FIJI UPDATE 2/26/07: FIJI SUGGESTS PRE-PIF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000130 SIPDIS SIPDIS ROME PLEASE PASS TO MFO SINAI FOR LAROCCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2017 TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM ASEC FJ SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 2/26/07: FIJI SUGGESTS PRE-PIF DISCUSSIONS; ONGOING SUDAN AND SINAI PKO DEPLOYMENTS; ANOTHER DEATH FROM MILITARY BEATING; SEEKING A FACADE OF INTERNATIONAL NORMALITY REF: SUVA 123 Classified By: Amb. Dinger. Sec. 1.4 (B,D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Commodore Bainimarama is seeking interim-government discussions with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) before a Forum ministerial meeting to discuss the PIF Eminent Persons Group (EPG) report on Fiji. The interim government is highlighting the (continuing) deployment of RFMF troops to PKO efforts in the Sinai and Sudan. New Zealand is reportedly raising concerns at UN HQ. A young man who suffered a severe RFMF beating Jan. 28, died on Feb. 24 in Nadi. The interim government trumpeted the departure of interim Foreign Minister Nailatikau for EU ACP meetings in Brussels, the first overseas travel by an interim minister. We hear Japan quietly declined to permit interim Tourism Minister Rounds Ganilau to visit Tokyo. End summary. Fiji/Forum discussions? -------------- ¶2. (U) Commodore Bainimarama suggested on Feb. 23 that a working group of Fiji and PIF officials meet to discuss how the report of the PIF EPG and the Fiji interim government's road map for a return to democracy might be reconciled in the lead-up to a PIF Ministerial meeting, which we hear is tentatively scheduled for March 16 in Vanuatu. Thus far, the Forum has not responded. The UN, MFO, Fiji, and New Zealand -------------- ¶3. (C) The interim government announced late last week that 92 Fiji soldiers will depart in the next few weeks to the Sinai and Sudan to continue RFMF participation in UN peacekeeping. Six, including Commodore Bainimarama's personal secretary Capt. Penioni Naliva (who is on the U.S. visa-ban list),are to depart March 2 to Sudan; 86 are to go a bit later to the Sinai. (Note: Those to the Sinai presumably are in the RFMF's normal thrice-yearly rotations to MFO Sinai, not a deployment to a UNPKO.) According to media reports, New Zealand has asked the UN to clarify its position on Fiji participation in UN PKO efforts. Another death from abuse -------------- ¶4. (U) A 19-year-old student from Nadi died over the weekend, apparently from the complications of a military beating on Jan. 28. RFMF troops and one policeman picked up the student and three friends on suspicion of being marijuana users and took them to the Black Rock military camp where they were abused. When the student returned home he had bruises and cuts on his body and suffered severe headaches and seizures. He sought medical treatment, which in the end included surgery to relieve blood clots on his brain. All to no avail. He died on Feb. 24. There are reports, as yet unconfirmed, of another military-beating death in Savusavu in recent days. Australian Police and Fiji investigations -------------- ¶5. (U) Fiji Acting Police Commissioner Tikotikoca told the media on Feb. 23 that two Australian Federal Police officers would arrive in Fiji shortly to assist with the interim administration's "clean up" campaign. Australian High Commissioner Batley told us he was baffled by the story. Two AFP officers are in Suva, but only to investigate allegations against Aussie conman Peter Foster, certainly not to assist the "clean up." Batley made a media statement to correct the record. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The interim government is trying its best to signal international normality to the Fiji public and to RFMF troops. The announcement of the latest PKO deployments fed that effort, as did the Acting Police Commissioner's spin re the AFP, as did publicity over the departure on Feb. 23 of SUVA 00000130 002 OF 002 interim Foreign Minister Nailatikau for EU ACP meetings in Brussels, billed as the first foreign travel of an interim minister. Qarase FM Tavola told us the ACP meeting would not have required an invitation, and would not have merited press mention in normal circumstances. We hear interim Tourism Minister Rounds Ganilau sought a visit to Tokyo in recent days but was turned down by the Japanese Government. That bit of information has not reached the press. DINGER