FIJI UPDATE 8/20/07: BAINIMARAMA "JOKING" RE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000416

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR MARR FJ
SUBJECT: FIJI UPDATE 8/20/07: BAINIMARAMA "JOKING" RE
ELECTION DATE; UNCERTAINTY IN THE COURTS; IG HYPOCRISY;
TOURISM WORRIES; CHINA RELATIONS

REF: SUVA 391

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

Summary
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1. (C) Fiji interim PM Bainimarama was only joking in
announcing an election date, according to the interim
Attorney General. Critics don't find that funny. Pacific
Island Forum (PIF) and EU dialogues with the interim
government (IG) are adding to doubts about IG motives. Some
court cases suggest rule of law continues, though the big
case by PM Qarase against the coup is moving slowly, causing
concern. Fiji lawyers are divided about the coup, reflecting
a cultural divide. The IG's approach to tax-evasion
allegations against two prominent persons has brought charges
of hypocrisy. IG inquiries into media freedom and the 2006
election have raised concerns about motive, as has a move to
"reform" the Great Council of Chiefs. Public-service unions
that went on strike gave up when faced with an IG stone wall.
The unions are going to court. The tourism industry rejects
Bureau of Statistics claims that the sector is relatively
healthy. China intends to maintain its full range of aid
programs for Fiji, seeing the coup as an internal matter.
The IG has announced a liberalization of its visa policy
toward China, hoping to attract hundreds of thousands of
tourists. Some in Fiji fear negative consequences. End
summary.

March 2009 election date...a joke
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2. (C) Commodore Bainimarama told Fiji media 8/15 that
general elections would take place on March 13, 2009, if all
necessary preparations can be accomplished in time. On 8/18,
interim Attorney General Sayed-Khayum told the media
Bainimarama had only been joking. That triggered an uproar.
NGO activist Shamima Ali responded that the interim
government (IG) "is led by a bunch of jokers," and turning
the political future into a joke "doesn't move the country
forward." The Times newspaper expressed dismay at the "joke
or lie," expressing concern that the IG may not really be
serious in its negotiations with the Pacific Islands Forum
(PIF) and the EU about election dates. Comment: we have
heard skepticism from people engaged in both the PIF's
working group and the EU dialogue about IG motives. An
outside observer who met with Bainimarama and some of his
senior advisors three weeks ago noted that none of them
raised the PIF process. The IG seemed focused on the "clean
up" agenda, not on moving the country to early elections.

Court tests: varied news
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3. (C) Several cases percolating in the Fiji judicial system
are testing coup legalities. Justice Winter (whose contract
ends in October) ruled on Aug. 17 that the IG's Fiji
Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) has no
right under the Constitution to prosecute criminal cases,
despite a post-coup Presidential decree ostensibly giving
FICAC that authority. The ruling appears to be a shot across
the bow of the IG's claim it can rule by decree. In PM
Qarase's suit challenging the coup, the IG has belatedly
moved to strike Bainimarama and the RFMF as defendants. The
IG proposes that President Iloilo's grant of immunity to the
RFMF protects the military from any suits. A co-architect of
Fiji's 1997 Constitution, Brij Lal, has publicly dismissed
any idea that the President had power to issue the immunity
decree. Acting CJ Gates has taken the Qarase case for
himself, with two retiree-judge friends in support. Next
hearing in the slow-moving case is in early October.
Comment: Qarase's lawyer, Tevita Fa, is playing a very
non-aggressive strategy, not challenging Gates to recuse
himself, not pushing for early court dates. Other lawyers,
who aspire to a rapid, definitive ruling on the coup's
constitutionality by a neutral court, are dismayed.

Petitioning the President re CJ Fatiaki
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4. (C) Prominent Suva lawyer Hamendra Nagin delivered a
petition signed by 102 Fiji "senior lawyers" to President
Iloilo on 8/17. The petition asked for the immediate
restoration of Chief Justice Fatiaki to office and the
removal of Acting CJ Gates. Reportedly, Fatiaki finally

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filed suit against his suspension from office last week. One
of the reasons some lawyers gave for not signing the petition
was that Fatiaki hadn't stepped up himself, so why should
others take a risk. Prominent Fiji lawyers tell us the legal
community is divided roughly 60/40 between those who oppose
and those who favor the coup. In many cases, such judgments
have less to do with legalities, than with culture. In
particular, a number of ethnic-Indian lawyers figure the coup
is "pay back" for past discrimination.

Tax evasion in the eye of the beholder
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5. (C) Sources have surreptitiously provided the media tax
records of an interim minister (by all accounts Finance
Minister Chaudhry) that suggest he dramatically underpaid
income taxes for several recent years until confronted. The
Fiji Post and Fiji Sun have publicized the matter in
front-page stories. They and critics of the IG have
suggested that a tax evader ought not to be overseeing a
"clean up" campaign. The critics have urged Bainimarama to
initiate a FICAC investigation and to suspend Chaudhry
pending results. The critics note that the IG suspended
Chief Justice Fatiaki in January, seemingly on rumor alone.
Just a few weeks ago FICAC seized Fatiaki tax records
flashing a suspicious warrant issued by a newly appointed
magistrate Ana Rokomokoti who until recently was a military
lawyer. The revenue and customs authority (FIRCA) CEO, who
objected, was forced to resign. The FICAC justification for
its raid supposedly was to build a tax case against Fatiaki.
Critics charge hypocrisy. Bainimarama has stated he has no
intention of suspending anyone in the IG cabinet based on
"mere allegations." Chaudhry reportedly is undertaking a
"clean up" of FIRCA, attempting to sweep away all those who
had a hand in pressing the tax cases against him.

Concern about "human rights" inquiries
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6. (C) The Director of the Fiji Human Rights Commission
(FHRC) Shaista Shameem has initiated two inquiries: looking
into media freedom and into the legitimacy of the 2006
election. Four moguls of the Fiji media expressed concern
about the terms of reference for the media inquiry, which
appear to go beyond human rights issues. Given Shameem's
support for restrictions on human rights in the post-coup
environment, the media perceive a fishing expedition with a
potential for a presidential decree restricting media rights.
On the election inquiry, an ad seeking witnesses first ran
only in a Hindi-language newspaper. When ethnic Fijians
became alarmed by that, the ad was released to other
newspapers. Qarase's SDL party has pointed out that a number
of international observers judged the 2006 elections
reasonably free and fair. Comment: Given Shameem's recent
history, many observers figure both FHRC inquiries have
pre-ordained outcomes, aimed to further the IG's agenda.

Making the GCC a tool of the state
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7. (C) Interim Fijian Affairs Minister Ganilau and leaders of
the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) seemingly reached an
agreement in early August: the Minister rescinded suspension
of the GCC instituted in April after the GCC refused to bless
the IG's candidate for Vice President; in return the chiefs
withdrew their lawsuit challenging the suspension's
constitutionality. However, after the suit was withdrawn,
the Minister announced he had removed the suspension of the
GCC but not of the members. GCC leaders were not amused and
reintroduced their suit on 8/20. Comment: It appears the IG
intention is to redesign the GCC into a tool of the State,
rather than an independent force to look after ethnic-Fijian
interests as intended by the 1997 Constitution. Ganilau is
shortly to name several senior chiefs to assist him in
designing reforms. Comment: High chiefs have stood their
ground several times against the IG since the coup. Those
chiefs are likely to remain stubborn about IG efforts to
"reform" their institution.

A new Minister with an SDL history
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8. (C) Joketani Cokanasiga, who served as Minister for Home
Affairs for a period during PM Qarase's SDL Government, was
sworn in on 8/20 as interim Minister for Fisheries and
Forests, split off from the interim Ministry of Agriculture,

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Fisheries, and Forests. Bainimarama explained that, given
the potential for all those areas to contribute to Fiji's
economy, a second minister was needed. Cokanasiga said he
felt duty-bound to answer the Commodore's call to duty.

Unions meet IG brick wall; courts beckon
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9. (C) Public-service strikes intended to convince the IG to
rescind a 5% pay cut and a drop in the retirement age from 60
to 55 all ended in failure earlier this month. The unions
came to the conclusion that the IG simply would not negotiate
and would not go to "compulsory" arbitration either.
Bainimarama stated publicly that he did not have to listen to
unions because his government is not dependent on elections.
The unions are now taking their grievances to court. In one
case, the Fiji Teachers Association has already won an
injunction requiring the IG to pay the salaries of teachers
during the current school holiday. With the strikes ended,
interim Public Service Minister Bune informed the media that
more public-service pay cuts "may be inevitable," since the
IG "has no money at the moment."

Tourism: lies and statistics
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10. (C) Fiji's tourism industry is engaged in a dialogue with
the Bureau of Statistics, which issued first-quarter figures
that suggested tourism has barely declined since the coup.
The tourism sector begs to differ, having seen numbers and
revenues plummet. The tourism industry is pressing the IG
for funds to run ad campaigns abroad. Bainimarama has
promised over $2 million; but interim Finance Minister
Chaudhry has thus far not coughed up the dollars.

China ignoring the coup; bridges and visas
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11. (C) The PRC Ambassador to Fiji, Cai Jinbiao, announced at
a press event last weekend that China will maintain its full
range of aid programs for Fiji since the post-coup political
situation is an internal matter. Jinbiao said Fiji remains
eligible to apply for concessional loans from a US$370
million fund for the Pacific announced by Premier Wen in Nadi
in April 2006. The Chinese Government awaits IG
applications. The interim PM's office has signaled it is
working on just such applications, particularly for road,
water and other infrastructure projects. Last week, the IG
announced it will no longer require Chinese citizens to
obtain Fiji visas prior to travel. Now Chinese can obtain a
short-term tourist/work visa at immigration, just like
Australians, Americans, and a number of others. That suits
the new Fiji Ambassador to China, Sir James AhKoy, who
aspires to attract up to 700,000 Chinese tourists to Fiji
each year. Some letters to the editor are raising concerns
that the new policy will bring an influx of long-stayers
including criminal elements.

Comment
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12. (C) The Fiji political situation remains puzzling.
Bainimarama appears confident, but his "shoot from the hip"
style and his frequent suggestions that elections can wait
until Fiji is all cleaned up worry those who see the need for
a rapid return to democracy, rule of law, and economic
prosperity. Members of the PIF Working Group report Fiji
interlocutors are acting worn down. The recent stir over the
IG's approach to the Fatiaki and Chaudhry tax cases has
illustrated sharply the IG's hypocritical approach on issues
like corruption that supposedly motivated the coup. The IG
has, thus far, honored court rulings that have gone against
it; but the big cases are moving slowly, and it appears
Acting CJ Gates, a coup supporter behind the scenes, intends
to manipulate the outcomes to the extent he can. Fiji's
economy remains weak, with little sign of recovery. That
must mean IG revenues are meager at best, explaining Minister
Bune's notice that more public-service pay cuts could lie
ahead.
DINGER