FIJI PNG-ING NZ HIGH COMMISSIONER; MORE HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000313 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PHUM ASEC FJ SUBJECT: FIJI PNG-ING NZ HIGH COMMISSIONER; MORE HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES; PUBLIC EXPRESSIONS OF DISSENT; PIF AND EU UPDATES; A MILITARY RE-SHUFFLE IN THE WORKS; UNHAPPY ATMOSPHERE IN SUVA REF: SUVA 291 Classified By: Amb. Dinger. Sec. 1.4 (B,D) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Fiji's interim Cabinet has declared the New Zealand High Commissioner persona non grata. New Zealand is attempting to reverse that. The GNZ has continually been outspoken against Commodore Bainimarama's interim government (IG),but the High Commissioner has been relatively low-key publicly. The formal removal of the IG's state of emergency on May 31 has not ended reports of human-rights violations. Several prominent Fijians have spoken publicly against the IG in recent days, including former Vice President Madraiwiwi. The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) technical working group issued its elections report, confirming that new elections can take place by early 2009, or earlier. The IG says it will study the findings. We predict the response will be delaying tactics. The EU continues to monitor developments in the lead-up to a report to Brussels in early July that, if positive, would allow some sugar assistance to flow. Bainimarama appears to be re-shuffling senior military leadership. A rumor is floating, yet again, of an RFMF counter-coup. Past rumors did not pan out. We comment that Bainimarama and his IG remain nervous about security. Suva remains calm, though sullen undercurrents continue to flow through the ethnic-Fijian communities. End summary. Interim Gov't PNGs NZ High Commissioner...maybe -------------- -- ¶2. (C) Fiji MFA PermSec Ross Ligairi informed New Zealand High Commissioner Michael Green last Thursday that the interim government (IG) cabinet has ordered him PNGed. No detailed explanation accompanied the dipnote, but Ligairi had suggested to Green a couple of days earlier that PM PermSec Parmesh Chand has been really irritated with Green. NZ Foreign Minister Peters phoned interim Foreign Minister Nailatikau to stress that PNGing is a very serious step that will bring serious consequences. Peters urged the interim government (IG) to rethink. Nailatikau reportedly seemed surprised that New Zealand would vehemently object. He said he would consult with Commodore Bainimarama over the weekend and phone back. As of Monday, that call had not arrived, though New Zealand was hearing that a special IG Cabinet session might take place. Green is lying low, pending developments. ¶3. (C) To date, the media have not carried the story, though the New Zealand High Commission has indications rumors are circulating in Suva. Green and his wife spent the weekend organizing their household, and Green is drafting end-of-tour EERs today, just in case. He does take some heart from the U.S. Embassy street-closure scenario of April, when Bainimarama, despite having made public proclamations, in the end reversed course and went on with life. Green was nonplused about why he has been targeted, since his recent public pronouncements have been rather benign. He and his Australian colleague have made the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) working group process on Fiji difficult by asking tough questions in private meetings, forcing PermSec Chand into uncomfortable explanations. We speculate that another reason for the IG to target the Kiwis could be the GNZ continuing drive to have the UN remove Fiji from peacekeeping operations. Green's own speculation is that perhaps the IG felt New Zealand is seen as the "little guy," more easily targeted than more powerful irritants like Australia and the U.S. Human rights concerns continue -------------- ¶4. (C) Despite the IG's lifting of its "state of emergency" decree May 31, human-rights worries continue. On the evening of June 4, a group of plain-clothes Fiji police took a criminal suspect from his Suva-area home and reportedly beat him to death. An initial police investigation indicated "murder." Interim Police Commissioner Tikotikoca said the culprits would be treated like any other criminals. On the evening of June 5 RFMF soldiers reportedly took a group of Tailevu Province (north of Suva) villagers into custody and abused them for many hours, reportedly because they were alleged to be cultivators of marijuana. The villagers SUVA 00000313 002 OF 003 weren't returned to their homes until June 7. The June 8 Fiji Sun newspaper ran a front-page story. On Saturday, June 9, soldiers showed up at the Sun's office looking for the author of the story, who was not working that day. The Sun's editor judges, rightly, that RFMF efforts to intimidate the media are continuing. Eminent persons speak out in Hong Kong -------------- ¶5. (U) Last week at the annual LawAsia conference in Hong Kong, prominent Suva lawyer Graham Leung delivered a speech very critical of the IG's policies, including manipulation of the judiciary and violations of human rights. Chief Justice of the Fiji Court of Appeals, Gordon Ward, also attended the conference though he reportedly had sent LawAsia a letter resigning his membership over the decision by LawAsia's President Mah Weng Kwai, a Malaysian lawyer, to accept the position of Chairman of the IG's Fiji Islands Commission Against Corruption (FICAC). Mah later reversed course and rejected the position. Interim Attorney General Sayed-Khayum rushed to Hong Kong in a seemingly failed attempt to make the IG's case. Sayed-Khayum attacked both Leung and Ward in the media and demanded that Ward resign as Appellate CJ immediately. Ward has already made clear he will step down when his current term expires in July, since he could not accept an extension from a government he believes is illegitimate. Ex-VP Madraiwiwi stirs the pot publicly -------------- ¶6. (U) Also last week, former Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi gave a speech to an Australian National University workshop, elegantly and incisively laying out the hypocrisy of the IG's efforts to claim legitimacy. Madraiwiwi described the IG as "delusional." He predicted ethnic-Fijians, who are "sullen," won't explode into violence against ethnic-Indians; but he worried aloud that the IG is so alienating many ethnic Fijians that, long-term, they will strongly endorse politicians who espouse anti-minority policies. Since the demographics indicate ethnic-Fijians will increasingly dominate future elections, Madraiwiwi is worried. PIF Working Group/EU efforts continue -------------- ¶7. (C) The PIF technical working group's announcement last week that the Fiji election can certainly take place by March 2009, and can take place as early as November 2008 if donors help Fiji's Bureau of Statistics churn out census data rapidly (see reftel),was welcomed by the EU and others, including ourselves. The technical team judged that the census and redistricting of electoral boundaries are essential for a useful new election, but it clearly concluded those steps, plus voter education, are quickly doable. The IG's initial reaction was to study the findings. Our guess is the study will primarily be to figure out how to slow things down. An announcement by the Statistics Office that the census has been delayed to September from May or June because of late-arriving IG funding, illustrates this. The technical team was aware of the census delay and factored that into its calculation of the time line; however, the IG undoubtedly will attempt more such delays in coming weeks and months. Our EU colleagues in Suva tell us they and Brussels are continuing to scrutinize IG sincerity in the lead-up to a progress report in July that, if favorable, will free up some EU sugar funding. We hear the initial funding could be F$8 million (US$5 million),though even that relatively small sum would not flow in a gusher but would be measured out as developments justify. Military moves -------------- ¶8. (C) Commodore Bainimarama is shuffling senior RFMF leadership. The move of Deputy Commander Captain (N) Teleni to Commissioner of Police is one element. Teleni has no policing background, and his appointment will further the demoralizatiion of the police force. Suva DATT heard from within the RFMF last week that Land Forces Commander Col. Driti would move up to be Deputy Commander, with Driti's current Chief of Staff LtCol. Mason Smith becoming Land Forces Commander. A media report today says Driti has instead begun pre-departure orientation at MFA to become High SUVA 00000313 003 OF 003 Commissioner to Malaysia, and Smith is preparing to take a position at the Fiji mission to the UN in New York. Who actually gets shuffled to where will be interesting to observe. LtCol Tevita Mara, now Commander, 3rd Infantry Regiment, could move up. Mara and Driti have been the RFMF senior officers most visibly involved in post-coup human-rights violations. Rumors are floating in Suva, yet again, that RFMF officers are preparing a counter-coup against Bainimarama. The past rumors did not become reality, but we will remain watchful. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) The IG Cabinet decision to PNG the NZ High Commissioner strikes us as wildly excessive. It causes us to wonder more than ever about the rationality of the Bainimarama team's judgment. Bainimarama suggested publicly, while recently announcing an IG effort to establish a national committee to build a brighter future, that Fiji is at a "critical crossroads." He said security could deteriorate rapidly if people and foreign donors don't pitch in to help the IG clean up Fiji, re-start the economy, and bring about a corruption-free, multi-ethnic future. The atmosphere in Suva remains calm, but with uncomfortable undercurrents, particularly within Fijian communities. As reported previously, PM Qarase and colleagues, particularly former Education Minister Ro Tememu Kepa, a high chief, continue to speak publicly against the IG, painting it as "anti-Fijian." Madraiwiwi's remarks in Australia also stir the pot, though, as noted, his own prediction is that ethnic-Fijians will seek revenge in the long-term, not the short. Madraiwiwi may well be right, but it appears the RFMF leadership remains nervous. DINGER