FIJI UPDATE 12/19: BAINIMARAMA WON'T ATTEND GCC;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000573

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 12/19: BAINIMARAMA WON'T ATTEND GCC;
RFMF TRIES TO FURTHER ISOLATE QARASE

REF: SUVA 560 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: DCM Ted Mann per 1.4 (B) and (D)

Summary
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1. (C) Commodore Bainimarama said he will not be attending
the Great Council of Chiefs meetings this week because the
Chiefs did not invite him as "Acting President." PM Qarase
said the GCC meeting will determine the direction of the
country; if Bainimarama does not accept GCC decisions, Fiji's
future is bleak. We hear that the RFMF has told phone
companies to cut off Qarase's phone access. At a business
event, Bainimarama said he would only turn power over to
civilians when he was "absolutely certain" Fiji had been rid
of corruption. Various op-eds and newspaper advertisements
demonstrate the very divergent views of Fiji's NGOs toward
the coup.

Bainimarama, Qarase Won't Attend GCC
--------------


2. (SBU) Commodore Bainimarama told reporters this morning
that he will not be attending the December 20-21 meeting of
the Great Council of Chiefs, since his invitation was as RFMF
Commander, not as Acting President. When asked if he might
reconsider attending the 12/21 session if the Chiefs decide
on 12/20 to acknowledge him as Acting President, Bainimarama
replied that he is attending a soldier's funeral 12/21 and
will not be available. Bainimarama told reporters that "it
is worrying to see how the GCC meeting is being handled,"
noting that some sitting chiefs were implicated in the 2000
coup and that the pro-Qarase and nationalist-leaning Assembly
of Christian Churches in Fiji (ACCF) has indicated its
intention to sing hymns outside the meeting site. In
response to the Commander's statements, the head of the ACCF
renewed his criticism of the RFMF, saying RFMF actions were
"decrees to the rule of Satan."


3. (U) In an interview with Australian television today, PM
Qarase said the GCC meetings will determine the direction of
the country. He said the meetings would be a test of the
character and integrity of the GCC. If the GCC makes its
determinations according to the rule of law, as Qarase
expects, but the Commander does not accept those decisions,
then "there will be a very tough time ahead for us." Unlike
Bainimarama, Qarase has stated unambiguously that he wants to
attend the GCC meetings, but will be unable to because the
RFMF will not allow him to fly to Suva.

RFMF Set to Cut Off Qarase's Phone Links
--------------


4. (C) We hear from a reliable source that the RFMF has
told Fiji Telecom and cellular provider Vodafone to cut off
Qarase's phone access. The military is clearly unhappy that
Qarase has been in regular contact with supporters and has
been able to conduct daily press interviews with the media
since he arrived in his home island of Lau. We do not know
if Qarase will be able to find alternate means to maintain
contact with supporters and the media. At one point, Qarase
told reporters he had a satellite phone.

RFMF Welcoming to Business?
--------------


5. (SBU) Looking more and more like a politician,
Bainimarama today accepted a royalty check of FJ$443,000 on
behalf of the government of Fiji from the state-owned Pacific
Fishing Company (PAFCO, a firm that processes tuna for Bumble
Bee). Bainimarama lauded PAFCO's success, and held it up as
a model for other state-owned firms. He also used the
occasion to reaffirm his commitment to a red-tape free
business climate and to assure local and foreign business
people that their investments in Fiji are absolutely safe.
At the PAFCO event, Bainimarama said that he would only turn
the country over to a civilian government after he was
convinced the country was being run in a competent and
corruption-free manner.


6. (SBU) Bainimarama's treatment of PAFCO, a firm long
propped up by government subsidies and the scene of nasty
labor disputes in recent years, contrasts with his treatment
of Airports Fiji Limited (AFL) a far more profitable company

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with a better business reputation. Bainimarama announced the
sacking of AFL CEO Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia last week, citing
"major discrepancies in a special audit carried out on AFL."
Ratu Sakiusa struck back almost immediately with a full page
ad in the 12/16 Fiji Times calling the above quoted statement
"a blatant lie." He said the company has increased earnings
every year for the past five years and, in fact, the final
audit report did not find or report any fraud or impropriety.
We note that Ratu Sakiusa is the husband of human rights
campaigner Imrana Jalal, a strong opponent of the coup and
the victim of a vicious telephoned rape threat almost
certainly from the military in the days immediately following
the coup.

Conflicting Views of NGOs
--------------


7. (C) Various op-ed pieces, ads and letters to the editor
in recent days have demonstrated the very divergent views
held by different NGOs in regard to the coup. The Fiji
Women's Rights Movement, the most outspoken anti-coup
organization to date, printed a two page pull-out in the Fiji
Times 12/16, "YES to Democracy, NO to Coups," in which it
addressed and dismissed each of the RFMF statements used to
justify its actions. Angie Heffernan of the Pacific Center
for Public Integrity has also repeatedly criticized the
military's actions. Most recently she strongly criticized
Human Rights Commissioner Shaista Shameem for "not
denouncing" the appointment by the military of Rodney Acraman
as "government ombudsman" and chairman of the Human Rights
Commission. Despite her protests to the contrary, Shameem
appears to be very reticent about pursuing the many human
rights violations that have taken place since the coup.


8. (SBU) Some NGOs, on the other hand, appear to have
bought into the military's arguments. Three social justice
advocates from the Ecumenical Center for Research, Education
and Advocacy (ECREA) published a long op-ed in the 12/19 Fiji
Times blaming the coup on Qarase, and insisting the Commodore
"didn't want it to turn out the way it did." The authors
blame western countries for having a "narrow view" of
democracy and argue that conformance to the rule of law
should not be the only criteria by which the military's
actions are judged. While acknowledging that some human
rights violations may have taken place since the coup, the
authors argue that the coup "is a time of great opportunity"
to build "a nation where there is justice, compassion and
inclusiveness."


9. (SBU) Similarly, the 12/19 Fiji Times printed a letter
from Rev. Akuila Yabaki, head of the well-known NGO Citizen's
Constitutional Forum (CCF),in which he insists the
military's motives are laudable. Yabaki agrees that Fiji
needs to rid itself of "the coup culture" but believes that
there is a "deeper malaise" that needs to be fixed first,
that of "racist policies that do not serve the poor, but only
serve as tools of manipulation" by the racist elites. Yabaki
clearly implies that the military can be the instrument to
move Fiji closer to the goal of an equitable, inclusive
society. While Yabaki leads an organization that ostensibly
aims to defend the Constitution, the Constitution was not
mentioned in his letter.

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


10. (C) The Qarase was not popular with many liberal minded
people in Fiji, who tended to cheer on Bainimarama from the
sidelines as he lobbied insults and challenges at the
government and its policies. Few, if any, of these would
have supported a coup at the time, and were comforted by the
Commander's oft-repeated mantra that he would never execute
one. With the coup having taken place and the military doing
its best to curry favor with a bewildered population by
playing to populist anti-corruption and anti-bureaucracy
sentiments, some of these groups and individuals are finding
it hard to declare their allegiance to democratic principles
over their ingrained dislike of the former government. For
organizations like CCF and ECREA, the twists in logic are
breathtaking. It should be noted that the views of these
organizations have always had a limited impact on Fiji public
opinion, since most people rely on vernacular radio
broadcasts and daily television summaries for the vast
majority of their news.


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