FIJI UPDATE 1/8/07: INTERIM GOVERNMENT MINISTERS;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 SUVA 000018

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM PINR ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 1/8/07: INTERIM GOVERNMENT MINISTERS;
CHAUDHRY TO FINANCE; INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES; APPARENT
MURDER IN RFMF CUSTODY

REF: SUVA 15 (AND PREVIOUS)

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

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

1. (C) Eight ministers in Commodore Bainimarama's interim
government were sworn in on Jan. 8. Several have connections
to Ratu Epeli Ganilau's National Alliance Party (NAP) that
failed miserably in last May's elections; but on the whole
the group seems reasonably well qualified. Fiji Labor Party
(FLP) leader Mahendra Chaudhry phoned to inform us he will
accept the Finance, Public Enterprise, and Sugar portfolios
tomorrow. We ensured he was aware of USG views. He already
was. And we urged him to convince Bainimarama to protect
human rights. Papua New Guinea reportedly intends to stress
"rule of law" in regional deliberations on how to deal with
Fiji's coup. Serious RFMF abuses of civilians have
continued, including one apparent beating to death last
weekend. The Army has taken over "security" at Fiji's only
gold mine, puzzling the Australian owners who shut the mine
down a month ago. End summary.

Eight Ministers named for interim government
--------------

2. (C) President Iloilo swore in eight persons as interim
ministers on Jan. 8. Several more are expected within the
next few days. Bainimarama has stated publicly that nobody
in the interim administration will be permitted to run in the
next general election. The list includes:

-- Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Interim Minister for Foreign
Affairs. Ratu Epeli was to repeat as Fiji's High
Commissioner to London under the Qarase Government. He was
Speaker of Parliament from 2001-2006 and previously was
Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a roving ambassador
in the late 1990s. Ratu Epeli, Commander of the RFMF in
1987, was overseas when Rabuka engineered the first of his
1987 coups. Thereafter, Ratu Epeli became High Commissioner
to London the first time. Ratu Epeli is married to Adi
Koila, a daughter of Fiji father figure Ratu Mara. It is
common knowledge that Adi Koila has been an advocate of
Bainimarama's "clean up." Koila's younger brother LtCol.
Tevita Mara is Commander, 3FIR, in the RFMF and reputedly has
been intimately involved in abusive tactics against
human-rights activists. After the swearing in, Ratu Epeli
told the press the priority now is to normalize diplomatic
relations with allies, including Australia and New Zealand.
If traditional allies continue with a "hard stance," Ratu
Epeli said Fiji would be forced to strengthen ties with Asian
countries, particularly China. He said foreign sanctions
would not deter the interim government from "moving the
country forward."

-- Poseci Bune, Interim Minister for Public Service and
Public Service Reform. Bune, reportedly an illegitimate son
of Ratu Mara, has long been active in Fiji Labor Party
politics. He was a Minister in the Chaudhry Government in
1999, and was Minister for the Environment in Qarase's
multi-party government of 2006. In earlier years he was a
civil servant, including as CEO of the Public Service
Commission. Bune was deputy leader of the FLP going into the
May 2006 elections; but he and Chaudhry had a falling out
that led to the FLP sanctioning Bune late last year.

-- Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Interim Attorney General and Minister
for Justice. Khaiyum, a Muslim, is a young Suva lawyer who
was General Counsel of the Colonial Group of Companies,
President of the Fiji Young Lawyers Association, and a board
member of Transparency International Fiji. His brother Riaz
is a TV journalist in New Zealand. Khaiyum has had an
excellent reputation. While a student at the University of
Hong Kong in 2001, he wrote an open letter decrying
corruption within the Fiji Muslim League. After the swearing
in, Khaiyum said his portfolio includes "anti-corruption and
electoral reform." He said there is no specific time frame
for elections.

-- Jone Senilagakali, Interim Minister for Health.
Senilagakali was Bainimarama's interim PM for the month
following the Dec. 5 coup. See previous reporting for bio
data.


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-- Netani Sukanaivalu, Interim Minister for Education.
Sukanaivalu was an unsuccessful National Alliance Party (NAP)
candidate in the May 2006 elections, garnering only 788 out
of 12812 votes cast in the Tamavua/Laucala Fijian Communal
seat. (The winner from Qarase's SDL received 10,880 votes).
Sukanaivalu is a former Fiji Navy officer, who was once head
of the Fiji Institute of Technology, and now reportedly is a
businessman in the Suva area.

-- Manu Korovulavula, Interim Minister for Transport and
Works. Korovulavula was another unsuccessful NAP candidate
in the 2006 elections, running in a Suva open seat. He was
head of the Road Transport Authority and a minister in
Rabuka's SVT Government in the 1990s. He was also a Senator.

-- Taito Waradi, Interim Minister for Commerce and Industry.
Waradi is the long-time President of the Fiji Chamber of
Commerce. He came out immediately after the coup in support
of Bainimarama's "clean up." After his swearing in, Waradi
said his main task is to create investor confidence and
rebuild the economy.

-- Laufitu Malani, Interim Minister for Women and Social
Welfare. Malani was a Senator following the 2006 elections
and in that role publicly raised concerns about sale of
freehold land to overseas investors. She comes from a
chiefly family in Ra Province.

-- Viliame Naupoto, Director for Immigration, not a
ministerial position. Naupoto is a Navy Commander at the
RFMF's strategic headquarters and a close associate of
Bainimarama.

Chaudhry to accept Finance Ministry
--------------

3. (C) Mahendra Chaudhry, former PM deposed by the 2000 coup
and still head of the FLP, phoned today to let the Ambassador
know he intends to accept Bainimarama's offer of the Finance,
Public Enterprises, and Sugar Reform portfolios. He put it
in terms of having to move Fiji forward and get back to
democracy ASAP. When the Ambassador noted how disastrous the
past coups had been for Fiji and for Chaudhry personally on
two occasions, Chaudhry suggested this coup is different
because the Qarase Government was so awful. "Fiji could not
have survived another five years." The Ambassador reiterated
the USG view of coups, including this one, and reminded
Chaudhry of the visa ban announcement. The Ambassador also
urged Chaudhry to exert any influence he has on the Commodore
to end abuses by the RFMF against the public. He said he
intends to do so.

PIF, MSG, Commonwealth interest
--------------

4. (C) Chaudhry mentioned in his phone call that he hopes a
visit by a Pacific Island Forum (PIF) eminent persons group
(EPG) next week and a possible Commonwealth visit soon can
help to normalize relationships with the world. We spoke
with PNG High Commissioner Eafeare today about the PIF/EPG in
the context of a Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting to
take place in Honiara later this week to consider the Fiji
situation. Some NGOs in Fiji have expressed concern to us
that the MSG may offer support to Bainimarama's interim
government, including in PIF meetings, at the urging of Fiji
MFA CEO Mataitoga. Eafeare said he will chair the Honiara
meeting, and it is his government's intention to keep the MSG
on the side of "rule of law and democracy" in dealing with
Fiji, including in the PIF context.

Murder in RFMF custody? Other abuses
--------------

5. (U) RFMF spokesman Leweni has admitted to the media that
soldiers took a rural villager from Tailevu Province (north
of Suva) into custody early Jan. 5. A few hours later, RFMF
soldiers delivered the villager's badly abused body to Queen
Elizabeth Barracks (QEB) hospital, and the body was then
transported to Suva's CWM hospital, where the villager was
officially pronounced dead. However, Leweni insists the
villager's injuries had been sustained before he was
detained. Other villagers deny that. The apparent murder
seems to have caught the public attention in a way somewhat
lesser abuses of human rights advocates have not. Opposition
Leader Beddoes and others have called for an open,
publicly-revealed investigation into what took place. Note:

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we hear that the RFMF recently warned Beddoes to "stop
talking" but that he does not intend to comply. Former
Minister Ken Zinck, one of the first to suffer intimidation
at QEB after the coup, reportedly was beaten by soldiers in
Nadi last weekend after he was overheard in a bar criticizing
Bainimarama's swearing in as PM. A Fijian soldier in the
British Army and his friend were beaten by soldiers at QEB on
the weekend after a taxi driver reported at a military check
point that the passengers had been chuckling about the Army
patrols. Spokesman Leweni responded that the men were
"behaving in an unruly manner and were highly drunk."

Other criminal issues
--------------

6. (U) The Commander of the Fiji Navy, Francis Kean, in the
company of a lawyer, presented himself to the police late
last week to respond to evidence that he beat a man to death
at the wedding reception for Bainimarama's daughter on Dec.

30. The police say they have now forwarded the file on the
case to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for
consideration. The DPP office told the media on Jan. 8 that
they have not received the file. RFMF spokesman Leweni told
the media the RFMF has not interfered in the investigation.
He warned the media that "irresponsible reporting" on such
matters will be seen as "intent to create instability." When
Australian conman Peter Foster failed to appear at a Suva
court today as scheduled, the judge issued a bench warrant
for Foster's re-arrest. Per reftels, the military took
Foster from police custody in mid-December. He appears to
have cut a deal with Bainimarama: to provide evidence of
Qarase Government corruption in exchange for a chance to have
charges quashed.

Vatakuola gold mine and the RFMF
--------------

7. (U) Army troops "took over security" at the Vatakuola gold
mine during the weekend. RFMF spokesman Leweni said the
reasons were to safeguard explosives and to ensure evidence
is secured. Bainimarama told the media a couple weeks ago
that an inquiry would take place into the announcement by
Emperor Gold Mines (EGM) Ltd, the Vatukuola mine's Australian
owner, that it was closing down operations in Fiji. That
announcement took place on the day of Bainimarama's coup,
Dec. 5. EGM's expat manager at Vatakuola expressed
puzzlement at the Army's move to secure the mine and
suggested (rightly) that it will send a very poor signal to
potential foreign investors.

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

8. (C) In general, Bainimarama's interim government ministers
announced so far appear reasonably well-qualified to take up
portfolios. The group seems united in wanting to "put the
past behind and find a way forward for the good of Fiji."
None seem to see any serious issue in colluding with an
unconstitutional military takeover. It is clear that Ratu
Epeli Ganilau, married to a Mara daughter, a former Commander
of the RFMF, and leader of the NAP that could not win a seat
in 2006 elections, is among the "shadowy figures" who were
advising Bainimarama before the coup. It appears nearly the
entire Mara family has played roles, which seems odd, since
it was Bainimarama who reportedly pushed Ratu Mara to step
down from the Presidency during the coup confusion in May

2000.


9. (C) It is increasingly obvious that Chaudhry, leader of
the FLP that lost the 2006 elections by a relatively small
margin, has been another of the "shadowy figures." Chaudhry
is a puzzle. If Bainimarama's instruction holds that all
ministers in the interim government will be forbidden from
running in the next election, then Chaudhry seemingly is
giving up elective politics. For someone with politics in
his blood, that must be a shock. One wonders if Chaudhry has
wrangled an exception from the general rule for himself. On
the other hand, it is hard to see how Chaudhry could
calculate that the FLP's collusion with Bainimarama can lead
to a win in the next elections in any case. The FLP's base
is the ethnic-Indian community, which has shown some support
for the coup; however, to win an election the FLP must win
significant votes from the ethnic-Fijian community that
reportedly is very unhappy with the coup. Another possible
explanation for Chaudhry's decision is that he calculates the
interim administration will be in place for quite a few years.

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10. (C) RFMF abuses of civilians seem to be increasing in
variety and severity, a real worry. An early test of the
interim government will be whether it has the will and the
ability to influence Bainimarama and his RFMF cohort to
eliminate those abuses. Other tests, of course, will be
whether this unelected group can move Fiji back rapidly to
democracy and toward economic health.
DINGER