FIJI UPDATE 8/7/07: UK ARMY RECRUITS FROM FIJI;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SUVA 000391

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM ASEC FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 8/7/07: UK ARMY RECRUITS FROM FIJI;
STRIKE NEWS; BAINIMARAMA ON ELECTIONS; ANTI-CORRUPTION
TRAINING IN MALAYSIA

REF: SUVA 387

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

UK, the Commonwealth, and Fiji recruits
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1. (U) New Zealand media report that Australian Foreign
Minister Downer and Commonwealth Secretary General McKinnon
tried hard to get Britain to end its recruitment of Fiji
citizens for the British army after last December's coup but
met no success. McKinnon argued that Britain "is not setting
a good example by taking on recruits from a country whose
army has carried out a coup." More than 2000 Fijians serve
as soldiers in the British Army. The UK noted that it has
suspended its modest program of military support for the Fiji
military, and no or almost no recruits to the British Army
come from the Fiji military. They are recruited
independently by Britain, with Fiji authorities playing no
role. Fiji military spokesman Maj. Leweni welcomed Britain's
move to "resist pressure from some Commonwealth countries"
against a program that has always been welcomed as an
employment option for Fiji youth.

Two unions end strike; Nurses detained; Court grants stay
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2. (C) The Public Employees Union (PEU) and the Viti National
Union of Taukei Workers (VNUTW) ended their strike action on
Aug. 7. Leaders said the interim government (IG) is "not
budging;" it has rejected compulsory arbitration; so the only
solution is to go to court. In the meantime, it makes no
sense to stay on the picket lines. The nurses strike
continues. When 15-20 nurses attempted to picket peacefully
outside the government building where the IG Cabinet was
meeting Aug. 7, police took them away to a police training
school where they were reportedly "cautioned" but not
formally arrested. In the courts, a judge granted
public-sector unions a victory, at least temporarily, by
staying the IG's decree to reduce the civil-servant
retirement age from 60 to 55. A case challenging the decree
is to go to trial in late October. Until then, the judge
said older civil servants may stay on the job. (Comment: the
instant action to remove picketing nurses from the street
indicates yet again the IG's nervousness about allowing any
public suggestion of dissent.)

Bainimarama says early elections not the answer
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3. (U) Interim PM Bainimarama has told the media that the
coup culture of Fiji is "far from over" and "hurried
elections" will not solve Fiji's unique problems. He
suggested the problem with previous coups was that democracy
returned before underlying problems were resolved. Now
again, "the international community has been rather naive in
pressurizing Fiji to return to parliamentary
democracy...without allowing the people of Fiji to
comprehensively address the root causes of conflict and
dissention." (Note: Bainimarama also continues to state
publicly that the IG has agreed "in principle" to hold
general elections by March 2009.)

Anti-corruption officers to train in Malaysia
--------------

4. (U) The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption
(FICAC) intends to send all its investigators to overseas
courses to enhance their professional skills, according to
Deputy FICAC Director (and military LtCol.) George Langman.
The first two trainees are to depart Fiji for Malaysia within
the next month for courses lasting from two weeks to a month.
Meanwhile, it appears KL is taking its time responding to
the IG's agrement request for Col. Pita Driti, implicated
repeatedly in post-coup human rights violations, to be Fiji
High Commissioner to Malaysia.
DINGER