Government by Greed: PART 4: The Military Card Had to Be Played

Government by Greed: PART 4: The Military Card Had to Be Played

By Guest Writer, Subhash Appana.

Earlier articles in this series contended that in the initial post-1970 scheme of governance (and politics) in Fiji, there was always an unarticulated expectation that the Royal Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) would play a pivotal role in ensuring that government remained in the hands of Chiefs, and by extension the Fijian people. The 1987 elections forced this hand in the pack of cards that was always stacked in favour of ensuring just that within the façade that was widely taken as democracy in Fiji.

SITIVENI RABUKA, 3rd in RFMF in 1987, was identified as the person who could execute the "dirty" job for the Easter Chiefs

After the 1987 elections, as the orchestrated rebellion against the verdict of the ballot box became more strident and violent, a dark silent group began making overtures to the RFMF. And Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka was identified as the right choice to execute a coup-de-tat even though he was number 3 in the military hierarchy. The Commander, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, was a Bau chief of very high rank – he could do without the inevitable stain. His number 2, Colonel Jim Sanday was of mixed-blood and therefore, not to be trusted fully. Focus thus fell on Rabuka.

At that point in time, Rabuka’s future in the military was extremely bleak. He was only able to maintain his hold within the top brass through patronage from his high chief, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who was also the Governor General. In fact Rabuka had already begun to look for jobs outside the military; he had applied for the post of Police Commissioner and had actually been interviewed for it. The post had instead gone to PU Raman, an Indian.

It was no secret that Rabuka was hugely popular and commanded widespread loyalty within the rank and file of the Fiji military. He was also a hardcore traditionalist who believed in the divine right of chiefly control and ethnic Fijian rule in Fiji within the framework of Christian (preferably Methodist) doctrine. More importantly, Rabuka was a strict disciplinarian who was known to deliver. And most importantly, a coup presented him with a crucial opportunity to redeem himself within the military.

This is what the planners saw. What they did not see was that Rabuka was smarting from his “fall from grace” in the military. He had allowed Major Kadavulevu Cakobau to come back to Fiji from Sinai against orders from Queen Elizabeth Barracks. And he was lined up for a court martial that was only avoided through external pressure from the GG’s office. The fact that he took this decision in Sinai showed that he was prone to independent thinking – this was also missed in assessing him.

On the other hand, Ratu Mara was devastated with his fall at elections 1987 even though he did not show this. As a chief and main architect of independent Fiji, he had a noble vision that he thought would serve the myriad interests in the country. His biggest disappointment came from the fact that he was apparently not supported by the Indian electorate after all that he’d tried to do for that community. Ratu Mara therefore, felt betrayed especially by the Indo-Fijian community.

RATU SIR KAMISESES MARA- he was disappointed with Indo-Fijians for not supporting him in 1987 election which he lost. Hence, Rabuka was identified as the third officer to ensure the Chiefly and Fijian control in Fiji through Military. The events of 1987 proved that democracy had failed in Fiji - it did not ensure proper transition of power through ballots, as the lost politicians and Chiefs who lost through ballot had to resort to BULLETS. Fiji is paying the price for this even today.

On the other hand, he had foreseen problems with the 1970 model of governance. That’s why he mooted the idea of a government of national unity around the 1982 elections. He appeared to be quietly searching for a new model to suit the changing circumstances. This need again stared him in the face in 1987 as the Taukei Movement went on the rampage. Many have criticized Ratu Mara for his inaction and reluctance to enter the fray at that critical juncture.

There would have been sound reasons for this disinclination by that thinking gentleman of noble birth and prolonged British grooming. Firstly, the Fijians were genuinely angered because they felt that their generosity had been abused by an ungrateful immigrant community. This negativity had gained too much momentum. Secondly, Ratu Mara’s hold on Fijian leadership had become precarious because people were openly blaming him for selling out the Fijian heritage. In fact, after 1987 he was no longer considered the sole undisputed leader of the Fijian people.

SUBHASH APPANA, the Guest Writer , who grew up with I-Taukeis, wrote this article as an insider who, despite being an Indo-Fijian, wrote from a good understanding of I-Taukei point of view. 

And three, it can be hazarded that Ratu Mara saw in the turbulence of 1987 an opportunity to once again draw up a new model of governance for Fiji. He therefore, saw coup-de-tat as an unsavoury necessity that would open up opportunities for more suitable and enduring political solutions. A consensus approach appeared to be impractical given the entrenched positions between the 2 main ethnic groups – a forced solution was therefore, the best approach.

To appease the hordes, quell crime and bring about some semblance of order, the men at QEB had to be released not to uphold the rule of law, but to upend it. A Schumpeterian creative destruction framework therefore, guided decisions among Ratu Mara and like-minded. There was full confidence that Rabuka would be reined in shortly after he executed the coup because there would be need for a civilian administration. And more importantly, there would be need to appease the shocked international community and explain the unpardonable situation.

So the orchestrated disturbances were allowed to escalate as Rabuka executed his operational plans for the fateful day. He handpicked a team leader in Captain Savenaca Draunidalo, an Eastern soldier who had served as ADC to the GG, and assembled an elite squad of committed soldiers who shared his own traditionalist, fundamentalist concerns. The international dimension that had been hovering on the fringes again entered the picture. Bavadra had followed the NZ lead of 1985 and declared Fiji anti-nuclear, this irked the Americans and they acted by sending over a high-level decorated operative.

CAPTAIN SAVENACA DRAUNIDALO, who was reportedly the Team-Leader Rabuka appointed to assemble and prepare an elite squad of committed soldiers who shared his own traditionalist, fundamentalist concerns, for executing the coup.

Vernon Walters had been in Teheran in 1953 when the CIA supported Shah Pahlavi’s coup against Dr. Mohamad Mosaddeq. He was again involved in a coup by some generals in Brazil in 1963. In 1975 he was in Chile when General Pinochet toppled the Allende government. And in 1987 the very same Vernon Walters was in Fiji. Two weeks before 14^th of May, he met Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Not the army commander, not his deputy, but the 3^rd man, Sitiveni Rabuka.

Everything was finally in place: the taukei marchers, power preachers, escalating and apparently uncontrollable crime and violence, chiefly withdrawal, US complicity, key business support, and a primed military goon squad under the command of a committed senior officer. Next stop, treason at 10. Keep tuned.

[E-Mail: appanas@hotmail.com  / thakurji@xtra.co.nz

Stay tuned, COMING SHORTLY - Part 5:1987 - The Impossible Coup

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was thus not a paramount chief in his own right, but he was the husband of one. On top of that, he had been groomed for and headed the modern structure of government that was essentially juxtaposed on the traditional structure. Moreover, Ratu Mara had been earmarked to lead Fiji by Fiji’s most prominent colonial-era chief, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna. In fact it was Ratu Sukuna who played cupid in helping hitch Mara with the young lass from Burebasaga who would later become the Roko Tui Dreketi, the paramount chief of Burebasaga.

[About the Author: Subhash Appana is an Indo-Fijian academic with Fijian family links. He was brought up in the chiefly village of Vuna in Taveuni and is particularly fond of the Fijian language and culture. Subhash has written extensively on the link between the politics of the vanua, Indo-Fijian aspirations and the continued search for a functioning democracy in Fiji. This series attempts to be both informative and provocative keeping in mind the delicate, distractive and often destructive sensitivities involved in cross-cultural discourses of this type.]

Fiji Election 2014- Part 2: Controls on Media and Divisive Politics promote better race relations

Fiji Election 2014- Part 2: Controls on Media and Divisive Politics promote better race relations

By Guest Writer: Rajendra Prasad, Auckland, NZ.

Author and political commentator on Fiji affairs, Rajendra Prasad, who authored Tears in Paradise – Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004.

Corruption was the fastest growing industry during the era of democratic rule in Fiji. It is not to claim that it has vanished but it is being addressed. Much maligned Prime Minister Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Khaiyum have declared their assets, which gives startling comparison to the wealth of leaders who were Prime Ministers of Fiji except Rabuka who had the harvest but was not astute enough to hold it in his granary. All others, except Rabuka, are multimillionaires. It clearly shows that there is prestige, power and unlimited wealth that draw many, not through genuine desire to serve, but to take advantage through such placement. Some say Rabuka chose a different lifestyle and either misunderstood or underestimated the treachery in Fiji politics. Once a hero to his people, following the military coup of May 14, 1987 but today he is shunned and no political party needs him or wants him. His plight is no different to George Speight except that he is serving his sentence and Rabuka will remain a prisoner of his conscience for the rest of his life.

In the build up to the 2014 elections, racial attacks through the media or other public forums, a common feature in the past elections, was demonstrably absent. However, the Internet is being extensively used, sometimes savagely, where the Blogs and Facebook sites give opportunity to people to rant and rave to their hearts content.  What is good about this medium is that Internet is an even playing field where everyone can contribute on issues of common interest. The voices of the weak cannot be stifled. Undoubtedly, the political parties are also using this medium to their best advantage. But on the ground and in public, racial comments and open display of racial hostility is not visible. Credit must go to the Bainimarama Government for facilitating this remarkable change and for the first time, equality and dignity of every citizen of Fiji is not only being seen but felt across the nation. It has not only given dignity to Fijian citizenship but also raised sense of patriotism in Fijians as never before.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA- credited with implementing policies to stem out racism and divisive politics, the fruits of which are evident in Fiji as witnessed by the Author.

It has contributed to a demonstrable change, as the two dominant communities’ live in harmony and go about their day to day business without rancour or bitterness. Go to the towns, markets or sports arenas, the people of Fiji are one happy lot who relate well with one another. There is happy and respectful exchange of greetings and hearty banter, followed by laughter that is an evolving as Fiji Way, replacing the meaningless Pacific Way. Letters to editor columns carry the same spirit and not the nasty ‘snarling’ of the past. Indo-Fijians follow the Fiji Sevens team with same fervour as the iTaukei, including Indo-Fijian women. Bollywood has also infiltrated the iTaukei hearts and minds, drawing them to the TV screens and rigid following of their favourite programmes. Go through the iTaukei settlements and it is not unusual to hear the Bollywood beats echoing, as they do from Indo-Fijian homes. This medium is also enhancing race relations, which is also transforming hearts and minds of Fiji’s peoples, as they realize and accept they are one people and Fiji is their home.

There has also been a physical transformation, which cannot go unnoticed. ITaukei girls, with their frail features and straightened hairs, adjusting to modern fashion trends, are easily mistaken for Indo-Fijians. The effect of the roti and curry across the nation is palpable. 

Those muscular features of the iTaukei are diminishing and the Policemen in sulu, without the bulging calf muscles, look starved. On the Indo-Fijian front, the kava has contributed to the diminishing physique. Indeed, there is physical harmony among the peoples of Fiji that cannot be apprehended. However, Fiji can only become the utopia of our dreams if there is political harmony. This can come about when advocates of racism are disabled in the interests of the nation. Racism has favoured a few who benefit from the spoils. Racism does not build but destroys nations. Fiji has suffered too much from it for too long. Those closure of the racial ‘kennels’ has brought about perceptible change that needs to be nurtured with care, caution and thoughtfulness.

Indeed, democracy in Fiji was a label without the basic ingredients of equality, justice and dignity. Democracy that is reconfigured to pursue racial discrimination is not democracy but tyranny. Both form and content comprise its inseparable limbs. Worldwide such autocratic democracies abound and it usually entails the tyranny of the aristocracy, propped by the Armed forces, against the majority. Fiji has had a parting of ways between the two on December 5, 2006 and a new era in Fiji politics began, much to the disgust of the ruling elite who had a long reign, using it to restore it to power whenever it was lost, as in 1987 and 2000. With this detachment, a new era in Fiji politics began, which will culminate in first democratic elections on September 17, 2014. The field is open and those deposed in 2006 and their associates are back with their ideologies and banners to retake what they considered to be their birth right. Truth, morals, ethics and principles will become the immediate casualties, as victory at any cost becomes the name of the game.

 

What amused and also saddened me was the sheer lack of remorse and moral conscience of some of the leaders, convicted for abuse of office or violation of taxation laws, as they campaigned for their political parties. They moved around defiant and dismissive of their past when common decency expected them to leave the public domain. Indeed, the fodder of deceit and lies are aplenty and the simple and gullible sometimes fail to distinguish between the grain and chaff.

An unholy alliance, and marriage of convenience, where political enemies become friends for political expediency? [Fiji Sun Photo]

Sometimes, it is beyond the bizarre, as one person, a recent arrival to the mainland from Vanua Levu told me that the Government was wrong in fining Chaudhry F$2 million, as he was paying the farmers evicted from their leased land $28,000 each from the funds he held in Australia! He genuinely grieved that now the poor farmers cannot be helped because the Government had taken all the money in fines. I was gobsmacked by the naivety of the person whose seriousness in his belief was inscrutable. Will this election be won on deceit and lies or will it be won on truth and understanding? Only time will tell. God Bless Fiji!

E-Mail: raj.prasad@xtra.co.nz / thakurji@xtra.co.nz

[About the Author: Rajendra Prasad is the author of Tears in Paradise – Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004), former Ba Town Clerk and an analyst on Fiji’s struggling efforts to seek an appropriate form of democracy.]

Ram Mandir rises in West Auckland:From Dream to Realisation-“Sapna se Sakaar Tak”

From Dream to Realisation-“Sapna se Sakaar tak”: Ram Mandir and 

Community Centre rises in West Auckland

Thakur Ranjit Singh

Waitakere in general and Henderson in particular have been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons-violence, crime and dysfunctional families. Indeed it is divine blessings that in all this doom and gloom of Waitakere, has proudly risen a monument. More importantly, like the righteous and noble king it is named after, it took form in West Auckland to liberate us from evils and worries. As Lord Ram came to this world to solve many of our ills, so has Ram Mandir and the associated Community Centre, which collectively promise to do likewise in Waitakere.

Lord Ram came to this world to solve many of our ills, so has this Mandir and Community Centre, risen out in West Auckland to help solve ours.

It was a blessed co-incidence that a dream started taking shape at Brick Street from bricks. A monument was destined to rise from bricks, in fact 350 of them, at 11 Brick Street, Henderson. These bricks, donated by devotees, formed the foundation of Ram Mandir and Community Centre during the Bhumi Pooja-the ground-breaking ceremony on 21 July, 2012. Since then, all the formalities have been finalised and builders have been busy, transforming this vacant land into realisation of a dream.

Shri Ram Mandir Charitable Trust (SRMCT) is very pleased to announce that the dream of SRI RAM MANDIR and COMMUNITY CENTRE has been taking strides towards realisation. It is now in the final stages of completion. In preparation for that milestone, SRMCT is planning a 5-day ceremonial official opening from 29 November to 3 December, 2014 inclusive.

A Dream - an artiste's impression-RAM MANDIR AND COMMUNITY CENTRE 

However, a project of this magnitude needs the support of the community – it now requires generosity and financial support of devotees of Maryada Purshottam Shri Ram and citizens of New Zealand. The Managing Trustee Praveen Kumar says that we all build our own houses - that is our self-interest. “However, great are those who can help us build the house of Lord Ram – not only a house of worship but also a shelter to provide much-needed service to humanity and the community at large. This is a life-time opportunity for you to be part of the project which is largely constructed now, and need your assistance at this furnishing stage, “said Kumar.

MANDIR and COMMUNITY CENTRE- A dream

Kumar informed that this centre would not only provide our people a handy and culturally suitable facility for wedding and other social functions, it will also facilitate their religious needs. “We appreciate shortage of space at our homes to hold social and religious functions. Therefore, to relieve us of constraint of space at homes, our facility would be available to be hired for Satya Narayan Katha, Hanuman, Devi and other Pooja and similar functions.” Kumar said. One of the major requirements is the convenience on one-stop facilities for food and refreshments. Praveen said that the Trust has spent judicious planning and hence allowed space and resources for a state–of- the – art kitchen. “With a fully-fledged commercial kitchen, we are suitably placed to provide all your catering needs at one place, with all associated requirements for any successful vegetarian needs.” he said.

From this-an empty land

He said to finalise the furnishing of the facility, a consultation meeting is proposed for Sunday 10 September, 2014 at the Ram Mandir and Community Centre, 11 Brick Street, Henderson at 10 am, followed by lunch provided by the Trust. “This consultation meeting is held at the site to give potential donors an opportunity to witness the extent of development and appreciate how a dream is been realised to fill a vacuum of prayer and community use in West Auckland”, he said

From an empty land to this: The construction stage to date. You are invited to come along and see the extent of this project, and give a helping hand in completion of the project - be a donor.

The SRMCT wishes to identify and attract generosity and support of the community by identifying Gold, Silver and Bronze Donors to help them through the completion of this project. Bronze Donors are targeted from $1000 - $4999, Silver Donors from $5000 TO $9999 and Gold Donors for $10000 upwards.

Ram Mandir Trustees hope to see all potential donors on this open day to convert our dream into reality.

Please visit the website for more information: www.shrirammandir.org.nz

Fiji Election 2014- Part 1: Land, Christianity and Racism

Fiji Election 2014- Part 1: Land, Christianity and Racism

PROLOGUE by Thakur Ranjit Singh:

Laisenia Qarase was seen as a clean banker who Frank Bainimarama appointed as Interim Prime Minister of Fiji in 2000 after Speight coup. Subsequently, he tasted power, and sided with ethno-nationalist and formed SDL Party and won 2001 and 2006 election. He was removed by Bainimarama on 5 December, 2006 because of his actions that divided the nation, his racists policies and tendency to be leader of i-Taukei only.

LAESENIA QARASE, former Prime Minister of Fiji who was appointed by Frank Bainimarama in 2000, and deposed by him in 2006, upon numerous warning to abandon his racist stance and ethno-nationalistic policies. Now, he wants a Christian State and has again gone back to the gutter of racist divisive politics, as reported by Fiji Live. Qarase is de-facto leader of SODELPA party which is headed by his former equally racist Minister of Education, and sister-in-law of Ratu Mara.

In the coming election, he is leading SODELPA- a re-incarnation of his racist SDL Party. In the campaign this week, as reported by Fiji Village, he told people that he believed that God had given Fiji to the Itaukei and not to any other race. He said the reason why he wanted people of other races not to be equal with the Itaukei is because of his belief that God has given the land to the forefathers of the Itaukei people.

Qarase has also come out and said that he wanted Fiji to be a Christian state because Christianity brought civilization to Fiji. It is this type of blinkered and jaundiced leaders that Bainimarama wanted removed from politics. Fiji in a sense is blessed that we have a military which is capable of removing democracy which become mad and rabid.

Read on observation by our Guest Writer, Rajendra Prasad, on the upcoming election.

Part 1:Land, Christianity and Racism

By Guest Writer: Rajendra Prasad, Auckland, NZ.

RAJENDRA PRASAD,  Guest Writer for FIJI PUNDIT blog site. He just returned from Fiji and gives a feedback on what he saw in preparedness for the election 2014.

I spent a week in Fiji (9^th to 16^th July) and saw a nation on the move to claim its place among the democratic nations of the world. On September 17, 2014 Fiji will go to the polls to elect its first Parliament after the military coup of December 5, 2006. It will be held under the new 2013 Constitutions, which is strikingly different to all the previous constitutions. The 1970, 1990 and 1997 Constitution advocated ethnic voting whereas the 2013 Constitution has removed this provision and every citizen of Fiji is now on one roll. The basic precept of such provision is “one person, one vote, one value” for all. Equality and dignity of every citizen is the rallying cry of this Constitution. 

Remarkably, a departure from the norm has gone down well with the majority of people except those who exploited ethnicity to rob their way to power. Ethnic voting kept the nation divided, giving way to racism to flourish. Multiracialism and multiculturalism existed in name. 

There are those who laud the Bainimarama Government for the changes and work it has accomplished in eight years of its rule. Many believe that Fiji’s rotten democracy needed drastic measures for drastic change. The Fijian democracy was a cover for autocracy to prevail by the chosen few who benefitted from the state of anarchy that became the core character of the nation. The Bainimarama Government, though unelected, has given the nation a new taste of what democracy, equality and dignity entails. At least the common citizen feels that he/she is part of a modern, secular, inclusive and equal society and not ruled by racist bigots. Interestingly, security of indigenous land is never an issue except in the period preceding an election. It is used by the racist bigots to camouflage truth, as it fires the emotions of indigenous people on a non-existent threat and they vote en-masse to their ‘so-called champions’. Yet, it has been revealed that, when in power, they had insidiously converted land at Momi and Denarau to freehold.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA -though un-elected, he has given the nation a new taste of what democracy, equality and dignity entails. He is heading Fiji First Party in election 2014

But let us dispassionately review the land issue. Let there be no illusion, it is implied that such threat comes from Indo-Fijians. They have been in Fiji for 135 years and in this period they have not appropriated an inch of indigenous owned land. However, many had leased such land but when the leases expired or upon extra-legal action taken by landowners, largely at the instigation of their leaders, they vacated such land without resistance or demand for compensation. Today, most of such land is lying fallow, compounding the poverty of landowners whose rental income has ceased forever. Further, since independence for 36 years (1970-2006) the iTaukei elite have been in power for 35 years and yet they did nothing to liberate their people from poverty but always blamed Indo-Fijians for it. 

Bizarrely, they pursued policies to marginalize and dispossess Indo-Fijians so that the two communities gained parity in destitution when they should have promoted the prosperity of both to economically benefit the nation. The current Government is advocating prosperity for all and equitable sharing and distribution of resources. Rental income will no longer be shared by others, as in the past, which left peanuts for the landowners. They are now being encouraged to lease their land through the TLTB or Land Bank to enable them to receive regular rental income. Indeed, productive use of land resources by landowners themselves or tenants is in the best interest of everyone.  God gave this vital gift to humanity to use it for its livelihood and prosperity. Those who own such resources should not squander the opportunities that abound.

Land and religion in Fiji comprise the most volatile fuel to kindle the racial conflagration. Religion is now also being dragged by the advocates of racism in a desperate bid to win the election. Most, if not all, project themselves as devout Christians. Yet, Christianity is a religion that is anchored to love. Christianity without love equates to heathenism. People who use Christianity to pursue their racist agendas will struggle to make it through the narrow gates. In Christianity, it is not the cover but content and adherence to Bible’s noble precepts that identify Christians. Those who use malice, hatred and violence, the weapons of the devil, to justify the unjustifiable demean Christianity. Indeed, there is no point in declaring Fiji a Christian State when those who advocate it hold the sword of violence to achieve their goals and objectives. Indeed, Christianity could have been effectively used to rout racism in Fiji; instead it has been used as a weapon against the lost who shun it as a religion bereft of love, tolerance and goodwill. They also rightly claim that today, in Fiji, more Christians are in prison than those whom they label as pagans. Could this also be attributed them, as iTaukei poverty is?

Indeed, racism in Fiji is a British legacy. Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna had famously said that the two races were locked in their racial kennels and they barked and snarled at each other.  He knew it but did nothing to destroy the kennels that the colonial masters had constructed. With passage of time, racial compartmentalization, as presaged by the British consolidated. It was the worst gift the British gave to independent Fiji. Rightly, it should have been rejected, which is a sad commentary on the vision of leaders of that era who, by accepting it, chose racism to shape the destiny of the nation. The result is before our eyes, as a nation once considered the jewel of the Pacific has become the pariah of the Pacific. Only beneficiaries were the leaders who relished power, position and perks, leaving the masses to scramble for the crumbs. A nation with the potential to become economically rich and a flag bearer for the island nations in the Pacific became a pauper. But the parasitic attachment of its leaders to feed their greed remained persistent. [To be continued…

 Sheer lack of remorse and moral conscience of some of the leaders, convicted for abuse of office or violation of taxation laws: Some leaders playing key role in election 2014. [ Fiji Sun photo] 

TO BE CONTINUED.....Fiji Election 2014- Part 2: Controls on Media and Divisive Politics promoted better race relations…

What amused and also saddened me was the sheer lack of remorse and moral conscience of some of the leaders, convicted for abuse of office or violation of taxation laws, as they campaigned for their political parties. They moved around defiant and dismissive of their past when common decency expected them to leave the public domain.

E-Mail: raj.prasad@xtra.co.nz / thakurji@xtra.co.nz

[About the Author: Rajendra Prasad is the author of “Tears in Paradise”, former Ba Town Clerk and an analyst on Fiji’s struggling efforts to seek an appropriate form of democracy.]

Government by Greed: Part 3 – Power in Perpetuity or Coup

Government by Greed: Part 3 – Power in Perpetuity or Coup

By Guest Writer Subhash Appana

It is no secret that the architects of the 1970 constitution, apart from the Indian delegation, envisaged power in perpetuity for the Fijian Establishment-backed Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara…..

RATU SIR KAMISESE MARA- Fiji's first Prime Minister from 1970 -1987, when after 17 years of Alliance rule, the 1970 Constitution , all of a sudden was found lacking, when his Alliance Party lost the election. That Constitution was deemed good as long as the Eastern Chiefs ruled Fiji.

Democracy in Fiji was thus meant to ensure power in perpetuity to the Alliance Party and no one could really expect any different for the country. The role of the military as a protector of this shakily established façade of democracy was therefore, always open to revolutionary introspection – Rabuka’s coup should not have been such a big surprise.

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Power in Perpetuity or Coup

It has been contended here that in the initial post-1970 scheme of governance (and politics) in Fiji, the Royal Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) was supposed to play the usual role of any military in a democracy – protect the constitution and everything it stood for. The problem arose in understanding what democracy entailed and what the constitution was supposed to stand for within a functioning democratic framework.

It is no secret that the architects of the 1970 constitution, apart from the Indian delegation, envisaged power in perpetuity for the Fijian Establishment-backed Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. In fact many have argued that this would have served Fiji best. I beg to differ - a benevolent dictatorship with periodic elections to perpetuate the carefully crafted façade of democracy based on ethnicity would have had limited life at best in a changing traditional context with a large immigrant community.

But that is not the point of this article; we want to see how the military’s role was kept hazy for those who could not “see” through the delirium and euphoria of independence. Firstly there was a direct link between the military hierarchy and national government – both had Fijian chiefs amongst a sprinkling of white key personnel. The chiefs at the apex of the chiefly system, and the military and government had very close blood ties.

Secondly, the electorate was expected to remain divided along ethnic lines forever. This, coupled with the expectation of a united Fijian government (with a multi-racial hue), and a bickering Indian opposition, was supposed to characterize democracy Fiji-style. In the event of any disruptions to these expectations, the disproportionate number of “Others” in parliament was expected to hold the balance of power – a powerful trump card for government.

Democracy in Fiji was thus meant to ensure power in perpetuity to the Alliance Party and no one could really expect any different for the country. The role of the military as a protector of this shakily established façade of democracy was therefore, always open to revolutionary introspection – Rabuka’s coup should not have been such a big surprise. The first jolt had already come in April 1977 when the NFP won against all expectations. Adroit constitutional and political manoeuvring prevented any unwanted fall-out at that stage.

A young Brigadier -General Sitiveni Rabuka, who was identified as a tool to ensure continuous rule by Eastern Chiefs through Military intervention, if things did not work the Alliance Party way. Read Part 4 for more on this.

After 1982, the writing was on the wall and talks began to emerge of a government of national unity. Political immaturity prevented this from materializing. In the meantime, a common political platform began to emerge among the working-classes as the Mara government started implementing necessary, but unpopular economic policies. One of these, the 1985 wage freeze, led to the formation of the Fiji Labour Party by Fiji’s main labour unions on 6^th July 1985.

This heralded the arrival of a non-ethnic political platform in the country that up till then could only envisage politics through the ethnic lens. There was an expectation within the Fijian Establishment that democracy was only acceptable so long as it assured power and victory to the Establishment-backed party at any and every election. This was the Fijian position on government. And it stemmed from an omission to prepare them for real democracy and a commission to keep them distrustful of Indians, the main perceived political threat.

I recall an indicative incident in 1977. The NFP had won and was poised to form government as Fiji waited on edge. A pall of despondency and darkness descended on my village, Vuna in Taveuni. Life came to a standstill and there was much consternation, then confusion, then complaining among kava drinking. In a trip to the local liquor outlet, the Wainiyaku Butchery, an inebriated and unhappy chief lamented loudly, “sa oti - all is lost” to Adrian Tarte of the prominent Tarte family.

SUBHASH APPANA, Guest Author for FIJI PUNDIT, was born and bred in the Chiefly village of Vuna in Taveuni. As a young man in 1977, when first Alliance party lost the election, he experience first-hand that indigenous Fijians were not ready for a change in government from the chiefly rule of Eastern Chiefs.

Adrian’s response, “no, nothing has gone wrong, that’s the way it is”. After that, there were mutterings as the group moved across the road from the butchery with boxes of Fiji Bitter. I was only a child then, but distinctly remember the frills-free emotional outbursts that followed. One point kept coming through, how could this happen to us! Our country cannot be ruled by outsiders, this is not right! That was the level of understanding of democracy that persisted into 1987 as Fiji geared for its most crucial elections yet.

And as mentioned earlier, a new phenomenon had entered the political scene in the form of the multi-racial Fiji Labour Party that espoused a non-ethnic, issues-focused political platform. Its victory-focused coalition with the Indian-dominated National Federation Party diluted this somewhat, but the writing was on the wall. On the other hand, Fijian unity had begun to fray within an outdating chiefly system as Butadroka pranced on his anti-Mara platform.

Once a Deputy Minister in Ratu Mara's Alliance Government, SAKIASI BUTADROKA formed Fijian Nationalist Party, determine to oust Ratu Mara, which he succeeded in doing in 1977 ( half-done) and finished the job with the loss of Alliance in 1987, which, as predicted, resulted in coup.

When Mara’s Alliance Party finally did lose in April 1987, an unsuspecting Fijian electorate was apparently caught absolutely unawares. What was not meant to be had happened! The Indians had tricked Fijians into joining the FLP! Little India in Fiji! How dare they disrespect chiefs! The Fijians thus were not willing to accept the verdict of the ballot box. And more importantly, even though Ratu Mara made his famous speech on “democracy is alive and well in Fiji”, his defeated colleagues rejected the outcome.

In that silently crackling cauldron all that was needed was an outlet for Fijian reaction. That’s where Apisai Tora and the Taukei Movement emerged. The first roadblocks were mounted in Tavua as Emperor Gold Mines decided its business interests were under threat from a socialist-leaning government. Fiery ethno-nationalist speeches, hymns, sermons, nationalistic songs, food, transport and an underlying threat of unmitigated violence became part of an orchestrated movement against the Bavadra government.

 

APISAI TORA,  a natinalist politician, who once was a politician in Indian National Federation Party (NFP), has been instrumental in leading unrest that ultimately resulted in the coups of 1987, as well as 2000. His biggest past-time was organising anti-Indian marches, that tended to cause political instability in Fiji.

While this was happening, others had begun to explore the military option to right the wrong that democracy and an ungrateful, conniving Indian community had dropped on Fiji. The RFMF’s 3^rd-ranking officer was suddenly playing golf on the same Pacific Harbour course as the defeated PM. More Alliance politicians had begun to appear openly at Taukei rallies. A drastic solution had to be found for Fiji. Coup was in the air. [Keep reading]

[E-Mail: appanas@hotmail.com  / thakurji@xtra.co.nz

Stay tuned - Part 4: The Military Card Had to Be Played

After the 1987 elections, as the orchestrated rebellion against the verdict of the ballot box became more strident and violent, a dark silent group began making overtures to the RFMF. And Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka was identified as the right choice to execute a coup-de-tat even though he was number 3 in the military hierarchy.

was finally in place: the taukei marchers, power preachers, escalating and apparently uncontrollable crime and violence, chiefly withdrawal, US complicity, key business support, and a primed military goon squad under the command of a committed senior officer. Next stop, treason at 10. Keep tuned.

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[About the Author: Subhash Appana is an Indo-Fijian academic with Fijian family links. He was brought up in the chiefly village of Vuna in Taveuni and is particularly fond of the Fijian language and culture. Subhash has written extensively on the link between the politics of the vanua, Indo-Fijian aspirations and the continued search for a functioning democracy in Fiji. This series attempts to be both informative and provocative keeping in mind the delicate, distractive and often destructive sensitivities involved in cross-cultural discourses of this type.]

Government by Greed: PART 2: Role of the Fiji Military

Government by Greed: PART 2: Role of the Fiji Military

By Guest Writer-Subhash Appana

SUBHASH APPANA, Guest Writer for FIJI PUNDIT blog site, giving you an insight into the historical role and intentions of Royal Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) and how it was intended to ALWAYS support a Fijian and Chiefly-led Alliance Government.

The British system of running the military with a class structure and inbuilt systems of discrimination became accepted practice. That’s partly why Indian demands for equal pay to join the military after 1939 was seen as treachery.

Selective recruitment had already been established as part of the Native Constabulary where loyal eastern Fijians (as opposed to westerners) had privileged access and Indians did not feature at all. Later Indians were barred through elaborate physical requirements of height and weight. This, after Indian troops from the sub-continent had already shed 85,000 lives for the Crown and Churchill had described them as “splendid fighting men”

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Role of the Fiji Military

The last Greed article focused on the Fiji Military and how it evolved from the Royal Army of Ratu Seru Cakobau that was used to subjugate renegade tribes in the highlands of Viti Levu, to the Armed Native Constabulary that confronted Indo-Fijian worker strikes, to the Royal Fiji Military Forces that saw Fiji through independence in 1970. Just what was the role of the RFMF in the independent, democratic sovereign state of Fiji was either deliberately or conveniently left unclear at that juncture.

Going back to Fiji military participation in the two world wars on behalf of Bolatagane (or Land of Men) and empire, WW1 (1914-18) was waged for “democracy”. The same happened in WW2 (1939-45) with its focus on thwarting fascism. And during the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the enemy were communist insurgents who again presented a threat to democracy. Ironically, while these manly international campaigns were being waged for “freedom” and “democracy”, leaders in Fiji were totally unconcerned about the pleas of Fiji’s very own semi-slaves, THE GIRMITIYA.

The forgotten GIRMITIYAS, who Fiji's history as well as the colonial government ignored. While RFMF was waging  ' international campaigns" in honour and name of "freedom" and "democracy", the leaders in Fiji were blind to the plight of these slaves, under  another name for slavery - Indenture or Girmit.

Another, more insidious, military reality of the time involved the establishment of a white officer-class and a 2-tier system of pay and discriminatory recruitment into the military. Ironically Fiji’s most distinguished son, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, joined the French Foreign Legion because of this very same discriminatory recruitment in the British Army – Ratu Sukuna was refused entry into the British Army.

British Army was an epitome of discrimination. Fiji's proud son and military leader, RATU SIR LALA SUKUNA,  was refused entry in the British Army, so he joined the French Foreign Legion.

At independence in 1970 Fijian troops had thus participated in 3 major British military campaigns on behalf of democracy, but were never really apprised of its mechanics and implications. The British system of running the military with a class structure and inbuilt systems of discrimination became accepted practice. That’s partly why Indian demands for equal pay to join the military after 1939 was seen as treachery.

Moreover, selective recruitment had already been established as part of the Native Constabulary where loyal eastern Fijians (as opposed to westerners) had privileged access and Indians did not feature at all. Later Indians were barred through elaborate physical requirements of height and weight. This, after Indian troops from the sub-continent had already shed 85,000 lives for the Crown and Churchill had described them as “splendid fighting men” (Mason 1976, Perry 1988).

Thus at independence the RFMF was loaded with eastern Fijians or those loyal to their chieftainship, had a predominance of chiefs at its apex, was not sure about its role within the democratic framework, and had ominous confusions about its loyalties vis a vis central government and the carefully nurtured chiefly system, which was always in effect, a shadow government.

It was contended in the last Greed article that the RFMF and the Fiji government were expected to be linked forever through chiefly control of both institutions. This was supposed to ensure military support for government at all times. Thus in the initial post-1970 scheme of governance (and politics), the RFMF was supposed to be a silent partner that could be called on at any time should the need arise. There were a number of problems with the assumptions underlying that model of governance.

Firstly, Fijian unity under the chiefly system was never guaranteed. Fiji was not alone in this regard as many other traditional societies continued to be challenged through the expansion of the paid economy and its links with modern education. The post-independence Fijian government attempted to slow the ravages of this process through an elaborate system of patronage within the civil service, but this lacked capacity and burst at the seams down the line.

RATU SIR KAMISESES MARA never envisaged the Alliance or the Eastern Chiefs to lose power. Advance indication of this was his loss in 1977, and later the loss in 1987 which resulted in Rabuka's coup.

In quick-time the very non-democratic doctrine of Fijian specialness that ensured Fijian unity found itself at loggerheads with the democratic doctrine of multi-racialism. This was the biggest problem Ratu Mara faced in the run-up to the 1977 elections. His main split with Koya came after he declared special access to scholarships for Fijians in 1975. Hard at his heels was also the hound of Fijian nationalism expounded stridently by firebrand Rewan, Sakeasi Butadroka. The April 1977 elections was thus shockingly lost by Mara and the Alliance Party because of a significant (30%) split in Fijian votes.

SIDDIQUE MOIDEAN (S.M.) KOYA should have been Fiji's first Indio-Fijian Prime Minister when Ratu Mara's Alliance Party lost the 1977 election to National Federation Party (NFP). Internal bickering within NFP gave an "excuse" to the Governor General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau to appoint a minority Prime Minister, Ratu Mara. This scenario was to repeat a decade later in 1987, when a similar thing repeated, with Rabuka's coup.

And while the NFP dithered on presenting SM Koya as PM to Governor General Ratu Sir George Cakobau, rumblings were clearly heard in little gatherings of forcing a takeover. In fact, part of the prolonged disagreement within the NFP also featured concern about how the RFMF would react to an Indian PM. The military option however, paled into insignificance as AG Sir John Falvey and others found a constitutional escape to form a minority government.

Ratu Mara was back as PM, the status quo prevailed and all was well again in God’s Fiji as the NFP hemorrhaged and the Alliance swept into power in the subsequent September 1977 elections. A serious concern however, had been verbalized: could the Fiji Army be relied on to remain neutral in the event of a win by a non Fijian Establishment-backed political party. On the other side of the political spectrum, glimpses had been seen of the role that the military could play in correcting the perceived injustices of a foreign system of governance – democracy.

The RFMF was thus seen as the last line of defence for the Fijian traditional system of governance and all that it entailed at that point in time. In fact expectations in this regard began to mount as the next elections loomed. In 1982, as election fever heated up, the nuclear component of the cold war swept the Pacific, and Fiji for the first time saw a foreign dimension in its elections as amid much acrimony and accusations the Alliance returned with a drastically slimmed margin. 

After 1982, it was clear that the Alliance Party was walking a tightrope. There were increasingly visible criticisms of the Mara government among Fijians, the patronage system of the 1970s had outgrown its capacity, and very importantly, the economy was in contraction mode. As government began to take forced unpopular decisions, the masses began to experience shared hardships.

A commonality of concerns and problems across the carefully established ethnic divide was thus developing in Fiji in a belated manner because it was blocked through selective policies earlier. If the 1970s presented a decade of euphoria and complacence, the 1980s demanded a hard look at reality, democracy and the ballot box. It is this that would finally force the military card in Fiji’s politics

[E-Mail: appanas@hotmail.com  / thakurji@xtra.co.nz

Stay tuned Part 3: Power in Perpetuity or Coup

It is no secret that the architects of the 1970 constitution, apart from the Indian delegation, envisaged power in perpetuity for the Fijian Establishment-backed Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara…..

Democracy in Fiji was thus meant to ensure power in perpetuity to the Alliance Party and no one could really expect any different for the country. The role of the military as a protector of this shakily established façade of democracy was therefore, always open to revolutionary introspection – Rabuka’s coup should not have been such a big surprise.

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[About the Author: Subhash Appana is an Indo-Fijian academic with Fijian family links. He was brought up in the chiefly village of Vuna in Taveuni and is particularly fond of the Fijian language and culture. Subhash has written extensively on the link between the politics of the vanua, Indo-Fijian aspirations and the continued search for a functioning democracy in Fiji. This series attempts to be both informative and provocative keeping in mind the delicate, distractive and often destructive sensitivities involved in cross-cultural discourses of this type.]