Another Fijian Coup, Another Fight For The Nation's Future
The Age
Thursday December 7, 2006
This time the battle lines are not racial and the military appears to have little popular backing. Fijians must unite to restore democracy once and for all.
THERE'S been much talk in recent days about the Fijian-style of coup, a crisis that develops at its own idiosyncratic pace, with its own surrealist touches and spawns an equally gloomy sequel every few years. And this latest assault on constitutional democracy in the Pacific island nation fits the genre all too well. After months of threats and seemingly endless demands on the coalition government of Laisenia Qarase, Fiji's military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, seized control of the state on Tuesday evening, appointing himself president and installing caretaker rulers. The risible audacity of his justification is an ear-catcher, to say the least, and a cynical swipe in Australia's direction. In his address to the nation, Commodore Bainimarama cited former governor-general John Kerr's 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government as a precedent for his actions under "the liberal doctrine of necessity". The only necessity here is the commodore's determination to establish a cultural norm that allows the military an ultimate veto over political affairs. In this respect, the current coup differs from those of Fiji's more recent past and the price of failure is perhaps higher than before.Previous coups (this is the fourth in 19 years), including the siege of Parliament engineered by failed businessman George Speight in 2000, were motivated by ethnic tensions between indigenous Fijians and Indian Fijians. This conflict is between indigenous Fijians only, although Commodore Bainimarama has played the ethnic card in trying to exert pressure on the government. The military chief's accusations of government corruption and adherence to a racist agenda are likely to resonate with a weary public. Mr Qarase had been made to withdraw some inflammatory pieces of recent legislation: one proposing amnesty to those involved in the 2000 coup, another giving indigenous Fijians privileged access to the Fiji coastline. Indeed, Commodore Bainimarama might be partly driven by a sense of betrayal. It was Commodore Bainimarama who facilitated Mr Qarase's original appointment as caretaker prime minister after the 2000 coup, and it's he who now accuses the since twice-elected government of lacking the "moral strength" to pursue more conciliatory policies. But as leading Fiji analysts such as Professor Brij Lal point out, the current coup reflects a "persistent yearning" of the military for a bigger and more permanent role in public life. This is an institutional war being played for high stakes. The encouraging news is that key players within Fiji seem to be finally warming to a fight. Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, sacked by Commodore Bainimarama, echoes the observations of others in the capital in claiming the military chief "doesn't have the support of the government, of the president, of the police, of the churches, of the chiefs, of the people of Fiji". Mr Hughes foresees a popular uprising and the deposed Mr Qarase has called on the people to do just that, albeit peacefully. Interestingly, Labor MPs, who draw support from Indian Fijians, have also visited Mr Qarase during his house arrest to express their support. Whether Fijians can indeed put aside their differences and mount an effective grassroots campaign to defend the rule of law remains to be seen. For Australia, the options are few. The Government was wise to reject Mr Qarase's request for military assistance - a confrontation with Fiji's sizeable, well-trained and possibly volatile army could be disastrous for both nations. And the Howard Government's heavy-handed Pacific diplomacy in recent times, of which the Julian Moti affair is an embarrassing example, has diminished its regional standing. The only realistic course is the one already taken: diplomatic pressure. Last night Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Parliament that Fijian people should not co-operate with the military, but show "passive resistance to this regime". It is a depressing and confounding reality that despite Australia's considerable investment in Pacific nation-building, the regional arc of instability keeps on widening. These are critical days indeed.
© 2006 The Age