Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SUVA20
2007-01-08 21:28:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Suva
Cable title:  

FIJI UPDATE 1/9/07: MORE INTERIM MINISTERS;

Tags:  PREL MARR PHUM PINR ASEC CASC FJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHPB
DE RUEHSV #0020/01 0082128
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 082128Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY SUVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3651
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 1500
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 1085
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1278
RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND PRIORITY 0298
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 0704
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000020 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM PINR ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 1/9/07: MORE INTERIM MINISTERS;
BAINIMARAMA ADDS HATS; WORRIES ABOUT THE JUDICIARY

REF: SUVA 018 (AND PREVIOUS)

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 02 SUVA 000020

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM PINR ASEC CASC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 1/9/07: MORE INTERIM MINISTERS;
BAINIMARAMA ADDS HATS; WORRIES ABOUT THE JUDICIARY

REF: SUVA 018 (AND PREVIOUS)

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

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

1. (C) The total of ministers tapped for Fiji's interim
administration reached 16 with the swearing in of 6 on Jan.
9, including former PM Chaudhry as Finance Minister. They
join Interim PM Bainimarama, 8 interim ministers sworn in
yesterday (ref),and Ratu Epeli Ganilau to be sworn in next
week. Ratu Epeli and his National Alliance Party (NAP) have
been obvious and vocal backers of Bainimarama. One relative
surprise was Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau, long a social
activist and only recently a politician. Reportedly
Bainimarama intends to retain the Home Affairs and
Information portfolios. We hear Fiji's judges are pondering
how to react to the military's effort to meddle in judicial
matters. Some seem willing, even perhaps complicit; others
are very upset. As events in Fiji continue to unfold, a
credible, neutral judicial system will be crucially
important, but it is not a sure thing. End summary.

More interim ministers: Chaudhry, Ganilau
--------------

2. (C) Six more interim-government ministers were sworn in on
Jan. 9, with another in the cards. They include:

-- Mahendra Chaudhry, Interim Minister for Finance, Sugar
Reform, and National Planning. See reftel for comment. The
head of the National Federation Party (NFP),the arch-rival
within Fiji's Indian community to Chaudhry's FLP, said
accepting the jobs was "a betrayal of democracy." In remarks
after the swearing in, Chaudhry noted the incongruity of
having been removed as Minister of Finance by the RFMF's
Rabuka coup in 1987 and now reassuming the job following the
Bainimarama coup. When asked about Bainimarama's "no running
in the next election" mandate for interim ministers (see
ref),Chaudhry suggested that it would be a shame if those
who perform really well couldn't run, so maybe the issue can

be revisited one day in Cabinet.

-- Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, Interim Minister for Youth and Sports.
Vayeshnoi, an FLP stalwart and a very close associate of
Chaudhry, was Minister for Energy in Qarase's multi-party
cabinet. In the 1999 Chaudhry Government, Vayeshnoi was
Information Minister. He has also been FLP spokesman. When
first elected to parliament in 1994, he was the youngest ever
MP in Fiji. He is a farmer by background, from Sigatoka.

-- Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau, Interim Minister for Labor,
Industrial Relations, Tourism, and the Environment.
Rounds-Ganilau entered politics in 2006, winning a surprise
victory in the Suva General Communal seat over incumbent Ken
Zinck. Rounds-Ganilau and General-Voters colleague Mick
Beddoes served as the opposition in the 2006 Parliament, so
she was Deputy Opposition Leader. Rounds-Ganilau has long
been a social activist. She has a strong record in the NGO
community. Some former colleagues were quite shocked that
she accepted a ministerial job. She told an embassy spouse
yesterday that she agonized over the decision after receiving
daily phone calls from Bainimarama for three weeks. In the
end, she decided Fiji needs her right now.

-- Jone Navakamocea, Interim Minister for Local Government
and Urban Development. Navakamocea won a parliamentary seat
in 2006 under Qarase's SDL banner and served as State
Minister for National Planning in the multi-party cabinet.
He reportedly formally applied for a cabinet position in the
interim administration and resigned from the SDL Party.
Novakamocea was previously Deputy Secretary of Finance.

-- Tevita Vuibau, Interim Minister for Lands and Mineral
Resources. Vuibau is a former principal science officer in
the Office of Marine Geology, Mineral Resources Department.

-- Jainend Kumar, Interim Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries, and Forestry. Kumar formerly was Director of
Research at the Koronivia Research Center, Ministry of
Agriculture.

-- Ratu Epeli Ganilau, reportedly to be Interim Minister for
Fijian Affairs. Ganilau informed the media today that he has
accepted the job but will not be sworn in until next week
when he returns to Suva from Taveuni, his home island.

SUVA 00000020 002 OF 002


Ganilau is son of former Fiji President Ganilau, who was one
of Fiji's three highest chiefs, and he is married to Adi
Ateca Mara, a daughter of Ratu Mara. Ratu Epeli Ganilau was
Commander of the RFMF in the 1990s and chose Bainimarama to
succeed him. Ganilau headed the Great Council of Chiefs
after the 2000 coup but lost that job when he failed to get
re-nominated to the GCC. He and his National Alliance Party
(NAP) competed in the 2006 elections, accenting
multi-cultural themes. The NAP had a disastrous showing, not
coming close to winning any seats. Ganilau reportedly has
had severe financial difficulties and was staying at the Army
camp recently. Ganilau has been presumed to be one of the
"shadowy figures" behind Bainimarama's coup. By many
accounts he is a nice guy but is very shallow intellectually.

Bainimarama: Home Affairs and Information
--------------

3. (C) RFMF spokesman Leweni told the media today that
Interim PM Bainimarama will retain the Home Affairs and
Information portfolios in addition to continuing as Commander
RFMF. Home Affairs and Information are both crucial
responsibilities. The Home Affairs Minister is technically
the boss of the military commander, though Bainimarama often
ignored that relationship. Information is the propaganda
function, something the RFMF has always accented. There is
no way Bainimarama can actually manage all four of his
important hats. Presumably he will delegate most
responsibilities to subordinates.

The Judiciary's role
--------------

4. (C) A well-placed source tells us Fiji's High Court
Justices are still attempting to decide how to react to
Bainimarama's decision last week to send Chief Justice
Fatiaki and the Chief Magistrate on indefinite leave.
Reportedly some, like Justice Tony Gates, are prepared to
accept responsibilities assigned by the military. Very
possibly, Justice Nazhat Shameem is positioning herself to
become Acting Chief Justice, if called. Others reportedly
are extremely troubled by Bainimarama's imposition of
authority over judicial prerogatives. Our source predicted
the Fiji judiciary will split asunder if Shameem is promoted.
A problem is that the Judicial Services Commission (JSC),
which is charged with regulating
judicial-administration/personnel issues under the
Constitution, is currently non-functional. The JSC's members
are the CJ (forced to be on leave),the Chair of the Public
Services Commission (recently replaced extra-constitutionally
by the RFMF),and the head of the Fiji Law Society (who has
been outspoken against the coup but who presumably could not
override Bainimarama in the present environment).

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

5. (C) It is possible a few more ministerial appointments
will dribble in, but the interim administration's cast is
nearing completion. Ethnic Fijians dominate (11 of 16),but
Chaudhry, an Indian, has the important Finance and Sugar
portfolios. There were rumors that Bainimarama would make
Chaudhry Deputy PM today, but it didn't happen. Most
ministers appear reasonably competent; some, like Chaudhry,
are extremely savvy. How they work together will be
interesting to observe. Bainimarama appears to us to prefer
issuing orders, not accenting collegiality. A number of the
interim ministers will chafe at that.


6. (C) The state of the judicial system is a worry.
Admittedly, there have long been complaints that CJ Fatiaki
is lazy and a poor administrator and that some of Fiji's
magistrates are corrupt. But many people thought an
increasingly professional police force under Commissioner
Hughes (now departed) and a credible set of High Court
Justices were bright spots. We are already seeing
indications that the police under military oversight may be
retreating from professionalism in some criminal
investigations, such as the murder on the margins of the
wedding reception of Bainimarama's daughter. If and when
cases concerning coup-related issues start reaching the
courts, a neutral, credible, "rule of law"-oriented judiciary
will be essential, but it is not guaranteed.
DINGER