DON'T COME WITH ANY DEMANDS SAYS BAINIMARAMA

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL FJ
SUBJECT: DON'T COME WITH ANY DEMANDS SAYS BAINIMARAMA


1. Summary: Having raised hopes by inviting members of Fiji's
various political parties to a political dialogue on October 27,
interim Prime Minister Bainimarama this week reverted to form,
warning invitees not to demand elections in 2007 and advising them
to read the recent High Court decision and Peoples' Charter prior to
attending. Bainimarama also announced his intention to begin
dialogue with Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs, which he disbanded in
2007 after it refused to endorse his nomination for Vice President.
Interim government (IG) efforts to secure popular support for the
Peoples' Charter continue to struggle, occasioning the NCBBF
Secretariat to instruct outreach teams - which generally include
police or military officers - to go to schools and "house to house."
A prominent Fiji lawyer speaks out in Australia about a climate of
"retribution and revenge" in Fiji prompting speculation of
retaliatory measures by the IG. Meanwhile, the creeping
militarization of Fiji's society continues. End summary.

Political Dialogue Set for October 27
--------------

2. On October 16, Bainimarama wrote to 15 registered political
parties proposing a meeting of political party leaders, with an open
and flexible framework, having the overall objective of moving Fiji
back to democracy through broad based consensus. Invitees included
Fiji's largest political parties, ousted PM Laisenia Qarase's
Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party, and former Interim
Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's Fiji Labor Party (FLP),as well
as new and smaller parties that have contested but never won
parliamentary seats. A majority of Fiji's political parties are
expected to attend. The recent High Court decision and continuing
poor turnout at public meetings to promote the IG's Peoples' Charter
may have prompted the proposal.


3. (SBU) This proposed political dialogue represents a change in
strategy for Bainimarama, who long maintained that he would only
permit political dialogue after the people of Fiji (voluntarily)
accept the Peoples' Charter. As recently as August, when the IG
launched its public outreach campaign for the Charter, Bainimarama
said that unless and until the Charter is accepted, there would be
no political dialogue, and consequently no elections. Comment: The
foregoing comments are difficult to square with Bainimarama's
continuous assertions that the RFMF will not "dictatorially impose"
the Peoples' Charter on the people of Fiji. End comment.


4. (SBU) Not surprisingly, Bainimarama's public statements have not
matched the conciliatory tone of the invitations. During recent
media interviews, he suggested that the IG would dictate the agenda,
advising prospective attendees to read the recent High Court
decision affirming the legality of the IG as well as the Peoples'
Charter. He also commented that if some political leaders were
going to advocate for elections in 2009, they may as well not
attend. Those opposed to electoral reforms were advised they are
not welcome to attend either. Comment: Such comments do not bode
well for open and inclusive dialogue. End comment.

Mending Fences with Fiji's High Chiefs?
--------------

5. Bainimarama said during a radio interview on October 22 that he
plans to write to Fiji's traditional chiefs, requesting a dialogue
to discuss the nation's future. Relations between many of Fiji's
chiefs and the IG have long been sour. A prominent chief, when
reached for comment, said only that Bainimarama had made a lot of
statements about Fiji's traditional chiefs, and some air would need
to be cleared before any substantive dialogue could ensue.

Charter Outreach Campaign Still Fizzles
--------------

6. (SBU) Meanwhile, the IG's vast and expensive public outreach
campaign struggles on. The SDL party, Fiji's Methodist Church, and
11 of 14 provincial councils remain steadfastly opposed to the
Peoples' Charter. The Methodist Church recently announced that
40,000 of its members have signed forms rejecting the Charter.
Perhaps responding to some lack of success, the NCBBF this week
proposed sending outreach teams into Fiji's secondary schools to
promote the Charter to students 18 years of age and over, and also
urged more "house to house" visits by outreach teams, which now
usually include soldiers and/or police officers. A NCBBF press
release on October 23 boasts with no apparent sense of irony that
outreach efforts targeting "NCBBF staff and Government officials" in
Fiji's Western Division have met with great success.


7. (SBU) Some provinces, districts and villages heavily populated by
indigenous Fijians have rejected the Charter process outright and
prohibited visits by outreach teams. Most, however, have allowed
teams to come in but sent clear messages that the local government
follows the provincial council's decision to reject the Charter.
Lack of public interest is a problem, and a recent case is
instructive. A charter team recently visited Nadoi village in Rewa
Province, not far from Suva, to discover that four people had turned
up at the village hall to hear them. After house-to-house visits,
the team ultimately secured 40 signatures in favor of the Charter.


8. (SBU) Comment: The vast sums of money being spent by the IG on
Charter outreach activities remain perplexing in view of
Bainimarama's confidence in the inevitability of the Charter's
acceptance. Continuous press releases by the NCBBF that civil
servants in medium-sized towns have endorsed the Charter only tend
to suggest that support for the Charter is weak. The NCBBF
certainly must know this. End Comment.

Fiji's Creeping Militarization
--------------

9. (SBU) And in the background, the creeping militarization of
Fiji's society continues, with the steady encroachment of the
military into all aspects of life in Fiji. The RFMF has complete
control over all three disciplined forces - the Army, Police, and
Prisons - which now fall under a Joint Command Center at the Suva
Central Police Station. The RFMF controls Fiji's borders through the
Immigration Department and mans airport checkpoints, helping to
enforce travel bans imposed on IG opponents. Military personnel
staff many government departments, and are in direct control of
some, including the Justice Ministry and the Department of
Information, and also serve on a number of statutory boards and
boards of government commercial companies.


9. (SBU) Speaking in Canberra this week, former president of the
Fiji Law Society Graham Leung said that a climate of fear and
intimidation had taken hold in Fiji, muting criticism of the recent
High Court decision on the legality of the IG. In addition to overt
threats, the IG exacts retribution against its critics by imposing
travel bans, and in Leung's case, by issuing a decree blackballing
his law firm from work with the IG and related bodies. This pattern
of revenge and intimidation of critics has resulted in timidity
among the population and intelligentsia, and an unwillingness to
openly criticize the High Court's decision, Leung said. Leung's
comments received widespread media coverage in Fiji. What
retaliatory measures the IG will take against Leung remain to be
seen.

PRUETT