence that there are more fundamental, deep rooted and structural issues that has besieged our country and which politicians have not honestly and with the country as their priority, tackled the very problems that have led to the so called 'coup culture'

Vision

My Government intends to and shall break out of this mould. We want to solve these problems once and for all.

I and my Government are committed to and have a vision of , amongst other things, a truly democratic Fiji in which there is no institutionalised racism; in which every person's vote has the same value as the other; in which both the indigenous commoner and chief reap and realise equal benefits from their resources and adapt to the globalised world while living in a modern nation-state; in which systemic corruption is eradicated; and, in which we have sustained parliamentary democracy and a stable, just and prosperous society.

Surely no one can object to these values and goals. These are indeed core principles of the various United Nations Declarations and endorsed by the community of nations of this World.

Mr Chairman before I address specifically as to how we in Fiji intend to address our fundamental problems, I seek your indulgence in clarifying some matters which continue to be raised by some.

Corruption

My Government has recently introduced promulgations to create an independent commission again corruption and put into effect new laws in respect of bribery and corruption. These measures have been introduced to address systemic corruption. However, the Fiji Independent commission Against Corruption or FICAC has had, amongst other things, resource and expertise constraints.

We have been criticised for our supposed inability to charge and prosecute persons in respect of allegations of corruption. These critics very conveniently ignore the fact, as similar commissions in New South Wales, Hong Kong and Singapore would attest, gathering solid and concrete evidence for successful prosecutions of white collar crime, in particular in the formative years, requires time and perseverance.

Persevere we shall

FICAC recently, given the lack of local resources and expertise recruited, at great expense, the services of overseas consultants. With the recruitment of these overseas resources more substantiated and credible charges against numerous persons, including public office holders, politicians and business people shall be laid in the not so distant future.

I would also like to remind the Forum that at its Foreign Ministers Meeting in Vanuatu, the ministers had agreed to provide assistance to such a commission. We welcome such assistance which is yet to be delivered.

Judiciary

There have been several statements made about the independence of Fiji's Judiciary since the events of 5 December 2006. These statements have been made without hearing from the sitting judges or from the Acting Chief Justice who is of English origin and holds Australian citizenship and is an internationally recognised jurist. We do not know on what information such allegations are made, who has given the information and indeed whether the information is accurate. It would appear that there is an assumption that because the events of the 5 December 2006 took place and the Military was involved, the judiciary must be compromised. This is not the case.

Yes the substantive Chief Justice was suspended by His Excellency our Presidnet. As provided for under the Constitution, a Tribunal, which has taken time to be constituted because of the current political attitude towards Fiji, has now been appointed. The Tribunal which consists of internationally recognised jurists, from three different countries shall commence, it is envisaged, its hearing before the end of the year. Due to legal imperatives the names of the Tribunal members shall be revealed when the hearing dates are announced. We look forward to a speedy conclusion to this long outstanding but necessary matter.

It should be noted Mr. Chair that there were many complaints about the judiciary prior to 5 December 2006. Some related to alleged corruption and forum shopping, others to mal administration of registries and the questionable appointment of magistrates. Prior to 5 December 2006 judges who made decisions against the Government were abused by Government members of Parliament, insulted in the media and questioned about their decisions even within the judiciary. Cases of constitutional importance were given to only selected judges.

My Government does not condone such behaviour and has ensured that such actions have stopped. Allegations of corruption in particular in respect of the magistracy, as also identified by the Law-Asia Fact Finding Mission earlier this year, has led to an independent commission of inquiry headed by Australian Mr Justice John Connors. The Inquiry has commenced its work.

All levels of the court system continue to function. The Acting Chief Justice has ensured that no judge is now permitted to interfere in the work of other judges. Every judge sits independently and makes his or her own decisions. The constitutional and public interest cases, as with all cases are given to all judges on an equitable basis.

Not one judgment of the court since 5 December 2006 has been delivered which suggest that the judge has succumbed to political pressure. Indeed rulings have been made against the Government and those rulings have been adhered to by the Executive. Suggestions that our judiciary is compromised are unfair and unsubstantiated. These suggestions I submit are an insult to the judges who continue to sit in trying circumstances and who continue to uphold their judicial oaths.

The independence of the Judiciary since the appointment of the Acting Chief Justice has been enhanced not compromised.

Human Rights Abuse

There are some who continue to state that there are human rights abuses by the RFMF. Mr. Chair no new complaints about the RFMF have been received. Yes there were some allegations, some have been resolved, some are being investigated by the Fiji Human Rights Commission and some have become Police cases. There have not been widespread human rights abuses. Complainants also have the recourse of pursuing complaints directly through the courts through civil action. My Government is committed to ensuring that human rights abuse is the exception rather than the norm.

I also recognise that most if not all countries round this table have had their share of allegations of human rights abuses.

I will now talk about the future.

NCBBF

To address our fundamental problems that has besieged Fiji and help us realise our vision, my Government has launched a major national initiative which will see the establishment of a 40 member National Council for Building a Better Fiji (NCBBF) and the proposal to develop the ³Peoples Charter for Change and Progress² (PCCP). Through the PCCP, a broad cross section of Fiji's people will be fully engaged through consultation and participation to develop a comprehensive agenda of actions and measures to address in a systematic and comprehensive fashion the long outstanding fundamental challenges . It will then provide a strategic framework for successive Governments. I am happy to provide the leaders copies of the finer details of this initiative.

The draft of the PCCP proposal was circulated widely within the country, inviting comments and suggestions.

The initiative has overall received very strong support within Fiji, in particular from highly reputable and respected civil society and community leaders.

Also, Mr. Chairman, I personally wrote to the leaders of Fiji's bilateral and multi-lateral development partners on the PCCP initiative. This included all Forum leaders.

Mr. Chair the People's Charter initiative is not to derail the road map to the holding of parliamentary elections. When the initiative was launched by His Excellency our President on our independence day which was 10 October, he set a stringent timetable. In short the PCCP must be handed to him by 10 October 2008. This deadline is long before the first quarter of 2009 which is the recommended indicative timetable, by the Forum sponsored assessment team, for the holding of parliamentary elections in Fiji.

Parliamentary Elections

This Mr Chair brings me to the issue of parliamentary elections. In this respect the Government of Fiji has so far:

* Provided funding for the holding of census. The raw data should be available in the next few months to the Constituency Boundaries Commission;

* Facilitated the appointment of the Electoral Commission which has already met with the Forum sponsored Scoping mission;

* Started working with the Australian, New Zealand and UK missions based in Fiji in sourcing a supervisor of elections from offshore;

* Facilitated the appointment of the Constituency Boundaries Commission; and,

* Engaged with the Forum sponsored working group and election scoping mission.

Accordingly Mr Chair I would like to now state that my Government is committed to preparing for parliamentary elections to be held in the first quarter of 2009, as recommended by the Forum sponsored assessment team. Fiji wishes to reiterate its unwavering commitment and continued engagement in the work of the Joint Forum/Fiji Working Group on the Fiji situation. The Working Group, very ably chaired by Suva based PNG Commissioner has been doing an excellent job.

Dialogue

Mr Chair we seek constructive dialogue and engagement with the international community, with all our bilateral and multilateral development partners and our Forum brethren - support us, in developing political and governance frameworks and institutions that are truly democratic, sustainable, accountable, inclusive, equitable, cognizant of the challenges of a modern nation-state and which unifies rather than fragments.

As I said that I shall speak with candour. I know that relations with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand and in particular with their leaders and Foreign Ministers have not been the best. However, today I appear before this Forum and in particular Prime Minister Helen Clarke and Minister Downer - in the true Pacific way. Given what I have said, I offer dialogue and ask them to engage with me and my Government.

Lets work together and with each other as partners, as neighbours, as friends to address the challenges faced by my country. After all the Pacific is a small place - we all need one another and in any case we will always bump into each other. Let's put in place a new era of understanding, respect and dignity.

Our challenges are your challenges, our problems are your problems, our prosperity is yours and so is our stability.

Let's be smarter and have the so called smart sanctions primarily in the form of travel bans removed. It has now reached proportions which is making us Pacific Islanders look rather mundane. We now have the soccer world ridiculing us.

Mr Chair I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and acknowledge the guidance you provided on the first day of my arrival in Tonga. You have handled the 'Fiji matter' in the true Pacific spirit. I also take the opportunity to wish you well and assure you the support of Fiji in your role as Chair of the Forum.

I thank the leaders for listening to me. I wanted to take this opportunity to convey in simple terms the truth and our side of the story first hand.

I would like to go away from this gathering knowing that I, my Government and the people of Fiji have done all we can to reach out to all of you.

Malo aupito, Vinaka Vakalevu.

17 October 2007

ENDS

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