DONOR COUNTRIES ADVISE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000175

SIPDIS

MANILA FOR ADB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2018
TAGS: EAID EFIN PROV PREL FJ
SUBJECT: DONOR COUNTRIES ADVISE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TO
LIE LOW IN FIJI

REF: SUVA 155

Classified By: Ambassador Larry M. Dinger

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

1. (C) On May 7, representatives of the United States,
Australia, New Zealand, PNG and the UK told the head of the
regional Asian Development Bank Office in Suva they hoped ADB
would not push forward with any new initiatives in Fiji for
the time being. In light of the recent expulsion of Fiji
Times publisher Evan Hannah and continued mixed signals from
the Interim Government (IG) about holding elections early
next year, governments and international organizations need
to keep the pressure on. Several representatives advised ADB
to reevaluate its plans after the August Forum Leaders'
meeting, when IG intentions might be clearer. The PNG High
Commissioner to Fiji said Fiji's international partners
should have no illusions that elections will be held as
scheduled given what interim PM Bainimarama told the leaders
of Papua New Guinea and Tonga in April. He urged the
international community to begin considering how it will
react if and when the IG says elections are delayed. End
Summary.

IG Pressing ADB to Do More in Fiji
--------------

2. (C) Sirpa Jarvenpaa, Regional Director of the ADB
Subregional Office in Suva, organized a meeting of key donors
May 7 to discuss prospects for future ADB programs in Fiji.
ADB is presently only continuing work on projects started
before the coup. The organization has initiated nothing new
since December 2006. Jarvenpaa said Interim Finance Minister
Chaudhry recently sent a "very forceful" letter to ADB
officials at the annual meeting in Madrid, arguing that ADB
inaction is negatively impacting the people of Fiji and
contrasting ADB with the World Bank, which Chaudhry said is
fully engaged. (Note: Chaudhry attended the ADB annual
meeting that concluded earlier this week.) Jarvenpaa and
Susan Adams, head of the Pacific Financial Technical
Assistance Center operated by the IMF, said Chaudhry's
statement about the World Bank may be overblown. Some World
Bank staff visits and technical missions have taken place in
recent months, but no new projects have been agreed to.
Nevertheless, Jarvenpaa proposed, it may make sense for ADB
to consider restarting some technical, preparatory work on
proposed new projects, so that ADB will be in a better
position to assist Fiji after the return of a democratically
elected government. For example, ADB could start work now on
a feasibility study for a new port project near Suva - a
project that could contribute to long-term economic growth in
Fiji.

Donors Less Than Enthusiastic About New ADB Initiatives
-------------- --------------

3. (C) The Acting New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji,
reading from points cleared in Wellington, said New Zealand
supports the continuation of existing technical support to
Fiji, but believes new ADB engagement with Fiji at this time
would send the wrong message to the IG. Representatives from
the U.S. (the DCM) and the UK expressed support for the New
Zealand position. Australia and PNG added concerns about the
current situation in Fiji and IG intentions to hold elections
as scheduled. The U.S. representative added that work on the
feasibility study noted by Jarvenpaa appeared to signal a
level of "reengagement" that the U.S. probably could not
support, since such a study would require extensive new
consultations with the IG and would be publicized. The
Acting NZ High Commissioner and other representatives
suggested to Jarvenpaa that ADB should review its future
programs with Fiji again after the August Forum Leaders'
Meeting in Niue. Perhaps after that meeting, they said, IG
intentions will be clearer.

PNG Representative Paints Gloomy Picture
--------------

4. (C) Peter Eafeare, the PNG High Commissioner to Fiji and
Chair of the Forum-Fiji Joint Working Group, said the ADB
should have no illusions that elections will take place early
next year as scheduled. Eafeare said that at the April 10
informal meeting in Nadi among interim PM Bainimarama, PNG PM

SUVA 00000175 002 OF 002


Somare and Tonga PM Sevele (reftel),Bainimarama made it
clear he wants to delay elections, invoking concerns ranging
from the inclement weather prevalent in Fiji in March to the
likely unavailability of school facilities in the March
timeframe (most previous elections have utilized school
facilities during school holiday periods.) At the April 10
meeting, and later in a letter to Bainimarama, Somare and
Sevele stressed the need for the IG to speak with one voice
on the election, instead of the scattered and inconsistent
statements from various IG officials that are now the norm.
While Bainimarama agreed with that point in the April 10
meeting, the IG hasn't changed its habits at all since then,
said Eafeare. Numerous IG officials continue to make
confusing and inconsistent statements about the proposed
elections. While Bainimarama, Somare and Sevele agreed in
April to hold another round of discussions, Eafeare has
advised his PM to decline any invitations to join in a second
informal meeting, believing it would merely be used by
Bainimarama as a "propaganda tool."


5. (C) Eafeare thinks Bainimarama is in a "political cul de
sac," caught between his commitment to the People's Charter
process and his promise to Forum Leaders to hold elections by
March 2009. Bainimarama seems quite bewildered that the
international community hasn't bought into the People's
Charter and the National Council for Building a Better Fiji -
an organization Eafeare said appears to be morphing into an
unelected "mini-Parliament." The Pacific Island Forum and
others in the international community need to begin
considering now what actions to invoke if and when the IG
says elections won't take place as scheduled, he said.

ADB Gets the Message
--------------

6. (C) At the conclusion of the meeting, Jarvenpaa said she
had received a clear message from the assembled delegates -
no action now, and wait until August to reevaluate. She
promised to make those views known to ADB Headquarters in
Manila.

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

7. (C) Jarvenpaa is clearly anxious to get ADB programs in
Fiji moving again, especially in light of her apparent
perception that the World Bank continues to actively engage
with the interim regime. We continue to recommend that the
ADB take a go-slow approach. If Eafeare is right about the
need for the international community to begin considering
what actions to invoke if and when elections are delayed,
this is hardly the time to signal new programs in Fiji.





DINGER