Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SUVA538
2006-12-04 23:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Suva
Cable title:  

FIJI UPDATE 12/5: COUP OR NO COUP? ACTION REQUEST

Tags:  PREL MARR ASEC CASC FJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHSV #0538/01 3382358
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 042358Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY SUVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3508
INFO RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 1418
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 1011
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1199
RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND PRIORITY 0230
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 0631
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000538 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 12/5: COUP OR NO COUP? ACTION REQUEST

REF: SUVA 531

Classified By: Amb. Dinger. Sec. 1.4 (B,D).

Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000538

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 12/5: COUP OR NO COUP? ACTION REQUEST

REF: SUVA 531

Classified By: Amb. Dinger. Sec. 1.4 (B,D).

Summary
--------------

1. (C) Dec. 5 was an "only in Fiji" sort of day. RFMF
Commander Bainimarama moved further to force his coup on the
Qarase Government. The PM told the media he had heard from
the President's office that the President had dissolved
Parliament and given Bainimarama his green light. Certainly
it appears Qarase is under house arrest. But President
Iloilo issued a statement at mid-afternoon denouncing the
RFMF's actions as clearly contrary to the Constitution. The
Chair of the GCC urged troops to go "back to the barracks."
At least one senior military officer has resigned. Based on
events as of early afternoon, the Australian and New Zealand
PMs reportedly announced their governments would impose tough
sanctions on the RFMF. Australian media reported Qarase
asked PM Howard for military intervention and received a "no
can do" response. Qarase denied he had asked. Bainimarama
is to meet the media at 6 p.m., and we hear (per septel) that
he will announce he is going ahead with the coup, despite the
President. We ask Washington to gear up a tough sanction
announcement to be issued the moment the situation is clear.
End summary.

RFMF attempting to force its coup
--------------

2. (C) As Dec. 5 dawned in Suva, there was further
confirmation that the RFMF was endeavoring to force its
"clean up" coup on the Fiji Government. Overnight, RFMF
personnel began confiscating Ministers' official vehicles.
With dawn, military check points were in place at various
locations in Suva, including on all access streets to the
PM's office, a block from the Embassy. The troops were
letting general traffic through, and Embassy employees had no
trouble getting to work. The PM and his Ministers, however,
were unable to access offices in the main government
buildings, and the Cabinet session the PM had scheduled for
the a.m. was put off. Instead, Qarase met with Ministers at
his home throughout the day. At about 11 a.m., RFMF troops
visited the PM's home and obtained the keys to his official

vehicles. They visited again in early afternoon, but did not
force entry. They drove the vehicles away.

PM under de facto house arrest
--------------

3. (C) As the day wore on, additional visitors arrived at the
PM's home to offer support. Particularly notable was the
arrival of three Fiji Labor Party Ministers in the
multi-party cabinet. Several Methodist ministers arrived to
offer prayers and provide moral support. Reportedly, a
number of ethnic-Fijian women came, sat in the front entrance
area, and sang hymns. In the afternoon, PM Qarase publicly
acknowledged that he appears to be under house arrest.

PM told by Presidential advisor to give up
--------------

4. (C) In late morning, PM Qarase told media interviewers
that the President's Official Secretary had told him the
President wanted him to accept all RFMF demands or resign.
Qarase said he replied: "I do not agree...I can't do either
of those." We are told the PM and his Ministers had decided
firmly yesterday that resigning and/or asking the President
to dissolve Parliament were not options. Qarase said, "There
is virtually a coup now taking place." He suggested the
military had strangled the police force and was now
strangling the Government. Qarase told the media he appeared
to have "few options left." RFMF Land Forces Commander Driti
said publicly that Ministers and some CEOs would be arrested
and taken to Nukulau Island in Suva harbor, where some
leaders from the 2000 coup are "imprisoned."

But President announces opposition to coup in p.m.
-------------- --------------

5. (C) Vice President Madraiwiwi told us at mid-afternoon
that, indeed, the RFMF was in the process of trying to force
the Qarase Government out and was attempting to do so "under
cover of the President." Bainimarama went to Government
House in the a.m. to ask the President for a dissolution of
Parliament. Madraiwiwi told us he strongly advised against,
since the President would be acting unconstitutionally.
Madraiwiwi said he drafted a media statement for the
President to issue. He read it to us, and we urged the VP to
get it out ASAP. The statement, which finally hit the

SUVA 00000538 002 OF 003


streets at 4 p.m., says the President "doesn't condone or
support" what the RFMF is doing, which is "clearly contrary
to" the Constitution, democracy, and rule of law. The
statement also affirms that the President intends to remain
in office as Fiji's crisis plays out.

Fiji's constitutional constraints
--------------

6. (C) Fiji's Constitution limits the powers of the
President. He is Commander in Chief, but he acts on advice
of the PM. He can dissolve Parliament, thereby removing a
government, only on advice of the Prime Minister or if
Parliament fails to pass a major bill, such as the budget, or
if the PM clearly has lost the confidence of Parliament.
Parliament passed the budget handily a few weeks ago, and
Qarase retains firm loyalty of his majority. Reportedly,
Bainimarama has proposed to invoke "the doctrine of
necessity," borrowed from Pakistan and utilized during the
2000 coup when the then PM and most of Parliament were
detained by George Speight and his cronies. Fiji courts
later accepted that the doctrine of necessity was acceptably
invoked for a limited period in the circumstances of 2000.
The current crisis, fomented and triggered by the RFMF, in
our view could not possibly be legally utilized, even by the
President, to allow that same RFMF to seize power. We hear
that was the view of RFMF legal advisor LtCol. Caucau, too,
which is why Bainimarama sent him on indefinite leave some
weeks ago. Eminent Fiji lawyers and judges have confirmed
our legal understanding.

Calls for "back to barracks"
--------------

7. (C) A diplomatic colleague has heard that the VP has urged
the President to issue an order, as Commander in Chief, for
the RFMF to return to the barracks. We cannot confirm that
as yet. The Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC),
Ratu Ovini Bokini, told the media he has appealed to the Army
to return to the barracks and not to arrest the PM. He said
the military's actions had "ignored the wisdom" of the GCC
and would lead the country to a path of suffering that would
affect thousands of families.

Navy Deputy Commander resigns
--------------

8. (C) LtCdr Brad Bowers, Operations Officer (number two
position) in the Fiji Navy, told the Embassy DATT today he
has resigned because he cannot participate in the RFMF's
illegal coup. Other RFMF officers have told us in recent
weeks that, if the RFMF mounts a coup, they will also resign.

Australia and New Zealand weigh in
--------------

9. (SBU) New Zealand PM Clark hit out at both Bainimarama and
President Iloilo in public remarks (before the President
issued his statement). Clark said New Zealand would invoke
sanctions against the RFMF immediately. Australian PM Howard
condemned Bainimarama's actions, said Australia would also
invoke sanctions, and added that Australia would impose
travel restrictions, not just on RFMF coup leaders but also
on any Fiji citizens who take roles in an interim government.

Request for Australian intervention?
--------------

10. (U) According to Australian media reports, PM Qarase
asked PM Howard today for Australian military intervention to
reverse Bainimarama's coup, and PM Howard declined. Qarase
told the Fiji media that the report was "merely speculation."
Qarase said he did not ask for Australia to intervene
militarily.

Comment
--------------

11. (C) We were told last evening that Bainimarama had a
two-page statement ready to deliver at a press conference.
Instead, the Commodore appeared only briefly, looked
stressed, and confined his comments to a defense of the
RFMF's confiscation of police weapons. The context suggested
that something behind the scenes was not going quite
according to plan. There are rumors, as yet unconfirmed,
that a portion of the RFMF is not prepared to pull the
trigger on a clear-cut coup. The resignation of the Navy
Deputy Commander confirms at least some dissent. That could
explain why Bainimarama has been anxious to have the
President on board. A green light would give an illusion of
legitimacy, even though the President quite clearly under
Fiji's Constitution has no power to remove the PM in the

SUVA 00000538 003 OF 003


present circumstances.


12. (C) The President's public announcement of disapproval
today could rock the RFMF, as might the hard-hitting
statement from the GCC Chair and the more and more visible
expressions of dismay from many in the broader public, most
particularly within the ethnic-Fijian communities. To this
point, though, the troops seem to have followed the
Commodore's orders. Australia's notice that it will impose
travel restrictions on any who take up responsibilities in an
interim government could well cause some to reconsider
offers. We noted media reports today that Ratu Epeli Ganilau
(a former Commander of the RFMF and former Chair of the GCC)
and Felipe Bole (former Foreign Minister in the Rabuka
Government) both danced around questions whether they would
accept interim-government responsibilities. FLP leader and
former PM Chaudhry said again that he would not serve in any
government that is not legally established, though plenty of
rumors have him on Bainimarama's list for a ministry.


13. (C) Reportedly the RFMF is at the Government Printing
Office at work on an announcement. Bainimarama is to hold a
media conference this evening. He just met with DATTs and
told them, in brief, that Fiji's situation simply requires
him to act, even if without the President's backing (see
septel).

Action request
--------------

14. (C) If it becomes quite clear that Bainimarama has taken
control and has removed PM Qarase from power, we hope
Washington will be ready immediately to announce U.S.
sanctions. Obviously, the mandatory Leahy Amendment
sanctions re FMF, IMET, GPOI, ESF, etc. must be invoked. We
also encourage consideration of penalizing the RFMF in the
PKO field, to the extent our interests in the Middle East can
bear that. We acknowledge that the issue is between major
realist interests in Middle East -- the RFMF has provided
excellent PKO service in Lebanon, the Sinai, and Iraq -- and
support of democracy in Fiji. If we opted to squeeze RFMF
PKO interests, we would have an impact here. The RFMF has
hundreds of troops with both MFO Sinai and UNAMI in Iraq.
Bainimarama has expressed strong interest in the past in
having the RFMF join MNFI as well. Remittances from troops
abroad are a major RFMF source of income. Bainimarama
recently said publicly that, as was the case after the 1987
and 2000 coups, Fiji PKO opportunities surely will be
unaffected by a coup in 2006. If we proved that wrong, the
RFMF leadership (below Bainimarama at least) might reconsider
options.


15. (C) We also encourage the USG to join New Zealand and
Australia in imposing travel restrictions against RFMF senior
leaders and civilians involved in fomenting and leading the
coup, and against those who agree to take up roles in
Bainimarama's interim government. Fiji is in a remote part
of the world. If routes to Australia, New Zealand, and the
U.S. are severed, coup leaders and supporters will quickly
feel it.
DINGER