Fiji remains prone to future coups even if the army commander and the military commit themselves under the proposed People’s Charter for Peace, Change and Progress, says a prominent Suva lawyer. Richard Naidu says there is “no way” that anyone, including the Fiji military can guarantee there will be further coups in a country, which has had four in the last 20 years. “We can’t,” he said, while speaking at a recent forum. ”If the commander commits himself, a lower rank officer can do it. (Coup leader) Sitiveni Rabuka was a third rank officer in the army in 1987. And the CRW unit led the insurgence in 2000. “The Charter can’t guarantee there will be no coup. Who will guard the guns?” The interim Government hopes that the People’s Charter to be formulated this year will contain a commitment of Fiji’s people for a way forward. However, Naidu argues that the Charter can’t change people’s way of doing things. “We have to do it ourselves – do the hard work and change our attitudes,” he said.
Richard Naidu ( as taken from fijilive)
May 1, 2008 at 4:12 pm
when honest men do nothing , evil succeeds .
May 1, 2008 at 5:41 pm
As long as the RFMF exists, we will always have coups. Add to that the fact that we have military drills at schools like Nabua, RSMS, Natabua, QVS and Rewa Provincial.
So we ask what the f@#$ is the President who is the Commander in Chief doing? Sleeping I guess. Prince vore has cast a spell over the White House at Nasova which has put everyone in that office to sleep. You will notice that when they come out in public they look like zombies!
The charter is just a diversion. Like a wild animal, the military has tasted the blood of it’s citizens in the past, it still hungers for more!
Get rid of the bastards and we will not have idiots like vore pretending to be a prime minister. Mai rawaki na bula rau, bleary dimwits ulukaus!
May 1, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Agree with this.
It is fundamental that the Army must either go or fully accept its Constitutional role and the authority of the President as Commander in Chief. Hey Frank, when you took over as President, you not only committed High Treason, you were guilty of Mutiny.
You should hang….
May 1, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Well said, StS.
bananasinpyjamas is as thick as a brick.
He is a fool to believe that he has respect from anyone in Fiji or OS.
Congratulation to the Fijian Teachers’ Association which has rejected the illegal junta and their charter.
It was great laugh to read that 2 illegal junta stooges turned up for a meeting today about the illegal charter only to find that none of the locals turned up. Surely these illegal fools must get the message soon that nobody in Fiji wants to live under chaudhry’s labor party charter.
May 1, 2008 at 7:41 pm
The only guarantee the army has is that its leader is a numbskull and those who are still following him are also numbskulls. Vore has 100% skull, 0% brain, also major lack of guts as he is mostly full of sh*t.
May 1, 2008 at 8:07 pm
The Fiji Times publisher taken by Police and Immigration Officials
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Update: 7:50PM POLICE and Immigration officials have taken The Fiji Times publisher Evan Hannah to the Nadi International Airport this evening.
They arrived at Mr Hannahs residence in Tamavua about 30 minutes ago.
It was unclear at the time what they were doing at Mr Hannahs residence.
However, Mr Hannah has now been taken to Nadi International Aiport.
May 1, 2008 at 8:23 pm
This recent turn of event re Mr Hannah is disgusting and sickening. I was just simmering down from the debacle of Mr Hunter and now this. The henchmen who are Fijians of course just don’t get it. They are carrying the orders of the Indos snake and arse and his kind. Media freedom out of the window. Human Rights is non existent. Somethings gotta be done.
May 1, 2008 at 9:04 pm
May 1, 2008 @ 5.41pm Tui Says:
As long as the RFMF exists, we will always have coups. Add to that the fact that we have military drills at schools like Nabua, RSMS, Natabua, QVS and Rewa Provincial………………………………………………………………
Tui my friend, this is exactly why I was questioning the use of fireams in a talent show by students at Yat Sen Sec Sch (Bernie Bainimarama, Franks daughter being one of them). I am assuming that these military cadetships taking place in schools for about 20 odd years now has been funded by taxpayers. **Another big waste of money if thats the case**
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong but I think that we would be really impressed and Fiji would definitely be a better place if these same students wasting time marching around, standing in a row for inspections and ten hupping about spent their time reading more books and passing exams with flying colours.
We are so going down the drain that apart from worrying about our gene pool we are adding to the dumbing down of our leaders of tomorrow. Someone in that MINISTRY of EDUCATION needs to take the bull by the horns and REALLY Rock the boat on this issue.
I am ashamed to say that just last week the Rewa Provincial School had their pass out parade. Considering the fact that REWA does not support the Charter and is against this illegal junta which is guarded by our taxpayer funded military.
Discipline is a good thing try as we might, we really cannot compare military cadetship in Fiji to ROTC in USA. Democracy is solid and well in the United States while we still swing from one unstable vine to another in Fiji.
May 2, 2008 at 1:16 am
@Save the Sheep -U got that one right. The army has to abide by its constitutional role and authority of the President. It is heart wrenching to continuosly witness the coup culture that is now so synonymous with our island paradise.
We pray for the day of return to democracy and when we do there has to be measures set in place to ensure once and for all as a nation Fiji will not go down this familiar path again.
The election of the President into his/her position needs to be carefully reviewed. As an office bearer of the highest callibre with the interest of its subject at heart. He should have the qualification and vote of approval of the general public to hold such position. After all, we dont wish to see another ailing Chief milking our public purse with his own self serving interest and those of the Juntas.
The Military force is primarily a peace keeping force with little or no front line combat role when posted with other army personnel in a war zone. The mind set of RFMF executives needs to be re eduacated into their rightful role within a democratic society separate from their ultimate role in the Military. The reasoning behind its lopsided number compared to the Naval division is due to the fact that Fiji is a leader in Peace Keeping role under the UN banner for decades. The RFMF are esteemed in this role throughout warring zones the world around. It is about time that they get it through their head to stick to what they know best.
May 2, 2008 at 7:40 am
As long as there is an army in this country,there will never be any guarantee that we will not have any more coups.
The only way to stop the coup culture is to have big brother sitting on the armys head with a big stick and whacking them every time they show the slightest sign of getting out of line.
The next govt must allow the US Navy to open up a naval base in Fiji.
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.
May 2, 2008 at 12:35 pm
The only way Fiji can eliminate the ‘coup culture’ is to get rid of the army. There are a lot of very talented and motivated people in that organisation whose time would be much better spent on something constructive.
I, and I am sure everyone, would like to know about the army’s finances – how much does it cost to maintain this ‘coup creator’ and what percentage return do we get for our money invested in it from the UN Peacekeeping operations? I suspect that the return is so small that no respectable business person would consider it reasonable.
Therefore, by getting rid of this organisation (we should keep the band!) we can save money and eliminate the coup culture at the same time – what a bargain!
May 2, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Getting rid of the army will not solve our coup problems. Infact the army is a tool or instrument to implement coups.If we take away the army, the police force could very well be used in its place as a tool to take over government. If we ged rid of the police force ( argument sake only..), other groups in society who perceiuve they are powerful enoug, will take over instead.. & so forth. What is required is a system to educate the general population in the country and develop their thinking skills and and problem solving culture & mechanisms so that they do not resort to over throw if they get stuck. We have to come away from the belief that by getting rid of the problem/obstacle does not mean that we have actually solved the problem. We are so used to this mentality that getting rid of the problem will actually solve our it. Wrong. By getting rid of our problem, we are merely eliminating that face of it but the underlying factors are still the same. For example if we get rid of the army, the police force or a faction of it can develop into an uncontrollable force if they have no other rival. They can bully their way to power and threat whoever is in office if they go unchecked. What we need is some kind of “system check ” on the martial apparartus of the state (ie police and military) so that they do not abuse the power they posses. Our problem in th Fiji is that we have developed a powerful system appararus in the army with no other system to check it. As a result, it is open to abuse and has been used by scheming civilians to carry out their illegal agenda. My suggestion would be to develop a counter force like the police and arm so that it is able to act as a check on the military apparatus. Also get the navy to come under the civilian police force and patrol our waters. You will see, the bullying army will not have a free hand at all if it had this. It been used by governments all over the world. Trick is not to let the other become too powerful. Ofcourse, then will have to redesign and review the command structure from president down to create check and balances in the system. Another alternative is to allow the citizens to carry arms as a check on the army. This is what happened in US when the designers of the constitution allowed its citiicens to cartry arms as a check on the military not to take over their government. Imagine in Fiji a population of 800k all armed with guns and the army of 2000 threatening to take over their governemnt. ..Bainimarama will recoil with his tail between his legs if that happens.These are only two options and there could be others.
However, having an army can also have its benefits apart from providing employment to the citizenry. But I wont go into that. Its like whose hands the knife is in. If used by a surgeon, its a life saving tool, if used by a housewife, its for cooking implement, if used by a gardner, its cleaning tool, but in the hands of a killer or an army its a weapon. We must use it with maturity and with checks and balances as I have said above.
But bottom line is we have an arm bearing arm of government, we must have an opposing arm to check it from abusing its power. Thats the mechanic of having an army in my opinion. Of course, like everything else the options have their costs to be considered….
May 2, 2008 at 1:26 pm
pls insert where you think is approapriate…perhaps eduacting the populace may take some time to develop…so we need to develop other meachanisms to contain the coup habit…
May 2, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Agree with you Caginitokalau, but wasn’t the CRW set up as this force to counter coups?
The Army serves many useful purposes but if it is not held accountable to its Commander in Chief then it fails.
Take a leaf out of Ghana’s Book. After 13 Coups in as many years, a young officer took over and shot the high echelons that were responsible for the political mayhem in the Country. The Army there now fully gets behind the civilian Government and concerns itself with its Constitutional Role.
Since then, no more Coups, Ghana is flying and guess what, the young officer is no-where to be seen. He was a true patriot, not the sickeningly hypocritical Despot that we see in Fiji today.
May 4, 2008 at 8:03 am
Those of you with reliable broadband, take a look at this video review of the memoirs of Ishmael Baer, who was a child soldier in Sierra Leone.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=82274&title=ishmael-beah
The fear he speaks of between the two sides of SL’s civil war have some similiarities to the divisive politics of Chodopu$$-Prasad.
The therapy of learning to trust in his own, and another’s, humanity – that is the kind of healing we need in Fiji after Chodo’s long-standing attempts to prise us all apart.
God bless Fiji
May 4, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Following is from Michael Field’s page. Worth serious consideration I think.
Route Ahead: the way out of the swamp for Fij
May 3, 2008
By Michael Field
Fiji’s Military Government is on the verge of an ignominious defeat.
Voreqe Bainimarama’s ammunition is running out and he has no reserves. The nation’s souls are weary and anxious about what happens next.
Defeat will be disaster; poverty and despair will follow.
In the anarchistic mess, there will be many seeking revenge; bloodshed and race will dominate the nation for a decade or more.
The country needs a way out. The “People’s Charter” is nothing more than a military fatwa propped up by self-interested souls who see gain for themselves – paid on the inflated invoices they submit.
The way out now is for those who have led the coup to act decently, act in the wider interest, and step aside. To do that they need, in exchange, a promise of immunity.
This concept – immunity – is crucial.
The key players know they have committed crimes ranging from treason to uttering false oaths; others before them are serving jail time for doing exactly what they have done. Fear of this fate has paralysed them and they are now committed to a do-or-die approach,dragging Fiji down with them.
This is the Route Ahead: unlike the backers of the People’s Charter, I offer it at no charge. No extravagant consultancy fees, no endless all expense paid conferences.
Route Ahead
The interim government resigns immediately.
President Josefa Iloilo orders the 2006 elected Parliament to be convened to pass an immunity act to be later incorporated in a modified constitution.
Constitutional immunity for Iloilo, Voreqe Bainimarama, Mahendhra Chaudhry, Aziz Said-Kyumn and the “ministers” of the illegally sworn in interim government.
Iloilo dissolves Parliament upon the completion of that action and then appoints an interim executive leadership appointed made up of the president, the re-appointed vice president, the head of the Great Council of Chiefs and the head of the public service. The 2006 elected prime minister, former leader of the opposition Mick Beddoes and 2006 elected finance minister also serve. It must hold its meetings in public and decisions made on a simple majority vote with President holding casting vote.
Military pension and retirement for Bainimarama, in return for his agreement to leave Suva.
Sitiveni Rabuka make a statement of regret to the nation for establishing the coup culture and a direct, personal apology to Chaudhry
Chaudhry, in return for immunity, retires on an MP’s pension.
Leading Republic of Fiji Military Force figures who played a role in the December 5, 2006, coup – notably colonels Aziz, Driti and Taleni be dismissed from the service, without court martial. They can have a standard RFMF/FNPF pension.
Disband the charter group
Resignations of self-appointed Acting Chief Justice and fellow senior judges involved in the January 2007 conspiracy to remove the legal Chief Justice. Immunity from prosecution in exchange for pensions.
Restoration of Ratu Joni Mandrawewi as vice president.
A limited state of emergency; police to lead.
RFMF confined to barracks
Pacific Forum asked for urgent, limited, unarmed police assistance. Australian and New Zealand unarmed military invited to provide urgent technical assistance to ensure essential services continue to operate in the interim; no role in policing or governance.
Limited general elections as soon as practicable; MPs elected on a first pass the post basis in existing electorates for one term only of two years. They will be charged primarily with preparing the country for a new constitution and electoral system.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission convened by the President. Leading members of the Christian, Hindu and Muslim faiths be invited to contribute a member. It will be chaired by an eminent international figure selected by consensus. It will have full powers of subpoena and be staffed with legal advisers
– To report on all corruption since independence; in exchange for full and frank testimony, and reconciliation and restitution, witnesses will be granted immunity.
– The Commission will seek accounts of racial harmony and disharmony, with the aim to end the whispering culture that scars Fiji race relations.
– The role, purpose, politics and economics of the RFMF examined, with frank discussion on whether they are continue, given their prominent role in all Fiji coups.
– Examine the role of the Fiji Human Rights Commission in the 2006 coup.
A legal commission into the constitution, along with an associated commission into modified electoral systems, voting methods and boundaries. It will explore the creation of a constitutionally mandated multicultural presidency.
An internationally convened legal review of the judiciary and their role in the 2006 coup.
A UN supervised national referendum on an agreed electoral system; 60 percent approval required.
General elections under the new rules.
Reconstitute the GCC and the Senate to appoint a new president and vice president.
Mount peace and restoration missions to Pacific neighbours.
A national conference on land and race, to be followed by national Christian, Hindu and Muslim acts of reconciliation
May 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm
http://www.michaelfield.org/Qarase%20v%20Bainimarama.htm
May 5, 2008 at 5:27 am
Michael Field is an extremely wise man. But I think he’s wrong about the immunity. Members of the illegal regime deserve exile, in perpetuity. Subsequent coup leaders must face a mandatory death sentence.
Free and fair elections must be held under the CURRENT constitution. New elections rules may be proposed and debated in parliament by a democratically elected parliament. Allowing new election rules BEFORE the elections means giving future coup leaders a carrot rather than a stick.
Negotiation is important in ‘moving forward’ and, God knows, Fiji needs to move forward from this. But if you cannot ‘walk away’ from the negotiation, you cannot negotiate. You have no power.
I would say that the conditions of a) immunity and b) new elections rules (preceding elections) are deal-breakers for those of us wanting to stop the coup culture.
Field’s other points are valid, wise and deserve consideration.
Tabu soro
God bless Fiji
May 5, 2008 at 8:29 am
Fields easy way out is not necessarily the best. I go along with FGirl. WHat we need is negotiations on their punishements before the elections rather than on anything else. The constitution and all exixting laws and condiions are non-negotiable…before the elections.
May 5, 2008 at 8:44 am
FijiGirl” “Members of the illegal regime deserve exile, in perpetuity. Subsequent coup leaders must face a mandatory death sentence.”
Not subsequent. – The current ones must face a mandatory death sentence!
May 5, 2008 at 3:29 pm
The coup can certainly be contain, all you need to do is HANG THE PEOPLE that committed the treasonous coup and their leaders? Banned all those that supported the coup? Banned all the immediate family of those that supported the coup from holding any public position for 5 generations?Banned the family from joining any displinary forces for 10 generations.Move out all those in the military,Navy and police who supported the coup and send them to global hotspots and banned them from returning to Fiji?