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People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 21

Government lawyers now claim that they did not advice the President on the Court of Appeal ruling and the course to follow.

Today's Radio Fiji news reports the government lawyers expressing dissatisfaction over them not being provided with a copy of the legal advice which the President received. The clear implication is that the President was not advised by the government lawyers.

The issue now is: where did the advice come from.

It is known that former High Court judge and High Chief Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi had submitted his legal opinion to the then Acting President ad well as through the Acting President to the Great Council of Chiefs. But this advice was rejected.

Information to hand shows that no other group formally advised the Acting President or the Council of Chiefs.

But it has been known that Qarase had commissioned a group of ethnic Fijian lawyers to advice him on the course of action. The group later split into two with one arguing that the regime should ignore the court decision.

It is also known that the President's speech was drafted in Qarase's office. One can reasonably conclude that the President was advised by the Qarase team which in turn was advised by ethnic Fijian lawyers in private practice.

This raises the ethical issue of Qarase and his office refusing to call on to government lawyers to seek advice and instead resorting to private ethnic Fijian lawyers. A further issue arising is that some of the ethnic Fijian lawyers providing the advice are lawyers for the terrorists, and some have also been sub-contracted by the regime to defend it in the constitutional case against it. There is a clear conflict of interest of a lot of these ethnic Fijian lawyers. It is possible that in any further legal case against the regime, some of the ethnic Fijian lawyers who advised Qarase will again be hired by the regime to defend it.

Ultimately the fact is that the President was denied quality legal advice. This has led him to take numerous decisions which are unlawful and which will see his office becoming a defendant in a court case.'

History is repeating itself in the form of senior bureaucrats of the regime taking down the regime itself. This happened during the SVT reign, it happened with Qarase, and continues to happen to him. And now it has happened to the esteemed office of the President.

Meanwhile the foreign lawyers hired by the regime, led by Matrix Chambers' Nicholas Blake, have submitted a bill of $230,000 to the regime. For Blake, as a British academic Dr. Warrick Murray had stated, it was not might which was right, but the price which was right when he decided to defend the Qarase regime.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 21

The state has acknowledged that the racist programs which the Qarase regime has designed is unlawful.

According to media reports, the government lawyers have informed the Qarase pack that the Blueprint for Ethnic Fijian Advancement is contrary to the Constitution.

The media also reports that the directive given by the regime to the Land Transport Authority to grant taxi permits only to ethnic Fijians is also unlawful. The directive has, since the Court of Appeal decision, not been followed. But doubt have been expressed over the reason for the directive not being followed. Radio Fiji reports that there were suggestions that there was a lack of interest from ethnic Fijians in acquiring taxi permits. While this was denied by the Authority, those in the taxi business state that they have not seen much interest from new ethnic Fijians in acquiring taxi permits. One large taxi operator claimed that only certain ethnic Fijians have been acquiring new permits and then renting them out to non-ethnic Fijians. Renting of taxi-permits is illegal, but the taxi operator estimates that over two-third of ethnic Fijians with taxi permits are either not operating or have rented their permits to others.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 21

The loss of jobs due to terrorist activities of 2000 and the continuing political instability engendered by Laisenia Qarase, has reached 20,000.

Job losses have continued in the country since 19 May as businesses began laying off workers due to downsizing or outright closure. While the Qarase regime has been basking in fictitious figures about the economy, the nation continues to see factory and business closure by the day.

In one urban area, 34 businesses closed since 19 May. The trend is not much different in other towns.

Garment factories have been closing this year on an average of one per fortnight. This week another garment factory, United Apparel announced the laying off of 250 workers in Suva. The Forum Shoes Limited has also now publicly stated that it has laid off 200 workers in its Ba factory, maintaining now only 20 workers. It has also announced that it has laid off workers in its Lautoka factory; the number laid off is not known.

In addition to this, most businesses are now employing workers on reduced time basis, and many have reduced wages by as much as 50%.

Recent estimate of workers laid off since 19 May shows that the figure has topped 20,000. The most important feature of all this is that people of all ethnic groups comprise those laid off. Thus, while the terrorists and the Qarase regime have been harping about ethnic Fijian supremacy, they have not been able to provide bread to the ordinary ethnic Fijian worker. The story is a repeat of 1987 when Rabuka and the subsequent regimes continued to harp about ethnic Fijian supremacy while the ordinary worker, or all ethnic groups, began suffering greater poverty and misery.

The Qarase regime is now trying to buy off ethnic Fijian support through its Blueprint program. But prominent ethnic Fijians, including those from the SVT, now claim that the program is for elite ethnic Fijians only.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 20

The Fijian economy is sliding further down as the country has been gripped by another round of political instability.

By rejecting the decision of the Fiji Court of Appeal, and by continuing to violate the laws of the land, the Qarase regime has sealed Fiji's fate as one where there is no respect for law and order and investments are risky.

Numerous investors have stated that as they were awaiting the response of the ethnic Fijian elite to the court decision, they had put their investment plans on hold. But now that they have seen the response, they will no longer invest in Fiji.

Since coming into power not a single major new investment has started in Fiji. Now even small investments have been taken off the shelves.

Media also reports the Fiji Trade and Investment Board as saying that investment is not taking place because of political instability in the country. In the same breadth, however, the Chief Executive of the FTIB also defended Qarase's hold onto power. But this defence can be explained in terms of the CEO's personal interest. The CEO, Jesoni Vitusaqavulu, has been one of the major beneficiaries of the corruption scandal involving the Fijian Holdings Ltd and the Fiji Development Bank. Qarase was the Managing Director of the Development bank for many years. (see: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_c/fijian_holdings_fdb_details.htm )

Media reports that more factories are closing. The large Forum Shoes factory has already closed its Ba plant. And it has reduced the number of workers in its Lautoka plants. Another major factory is facing closure.

Tourist arrivals have continued to remain extremely low. This is despite the many millions which the regime and the industry have spent on promotions abroad. Today's
Fiji Times also states the Fiji Hotel Association as saying that tourist bookings have declined.

With the increasing lay-offs, the rising number of school dropouts, and the spiralling price levels, poverty in the country has been rising since Qarase usurped power. Qarase, on the other hand, has continued to squander public funds with the largest cabinet in Fiji's history, and rampant use of funds to buy ethnic Fijian support.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 20

Regime Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase manufactures and manipulates racial tension to advance his self-serving agenda, says the elected Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Fijian Affairs Adi Kuini Speed.

In a statement she said there can never be peace and stability in Fiji until everyone abides by the rule of law and our leaders respect and follow the law. She stated that to do otherwise would mean a continuation of civil disorder and a further breakdown of traditional values.

Adi Kuini also stated that Fiji had every available opportunity to return to genuine constitutional democracy. But the authorities failed to follow this path. She said that while pretending to work within law, Qarase and his group "have actually broken their promise to the Fiji Court of Appeal that they would abide by its decision. And the President, by not following the decision of the court in upholding the 1997 Constitution has illegally exceeded his constitutional authority. The people of Fiji are once again being denied their constitutional right to have their elected representatives speak on their behalf in Parliament.

Adi Kuini also assailed the call for ethnic Fijian unity. She stated: "The call for [ethnic] Fijian unity at this time should be seen for what it really is - a racist political stunt to further the ends of a few at the expense of nearly all the people of Fiji, including nearly all indigenous Fijians. Regrettably we have again reached a stage in Fiji where legitimacy appears to depend upon the use of a gun".

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 20

The Citizens Constitutional Forum has called the Qarase team power hungry, lawless and dishonest.

In an article appearing in today's Fiji Sun, the CCF's Jone Dakuvula states:
"Laisenia Qarase and his colleagues have proved themselves to be just a bunch of power hungry, lawless and dishonest gang. Desperate to hang on to power regardless of the fact that the people of Fiji have elected Parliamentary representatives who are ready and willing to replace them. Qarase's gang want to stay on so that they can use the advantage of state resources to prepare themselves to form a Fijian nationalist party to contest the General Elections. They will campaign on the `Blueprint for indigenous Fijians and Rotumans'".

Dakuvula also assailed the Blueprint as merely a raft of promises. He stated: "It is a programme for carrying on the reckless unaccountable expenditures of public funds to prop a small group of indigenous Fijians who want to hang on to the privileges of power at any cost. It is a shameless display of greed and cynical disrespect for the laws of this country".

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 20

The appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as "Prime Minister" of Fiji by the then Acting President Ratu Josefa Iloilo last week, has been called patronage and nepotism.

The comments were made by former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Alliance Government Minister Tomasi Vakatora on Fiji TV news last night.

Ratu Tevita is the nephew of Ratu Josefa Iloilo; Ratu Tevita's mother is Ratu Josefa's sister.

By appointing him to the position of "Prime Minister", even for less than a day, Ratu Josefa has enabled his nephew to collect a lifetime pension of $700 per fortnight.

Prime Ministerial emoluments entitlements have it that a Prime Minister who has served for less than a year is entitled to a lifetime pension of 20% of the Prime Minister level salary.

The pension `entitlement' has been condemned widely in Fiji. Many view it as another of the numerous scams of corruption one finds in Fiji now.

Today's Fiji Times has also condemned the right to the pension claim which Ratu Tevita Momoedonu has made. NGO's like the Fiji Trades Union Congress and the Fiji First Movement have also condemned the act.

Momoedonu's purported appointment, which was unconstitutional, is expected to be the subject of a court case now.

Patronage, nepotism and corruption have skyrocketed in Fiji since Qarase came to power. So much so that this has become a major disincentive to investment in the country.

Meanwhile numerous members of the Qarase regime are closely related to one another.

It has also been recently revealed that numerous senior civil servants who played prominent roles in the destabilisation of the elected government are also closely related to one another, and to a prominent politician whose party lost the last election.

Was it a lie?
Friday March 23, 2001

THE infamous Chandrika Prasad human rights case took another twist yesterday with the possibility of perjury charges being laid. Muainaweni landowner Malakai Vosalevu has lodged a complaint at the Nausori Police Station, claiming Mr Prasad lied about his home being burnt and members of his family terrorised at the height of the Muainaweni uprising last year.

Mr Vosalevu, who is Mr Prasad's neighbour claimed that none of those things happened. "Neither his property nor members of his family were affected by the looting and thuggery that erupted at Muainaweni at the height of George Speight's coup last year," Mr Vosalevu said.

"It is an absolute lie that he was terrorised. "I am not denying that there were people terrorised and their homes burnt and I sympathise with these people. But for Mr Prasad to lie about his situation resulting in perhaps the most important case in Fiji's history cannot go unchallenged. "I want to see this thing through. The future of our country is at stake here.

To me the courts were misled. They made their decisions based on a situation that did not happen," Mr Vosalevu said. Police confirmed last night that they were looking into Mr Vosalevu's complaint. "Yes a complaint has been received and we are investigating the case, " Senior Superintendent Romanu Tikotikoca said.

Mr Prasad fled his farm at Muainaweni along with other farmers in the area and sought refugee status with the Fiji Human rights movement at Lautoka. It was at the camp that the Fiji Human Rights movement took up his case resulting in the Lautoka High Court upholding the 1997 Constitution and that parliament was still alive. That ruling was appealed by Laisenia Qarase's interim government but was thrown out by the Fiji Court of Appeal plunging Fiji further into the political wilderness.

To arrest any further decline on the local political front, the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo had to use his reserved powers under the 1997 Constitution to dissolve parliament and appoint a Caretaker Government. Mr Prasad has since left Fiji with his family for New Zealand.

Fiji's Daily Post

New Labour party formed
Friday March 23, 2001

THE leadership struggle in the Fiji Labour Party has reached to an extent where one of the factions is considering forming another political party, the new Labour Party. A well placed party source yesterday said the group led by deposed co-deputy prime minister Dr Tupeni Baba is seriously weighing the pros and cons of contesting the August 27 general elections under the banner of the New Labour Party.

The source said Dr Baba and his allies had made it quite clear they will have a problem working with the party leader Mahendra Chaudhry because of their recent differences. "Chances are high that a new Labour Party is likely to be formed. The way things are moving at the moment, no way can the two, Dr Baba and Mr Chaudhry work together," the source said.

"And the other notable point is that Dr Baba's faction is not sure if they will get a ticket to contest the coming elections under a Mahendra Chaudhry led Labour Party. I mean these people stabbed the man in the back. So will they be given a chance? That is another question." The source said the New Labour Party, if formed, may aim to be multi-racial but whether it will be able to grab indo-Fijian votes remains to be seen.

"You know most average Indians living here and abroad understand that both Dr Baba and another coalition member Adi Kuini went on racial-lines when the crunch time came, they both together with others publicly changed their tune, joining the bandwagon of having indigenous Fijians on the forefront.

Now it will take a big change of heart from the Indians to trust Dr Baba and Adi Kuini." However a deposed Labour parliamentarian Manoa Bale yesterday said he wasn't sure if a new Labour Party would be formed. He said: "If the majority in the party feel that Mr Chaudhry should step down, than why not have a new leader and Dr Baba is capable.

So in this way FLP will just move on." Deposed government whip Krishna Datt said he was not aware of any such move and as far as he knew, Mr Chaudhry was the general secretary of the Fiji Labour Party. "There is one Labour Party and Mr Chaudhry and party president Jokapeci Koroi are managing the party." he said Meanwhile, deposed senator Afzal Khan is tipped for a Cabinet post in the Caretaker Government.

Fiji's Daily Post

NFP welcomes PM's decision
Friday March 23, 2001

THE National Federation Party has joined the international community in welcoming the Caretaker Government's announcement of election dates. NFP general secretary Attar Singh yesterday said: "We all have the objective of returning our country to parliamentary democracy at the earliest possible opportunity.

Their announcing the dates for the general elections is the most practical way of achieving it in the current circumstances. It is for this reason that all efforts should now be directed towards achieving that end." Mr Singh said the international community, like some locals, also expressed unhappiness at the transition of the interim government to Caretaker Government because it was extra-constitutional.

"But it has also lent support towards the administration's steps to hold the elections under the 1997 Constitution. These are positive developments and must be embraced by everyone here," he said. "NFP will remain vigilant to ensure the Caretaker Administration sticks to the election schedule it announced." He also called on the Caretaker Government to remove all obstacles to allow political parties to begin campaigning for the elections. "For this the emergency decree must go."

Fiji's Daily Post

NZ/Aust happy with early election
Friday March 23, 2001

THE Australian and New Zealand Governments have cautiously welcomed the Caretakers Goverment's announcement that Fiji will be going to the polls on August 25. And the Caretaker Government has begun its preparation for the elections. Election Writs are expected to be issued in early July for the August poll.

Caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has also written to the Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon informing the secretariat of the election dates. Mr Qarase said: "With the decisions taken on the elections today by the Caretaker Cabinet, we will now proceed with all necessary preparations, Writs for the Elections will be issued in early July and polling on 25 August.

I stress again the point that we are fully committed to returning Fiji to full constitutional democracy through the elections under the 1997 Constitution." Mr Qarase also expressed the importance of Fiji returning to Commonwealth. "Fiji's membership of the Commonwealth is important and we look forward to Fiji's eventual return to it.

For us in Fiji, the topmost priority right now is embarking on a path that is conducive to the maintenance of law and order, peace and stability, mental confidence and certainly a full return to constitutional legitimacy under the 1997 Constitution."

Fiji's Daily Post

Thursday March 22 4:53 PM ET
Two People Shot at High School Near San Diego

EL CAJON, Calif. (Reuters) - At least two people -- possibly teachers -- were shot and injured at a high school in this San Diego suburb on Thursday, less than three weeks after two students were killed and 13 injured in a gun rampage at another area high school, officials said.

A Fire Department spokesman said there were reports of a third person being shot.

Local television reported that the injured were two teachers and that one suspect has been arrested at Granite Hills High School in this suburb just east of San Diego.

Another suspect was thought to be at large and, possibly armed with a shotgun.

Residents were asked to stay out of the area while police searched for the second suspect.

A witness said he heard six or seven shots and then saw students running out of the school via a back entrance, calling on their cell phones for help.

Students at the school, which has 2,900 pupils, were taken to a nearby elementary school where their parents were called to pick them up.

El Cajon is adjacent to Santee, Calif., where two students were killed and 13 others injured when a student opened fire with his father's gun at Santana High School on March 5.

That was the worst act of violence in a U.S. school since April 1999 attack on Columbine High School in Colorado in which 15 people were killed, including two teenage gunmen who took their own lives.

A middle school and elementary school adjacent to Granite Hills High School have locked their doors and are keeping students inside, officials said.

Students described a frightening scenario that seems almost a repeat of what happened in Santee.

One boy told CNN via telephone that he heard about seven shots fired: ``I was walking from the bathroom and I heard the shots rang out and it sounded like an explosion from a chemistry classroom. ... Then a couple more. When I heard the other ones go off I just ran to the car.''

Thursday March 22 3:48 PM ET
Russia Protests Against U.S. Expulsions

By Ron Popeski

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov denounced U.S. plans to expel 50 of its diplomats as unfounded and political on Thursday and said he expected Moscow would respond by throwing out an equal number of U.S. diplomats.

In an interview with U.S. television networks CNN and NBC, Ivanov said the U.S. action, approved by President George W. Bush (news - web sites) just a few weeks into his mandate, was a return to the Cold War which ``causes regret'' in Moscow.

``There was no basis for this action, therefore we think it can only be viewed as a political action. And why was it needed now?'' he said according to a transcript provided by NBC. He said Moscow had to take ``adequate measures'' in response.

Asked whether Russia intended to match the expulsions one-for-one, NBC quoted Ivanov as saying: ``I think so, yes.'' He gave no details on when the American diplomats would have to leave, but said: ``I think that you won't have to wait long for our response.''

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had issued a protest to U.S. ambassador James Collins, who visited the ministry earlier on Thursday, ``in connection with the unfounded decision of the American side to expel a group of Russian diplomats from the United States.''

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Russian embassy had been told that four of its diplomats should leave the country ``forthwith'' on allegations of spying. Officials said 46 more would have to leave by July 1.

Bush defended the expulsions, the biggest since the end of the Cold War: ``Presented with the facts, I made the decision. It was the right thing to do,'' he told reporters after delivering a speech to newspaper editors.

Ivanov Warns Of Return To Cold War

In his interview, Ivanov said the U.S. action amounted to ''a return to the Cold War. It is an attempt by those who do not want a constructive dialogue between our countries to push us backwards, to push us back into confrontation.''

Ivanov had earlier issued a statement, part of which was broadcast on Russian television, saying good contacts between the two countries, including their intelligence services, could have prevented the expulsions.

``Unfortunately, Washington chose another path and therefore took a step which can only be described as political,'' he said.

He said the action had been undertaken by ``circles uncomfortable in conditions of constructive dialogue'' to persuade Americans of the need for new military programs, including a proposed anti-missile shield opposed by Moscow.

``In trying to resurrect the image of the enemy and Cold War morals, they also believe it will be easier to expand NATO (news - web sites) and impose its diktat on the alliance,'' he said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Avdeyev told RTR state television the expulsions ``go much deeper than a mere expulsion of diplomats'' and reflected a world view of administration figures who had last worked in the Soviet era.

``A new team is in place which is used to working in conditions of confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union,'' he said. ``It hasn't worked for eight years and doesn't know what today's Russia is all about.''

In his statement, Ivanov also issued a fresh denunciation of U.S. plans to meet a separatist envoy from Chechnya (news - web sites), where Russian troops have been fighting guerrillas for 18 months.

``In Washington, they should be aware that American officials will meet a representative of terrorists who sow death and destruction and not only on the territory of the Chechen republic,'' he said.

Wednesday March 21 11:15 PM ET
U.S. Expelling Nearly 50 Russian Officials

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is expelling about 50 Russian diplomats suspected of being intelligence officers, partly in retaliation for the case of FBI (news - web sites) agent Robert Hanssen accused of spying for Moscow over 15 years, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

It would be the biggest expulsion of suspected spies since ''Operation Famish'' in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) ordered 80 Soviet diplomats out of the country.

The United States on Wednesday declared about six Russian officials persona non grata for alleged spying activities, which usually means they must leave the country immediately, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

That group, which included two Russians who had already left the United States, was being expelled in retaliation for Hanssen who was arrested Feb. 18 and accused of selling secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in money and diamonds.

The United States also is asking about 40 other Russian officials suspected of being intelligence officers to leave in response to concerns that Russia has had too many spies in the United States for some time, the official said.

The United States suspects Russia has hundreds of intelligence officers operating in this country.

CBS News, which first reported the expulsions, said no deadline had been set for the Russians to leave and some could remain in this country for a few more months.

Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to notify him of the expulsions, CBS said.

``We have nothing to say on this topic,'' State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

``I cannot confirm if the report is accurate or inaccurate,'' a White House spokeswoman said. A CIA (news - web sites) spokesman would not comment.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian Embassy, and Russian Foreign Ministry officials in Moscow were not available for comment in the middle of the night there.

Hanssen was arrested after allegedly leaving classified material in a garbage bag at a drop site in a suburban Virginia park. The FBI waited to see who would pick it up, but no one ever did.

Hanssen, who plans to plead not guilty, is accused of selling secrets including names of double agents and U.S. electronic surveillance methods. U.S. officials say the revelations severely damaged national security.

The former FBI agent is suspected of compromising an eavesdropping tunnel dug by U.S. authorities under the Russian embassy in Washington, some officials have said.

While the Cold War ended a decade ago, espionage activities by the United States and Russia against each other have not ceased.

The U.S. government has been trying to get Russia to lower the number of intelligence officers operating in the United States for some time, but the requests have generally been ignored, U.S. officials said.

In the last public expulsions involving the two countries, the United States in December 1999 expelled a Russian diplomat, Stanislav Gusev, after he was caught outside the State Department allegedly monitoring a listening device hidden in a conference room inside the building.

Russia responded shortly afterward by expelling a U.S. diplomat, Cheri Leberknight, saying she was caught red-handed with an array of spy gadgets.

Padarath threatens legal action
Thursday March 22, 2001
6.40 pm

Deposed People's Coalition minister Lavenia Padarath has threatened legal action against the government after the MPs were only paid basic salaries to March 14.   Padarath told FM96 they had not been paid constituency and housing allowances.   She said they were still serving the people and so should get the allowances.   Permanent secretary for Finance Solomone Kotobalavu confirmed the MPs had only been paid basic salaries. Over $1 million had been paid up to March 14 following the Fiji Court of Appeal ruling, validating the 1997 Constitution.   Parliament was dissolved on March 14.

AIDS patient's name leaked
Thursday March 22, 2001
6.40 pm

Labasa people are upset that the name of a patient who died recently from AIDS was leaked by staff at the hospital.   Hospital management has promised an investigation and a tightening of procedures.

1300 garment workers lose jobs
Thursday March 22, 2001
10.55 am

More than 1300 garment workers have lost their jobs since last year's attempted coup, according to latest statistics.   And more workers could lose their jobs as overseas companies cancel orders because of the political uncertainty in Fiji.   Almost 6500 workers had lost their jobs in Fiji to December last year.

Chaudhry, Adi Kuini patch up
Thursday March 22, 2001
10.55 am

Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry and Fijian Association Party leader Adi Kuini Speed have patched up their differences, with Speed backing Chaudhry for PM.   Earlier Adi Kuini had said Chaudhry should step down and let Dr Tupeni Baba lead.   The perceived rift in the People's Coalition seemed to be used as one of the excuse to dismiss Chaudhry as PM.   Adi Kuini told the Fiji Sun newspaper that the unconstitutional stance taken by the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, meant she had to back Chaudhry.

CJ's court order triggers backlash

By Seema Sharma - Fiji Times - 22 March 2001

CHIEF Justice Sir Timoci Tuivaga has ordered the High Court in Lautoka not to accept any cases relating to the 1997 Constitution.

This follows an exchange of letters this week between Sir Timoci and Justice Anthony Gates. And the Chief Registrar, Musuka Tabete, has also instructed his staff members at Lautoka to consult the Suva office before registering any case which might be related to the issue.

The two letters from Suva, dated Monday March 19, have been kept a secret with neither officials from the High Court in Suva or Lautoka wishing to comment on the issue.

The first letter, addressed to Justice Anthony Gates by Sir Timoci, instructed him not to accept any such case. Justice Gates replied on Tuesday saying that his instructions were not right.

Sir Timoci wrote back to Justice Gates, telling him that he was being disrespectful. Last night, Sir Timoci said he was not in a position to answer any questions, adding that correspondence within the department was confidential.

Mr Tabete did not reply to questions faxed to his office yesterday nor was he available last night. The instructions from Suva follows from a case in October where Lautoka lawyer Iqbal Khan had challenged the appointment of Justice Jayant Prakash in the High Court.

Presiding over the case, Justice Gates released two internal memos one from Sir Timoci and another from Mr Tabete seeking a transfer of the case to Suva to be heard before Justice Michael Scott.
Justice Gates had said Sir Timoci's decision was unjustified as parties to the case wanted it heard in Lautoka.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Law Society has written to Mr Tabete asking for a copy of his Monday letter, if it existed.

Society president Chen Bun Young said such warnings were invalid, contrary to the rights of an individual and could be seen as curtailing an individual's constitutional right. "In the present climate, the courts should be the last institution to give the impression that it is attempting to erode an individual's constitutional right to have access to a court of law,'' he wrote. "I would appreciate reference to any precedent relied on to substantiate the right to issue such a warning to the High Court.'' The Law Society expects to hear from Mr Tabete today.

1300 garment jobs are lost

By Imran Ali - Fiji Times - 22 March 2001

RAMESH Chandra, a maintenance carpenter with Ranjit Garments Limited, will be the 1353rd worker in the garment industry to lose his job in the last two months.

He received his notice on Tuesday, telling him that his last day at work will be tomorrow.

And another 80 to 90 of his colleagues may lose their jobs tomorrow because overseas buyers are cancelling orders.
Factory owner Ranjit Solanki said he was forced to lay off about 200 workers from his Vatuwaqa factories in the past two months, adding that he may have to lay off between 80 to 90 workers tomorrow. Those workers may be taken back if the economy recovers.

Mr Chandra said the factory management was obliged to give them two weeks notice, claiming that the Friday lay-off will be the third in two months.

He said the 200 former workers were assured that they would be re-employed within two weeks of their redundancy. He suggested that management not lay off workers but allow them to work at reduced hours.

However, Mr Solanki said they were not required to give two weeks notice because the workers were being "stood down'' and not made redundant.

He denied promising to re-hire workers in two weeks but added they would be given first priority for vacancies.
Mr Solanki said overseas buyers cancelled orders because they were nervous about dealing with Fiji because its political problems were causing instability.

"Trade unionists are largely to be blamed for the lay-offs and other problems that we are currently encountering,'' he added.

Close to 500 workers lost their jobs after two garment factories in Lautoka closed their doors and secretly moved all machinery on February 2.

According to Ministry of Labour statistics, 6452 workers lost their jobs as of December 7, last year.
Of this figure, 1061 workers were from the garment industry.

It's a turn around
Thursday March 22, 2001

THE New Zealand government has welcomed the announcement by the Caretaker government that elections will be held in August. This was revealed by New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff in a statement yesterday. "I have been advised by a faxed letter from the caretaker Prime Minister Mr Qarase today that the elections will be held from August 27 to September 7.

He has also assured me that Fiji will by this date be returned to a full constitutional democracy under the 1997 Constitution." "I welcome this assurance and the announcement of a specific date for the elections. The holding of a fair and free election under the constitution will meet New Zealand's long-standing demand that democratic government be restored in Fiji.

Mr Goff said the restoration of a freely elected government would open the way for normalisation of relations between New Zealand and Fiji. It would allow for the removal of the sanctions currently imposed against Fiji. However, he said smart sanctions would be applied to individuals involved with the coup of May 19 last year. Meanwhile, Mr Goff said his government was disappointed that the parliament elected in May 1999 has not been re-convened as ruled by the Court of Appeal early this month.

"We believe that the opportunity this would have opened up for the formation of a government dedicated to reconciliation between the different communities has sadly been lost," Mr Goff said. "Reappointment of the former interim administration created a cynicism about whether Fiji would respect the court's ruling.

"That being said, the nomination of a firm date for fresh election at least creates the expectations of a full restoration of democracy within six months. "It remains important to ensure that law and order is maintained and an election campaign free from intimidation can be conducted."

Mr Goff said it was also important that genuine efforts were made to heal the wounds and that reconciliation and tolerance replace the extremism which has blighted the country since May last year.

Fiji's Daily Post

Fijian parties to unite
Thursday March 22, 2001

POLITICAL parties representing indigenous Fijians might contest the August 27 general elections as a united Fijian political party. The Fijian political parties Forum yesterday met to discuss ways to politically unite the Fijian community which they have said has been fragmented for sometime now.

Parties which attended the meeting included: the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party, a faction of the Fijian Association Party and the Veitokoni ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito/Christian- Democratic Alliance (VLV/CDA). The two nationalist parties, Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party and the New Nationalists were not at the meeting.

Forum chairman Esira Rabuno said Fijian political unity was the only way Fijians would have a grip over Fijian political and land rights. He said there was no other way. Mr Rabuno said: "Our prime aim is to see that all the Fijians unite and fight the coming general elections under one umbrella as one United Fijian political party.

"The Fijian political parties are working well so far. We are planning to sign a memorandum of agreement soon. We had planned to meet this Friday to discuss all that but we have postponed it to early April." When asked how confident the Forum was in achieving Fijian unity, Mr Rabuno said: "Well, good question but we are making an effort to unite the Fijians in compliance with the resolution of the Great Council of Chiefs and also what the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo desires, which is achieving unity among the Fijians."

Mr Rabuno said a fragmentation within the Fijian community would also be reflected in the fragmentation of votes. SVT president Ro Epeli Mataitini also expressed the need for Fijians to come together and contest the coming general elections as a united political party.

The forum reaffirmed its support for the President and the Caretaker Government saying it was the best political solution to help the politically troubled country return to democracy. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party yesterday made known they have broken their links with the Fijian Political Party Forum. Party president Vilame Savu said they could not be part of the forum because they had a problem working with the SVT.

"We can't work with SVT because they have bulldozing tactics on unification," Mr Savu said. "They are responsible for the current problems." He said his party will contest the elections on its own and was considering to form a new Fijian Forum which will be known as the Taukei Civilian Political Forum.

Fiji's Daily Post

High Court will review injunction
Thursday March 22, 2001

THE injunction extended by the High Court in Lautoka for the Constitution Review Commission to stop work will be reviewed on May 4. Clarifying the court's decision Deputy Registrar Filimoni Daveta said the case was heard in chambers with CRC counsel Kitione Vuetaki asking for more time to obtain fresh instructions from the CRC.

Mr Daveta said no objection was made by the plaintiff's counsel. "Accordingly Justice Anthony Gates granted the request, adjourning the matter to May 4 with the injunction remaining in place," he said. Legally the decision means the CRC cannot resume its work.

While reviewing the decision he had made earlier Justice Gates gave no reason for the extension. Fiji Labour Party President Jokapeci Koroi and other members of the party had filed a writ in the High Court early January saying the CRC had no authority to draw allowance for its members from public funds and that its hearing to date have no standing at law.

Mrs Koroi and her group are the plaintiffs while members of the CRC are defendants.

Fiji's Daily Post

Labour, CCF joins forces
Thursday March 22, 2001
DEPOSED Fiji Labour Party parliamentarians and the Citizens Constitutional Forum have joined forces to challenge the legality of the Caretaker Government and the dissolution of the pre-May 19 parliament.

Former assistant Fijian Affairs minister, the two deposed co-deputy prime ministers, Tupeni Baba and Adi Kuini Speed, and FLP backbencher Deo Narain are being backed and financed by the Citizens Constitutional Forum to mount their legal challenge.

CCF executive director Reverend Akuila Yabaki yesterday said they are expected to file papers either today or tomorrow to have the courts declare the actions of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo illegal.

He said they opted to join the deposed parliamentarians in their quest for legal action because recent political decisions by the high authorities have been outside the 1997 Constitution. "There are two points that we are legally challenging. One is the unconstitutional dissolution of parliament.

The dissolution is inconsistent with the sections 6, 96, 108, 109, 156 (2) of the 1997 Constitution and the other one is the unconstitutional appointment of the Caretaker Government which is inconsistent with the constitution under section 6, 98, 99 , 100(3), 107, 108,109 and 156 (2)."

He said they were working on the affidavits for the case and expected the writ to be filed sometimes today or tomorrow. The two lawyers providing legal assistance on the case are former Permanent Arbitrator and High Court Judge Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi and former Attorney-General in the Alliance government Sir Vijay Singh.

Fiji's Daily Post

Coalition welcomes decision
Thursday March 22, 2001

THE People's Coalition has welcomed the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group's decision to keep Fiji out of the Commonwealth until Fiji has democratic rule under the 1997 Constitution.

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth last year following the May 19 armed detention in parliament of the democratically elected Mahendra Chaudhry led government by failed businessman George Speight and his group.

Deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry yesterday said the continued suspension was to be expected. The constitutional prime minister said it was clear the Commonwealth did not recognise the illegal authorities in Fiji.

"We maintain our position that the Caretaker Government of Laisenia Qarase is illegal as are the appointment of both the President and the Vice-President," Mr Chaudhry said.

"The entire convoluted manoeuvring of Ratu Josefa Iloilo in dismissing the constitutional prime minister and dissolving parliament have been unlawful and unconstitutional."

Fiji's Daily Post

Race Creeping In as Unspoken Factor
In Seattle Mardi Gras Riots
Tuesday, March 20, 2001

By Jonathan Serrie - Fox News

Weeks after Mardi Gras violence claimed one life and injured six dozen in downtown Seattle, racial tensions persist in a city with a reputation for tolerance and civility.

Televised images of the riot that broke out during February 27 Fat Tuesday celebrations have fueled a yet unresolved debate over whether race played a role in the attacks.

"There were white people thumping on white people, white people thumping on black people, but the predominant images I saw were black guys going after white people," said Ken Schram, a commentator for Seattle's KOMO-TV.

The question of whether racial hatred instigated the violence remains a hot item of debate on local talk radio, despite strong denials from city officials and civil-rights leaders.

Immediately following the riot, police declared there was no evidence to suggest race played a role because those committing crimes during the Mardi Gras melee represented a diverse cross-section of ethnic groups.

But Friday's edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer suggests a different story. The newspaper quotes unnamed police sources as saying three-quarters of the more than 100 suspects they identified were black.

Seattle police spokesman Sean O'Donnell told Fox News that suspects arrested on assault charges were "predominantly African-American."

However, police would not release specific numbers. O'Donnell said his department is keeping no racial tally in connection with the riot investigation.

Immediately following the violence, civil-rights leaders accused the media of overemphasizing crimes committed by blacks, while downplaying those committed by whites.

At a news conference, Rev. Leslie Braxton held up a copy of the Post-Intelligencer. He complained that a large photo on the front page of the local section showing five black men beating a white man was "racially provocative."

Braxton then pointed to a smaller photo of two white men vandalizing an empty car, saying, "This image could as well have been blown up and been the indelible impression."

Police have identified many suspects by looking at local news photos and videotapes of the riot. Some civil-rights leaders have blamed the disproportionate number of black suspects on news photographers targeting African-Americans committing crimes.

Such excuses have angered other residents of Seattle, who believe if the roles had been reversed, with mostly white attackers beating black people, the same civil-rights leaders would immediately demand hate crime charges against the perpetrators.

James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, said he believes Fat Tuesday's violence was not the result of race, but troubled youth. However, he said police should investigate all angles, including race, to put the issue to rest.

"Hate has no color. It has no geographical boundaries," Kelly said. "The bottom line is that we saw something that we need to deal with."

For now, race is not at the center of the city's investigation. And critics say they doubt it ever will be.

City officials still face harsh public criticism over other recent events.

Last spring, civil-rights leaders expressed outrage after police shot and killed a black shoplifting suspect. The man was armed with a knife and gun and had already fired two stray shots.

A Justice Department investigation determined police were justified in shooting the suspect. But civil-rights advocates insisted police could have used less lethal means to subdue him.

The city also faces criticism over the use of tear gas to clear protesters from the 1999 World Trade Organization conference after peaceful demonstrations degenerated into looting and vandalism. In that case, the allegations were over excessive force, not race, since most of the demonstrators were white.

But some believe public response to these incidents may have played a role in the Seattle Police Department's decision to keep officers out of the angry Mardi Gras crowd until the violence got out of hand.

Twenty-year-old Kristopher Kime suffered fatal injuries while attempting to rescue a woman being punched in the face by several men.

A group of uniformed officers attended Kime's March 7 memorial service. One officer made a statement.

"I would like to personally apologize to Kris and his family and friends for my failed actions that night," said Lt. William Edwards, who received a standing ovation as he hugged the victim's parents.

Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has defended his department's tactics during the Mardi Gras melee and said "political correctness" was not a factor.

Seattle Mayor Paul Schell appointed a committee to investigate what went wrong during Fat Tuesday celebrations. However, it remains unclear whether the investigation will consider the issue of race.

A city spokeswoman told Fox News that the mayor's office had requested no racial breakdown on riot-related arrests.

Critics say ignoring the issue may prevent the city from ever reaching the root of what provoked the attacks.

"I can't think of a time when we haven't swept racism under the rug," said KOMO-TV's Schram. "I think it's time to lift the rug up, take a look at it, deal with it and get over it."

Tuesday March 20 6:08 PM ET
Report: Priests, Missionaries Sexually Abuse Nuns

By Steve Pagani

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican (news - web sites) acknowledged Tuesday a damning report that some priests and missionaries were forcing nuns to have sex with them, and were in some cases committing rape and forcing the victims to have abortions.

Some nuns were forced to take the contraceptive pill, the report cited in the Rome daily la Repubblica said.

The Vatican said the issue was restricted to a certain geographical area, but the report cited cases in 23 countries, including the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, India, Ireland and Italy.

``The stories are horrifying and disturbing to say the least,'' said Bill Ryan, spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

However he added that he was not aware of anything similar in the United States.

``The National Catholic Reporter... offered no documentation for that. I don't know how you would investigate something like that unless you had specifics or a charge,'' he added.

The charges first appeared in the Kansas City-based National Catholic Reporter weekly on March 16 and in a small Italian religious news agency Adista, which also publishes a weekly.

Limit Of Human Endurance

Missionary news agency MISNA condemned the abuse while recalling that missionaries often worked ``at the limit of human endurance.'' It urged the media to remember the good deeds of missionaries around the world as well as their failings.

A Vatican statement said ``in relation to the news of cases of sexual abuse against nuns committed by priests and missionaries, Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls had the following announcement:

``The problem is known about and is restricted to a certain geographical area.

``The Holy See is dealing with the issue in collaboration with bishops, the Union of Superiors General (grouping of heads of male religious orders) and the International Union of Superiors General (heads of female religious orders).''

While the Vatican did not name the geographical area, the report said most incidents of sexual abuse against nuns occurred in Africa where the nuns were identified as ``safe'' following the onset of the HIV (news - web sites) and AIDS (news - web sites) viruses devastating the continent.

Nuns Forced To Abort

Charges made in the report, signed with names and surnames, were made known to Church authorities on several occasions throughout the 1990s, the article by la Repubblica's respected Vatican correspondent Marco Politi said.

The author of the report was nun and physician Maura O'Donohue, who presented it to the head of the Vatican's Congregation for Holy Orders, Cardinal Martinez Somalo, in February 1995.

He ordered a working group from the Congregation to study the problem with O'Donohue, who was AIDS coordinator for Cafod, the London-based Roman Catholic Fund for Overseas Development.

O'Donohue made specific reference to certain cases, one in which a priest forced a nun to have an abortion, after which she died. He then officiated at her requiem mass.

In reference to Africa, her report said: ``It is impossible (there) for a woman or an adolescent to refuse a man, especially an older man and in particular a priest.''

In Africa, certain priests sought out nuns ``for fear of contracting AIDS with prostitutes.''

``There are cases in which priests make nuns take the pill, ...and there was one case of 20 nuns in one religious community being pregnant at the same time,'' the article cited the report as saying.

A mother superior was continually ignored by the local bishop when she complained that priests in the diocese had made 29 of her nuns pregnant. The bishop relieved her of her duties, the report said without identifying the diocese.

Sexual Favors

In 1998, Marie McDonald, mother superior of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa, presented her report on ''sexual abuse and rape committed by priests and bishops.''

The Vatican is monitoring the situation, making sure bishops were aware of the phenomenon, but no direct action has been taken, the article said.

Vatican spokesman Navarro-Valls said in his statement: ``We are working on two fronts, training of people and finding a solution to individual cases.

``Some negative cases cannot let us forget the often heroic faith expressed by the large majority of those men and women in religious orders and of the clergy.''

MISNA echoed his words, saying: ``If on the one hand... these incidents of alleged sexual abuse cannot and should not be denied or justified, on the other hand they prompt us to reflect on the conditions in which the majority of the tens of thousands of missionaries live on the fringes of the so-called Third World.

``Many of them live in situations of extreme psychological and physical hardship, at the limits of human endurance.''

La Repubblica quoted McDonald as she knew of no inspections taking place after her report.

``Then there is the conspiracy of silence which makes the problem worse. Only if we confront this together, will we be able to find a solution,'' she said.

Parties query Momoedonu pension

By Raijieli Kikau
Fiji Times - March 20 2001

MOST political parties and non-governmental organisations want a legal solution on Caretaker Labour Minister Ratu Tevita Momoedonu's pension entitlement.

Deposed deputy prime minister Doctor Tupeni Baba said Ratu Tevita should decide on the matter because he was the one involved.

"I have nothing to say and have not read the pension entitlement,'' Women's Crisis Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali said yesterday.

Deposed Fijian affairs minister Adi Kuini Speed was away in the West and her daughter, Tupou Draunidalo, said "there was no comment''.

Also Citizens Constitutional Forum executive director Reverend Akuila Yabaki said the entitlement was "a minor issue. They are looking at something big''.

However, Fiji Trades Union Congress general secretary Felix Anthony said the entitlement was an abuse of the constitutional provision.

"We do not believe it and it is unfair,'' Mr. Anthony said. He said Ratu Tevita should have sought the mandate of Parliament and should not opt or be given the privilege.

Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party secretary Jone Banuve said since we have been concerned about the law, we should follow it. He said if the law states that he was entitled to it, then he should be given accordingly. Fiji First Movement chairman Mick Beddoes said the benefit was unbelievable.

"Just when thousands of innocent people are jobless, the Caretaker Government decided to continue this illegal action,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Ratu Tevita will accept the former prime minister's pension entitlement payable to him.

As long as a prime minister serves for less than a year, he is entitled to 20 per cent of the prime minister's salary of almost $70,000. This amounts to $700 a fortnight for the rest of the person's life.

Ratu Tevita said he believed he deserved the pension this time because he accepted to do it again at a crucial time. He refused the entitlement the last time saying he was a member of the People's Coalition government.

Ratu Tevita was appointed prime minister for about five minutes by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara during the hostage crisis after the May 19 coup.

Pensions and principles

Fiji Times Editorial - March 20 2001

RATU Tevita Momoedonu must be joking. He cannot expect to pick up a pension for life for serving as prime minister for less than a day. The last time he held the post Ratu Tevita refused, as a matter of principle, to take the pension offered him. That act endeared him to many.

In this age of public disenchantment with politicians and the machinery of government, that refusal was a welcome change. It showed the people that the days of principled leaders who cared for the taxpayers were not over.

It showed that hope existed in young chiefs who were prepared to stand for truth and justice. One such man was Ratu Tevita Momoedonu.

Twice in his short political career he has steppedup to the line and helped take the nation to a new stage of political preparedness.

Both times he was prime minister for a shortperiod. At the end of each appointment he was sidelined in favour of other leaders. He gave freely in the interests of peace and stability.

Unfortunately politicians continue to bicker over what must happen next in the journey towards democratic governance.
There are also questions about the legality of the caretaker administration appointed by the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo.
These matters aside, however, Ratu Tevita believes and there are many who will agree that the steps he took were a matter of necessity. This is probably so.

What is not necessary is that he should be paid for that service. As a minister of the state he continues to collect a salary as is his entitlement. Technically it would be appropriate, if the Emoluments Act allows, to pay a person for being acting or substantive prime minister even for a day.

But there can be no way anyone receives a pension for holding a ministerial post for 24 hours. Even Ratu Tevita knows that. He has shown his principles before. Now it is time to take the same stand.

Ratu Tevita can not take the money in the knowledge that people have been laid off around the country for the past 10 months.
He must do the right thing. Say no.

Rapist jailed
Wednesday March 21, 2001

A 45-YEAR-OLD farmer was yesterday sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Sigatoka Magistrates Court for rape. Aporosa Sorotu, of Keyasi Village appeared before Magistrate Vani Ravono. The court heard that on December 28, 1998 at Nacocolevu, Sigatoka the accused had unlawful carnal knowledge of a 24-year-old garment worker without her consent.

At around 5pm that evening the mother of the victim asked the accused, who was known to the family, to drop her daughter at Nacocolevu. Sorotu took the victim in his carrier towards Cuvu then returned to Nacocolevu and raped her around 8pm. The matter was then reported to the police and when questioned by police he admitted having sexual intercourse with the victim with her consent.

The case then went for trial and the accused was found guilty. In mitigation Sorotu told the court that he was 45-years-old, had a family of six with four of his children attending school and was the sole breadwinner for the family. Because of this, he asked the court for leniency as his family would suffer if sentenced for a long period of time. Magistrate Ravono told him that his mitigation was considered but rape was a very serious offence so custodial sentence was necessary.

Fiji's Daily Post

Defiant ex-ministers face eviction
Wednesday March 21, 2001

THE Public Service Commission will take legal action to remove four former ministers occupying state quarters if they remain in defiance of vacation notices. PSC permanent secretary Anare Jale confirmed that the four were issued with notices yesterday to vacate the quarters by March 31.

But yesterday afternoon one of the ministers concerned had still not received any notice. The four former people's coalition ministers are the two co- deputy prime minsters, Adi Kuini Speed and Dr Tupeni Baba, assistant information minister Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi and agriculture minister Poseci Bune.

"The commission has decided, based on humanitarian consideration, to allow time to the four ex-ministers to pack up and leave," Mr Jale said. Mr Jale said the four were each served two notices last year. The first eviction notice was on July 17 and the last was on August 28. The ex-ministers were required by the last notice to vacate by August 30, 2000. If they fail to move out by April 1, PSC will immediately obtain eviction orders to remove them.

PSC will also charge market rental which will range from $800 a month for grade four quarters to $1500 for special grade quarters, Mr Jale said. He said because of the ruling of the Appeals Court, PSC was forced to "make a fresh start to the process of vacation of government quarters by the ex-ministers concerned."

Adi Kuini's daughter Tupou speaking from their Berkley Crescent just metres away from the PSC offices said yesterday afternoon they had not received any vacation notice.

Fiji's Daily Post

250 garment workers lose job
Wednesday March 21, 2001

THE garment industry is suffering because of the continuing international trade sanctions imposed resulting in many factories closing down as well as redundancies.

These comments came from the United Apparel (Fiji) Limited chief executive officer Ramesh Solanki just before informing 250 of their workers to go home because of the repercussions of the trade sanctions.

Mr Solanki had about 1350 workers and is now left with 1100. "Everyone has to understand that time is tough and we have told them to go home but to keep coming back in about after a month's time to check the situation if it is better," his wife, Mrs Solanki said.

Mr Solanki said it is the continuing threats of imposing trade bans by the Fiji Trade Unions Congress that is the major factor in the decline in the garment trade in Fiji. However, president of the Fiji Trade Unions Congress Daniel Urai said that he does not think that this is the main reason why garment factories are closing down.

Mr Urai said that one of the reasons why they are closing down is that most garment factories are nearing their tax free term. "There are no trade bans in existence so this can not be the reason for their closing down," Mr Urai said.

"As soon as their term ends, garment owners pack up and leave which is normal as this happens in other countries. "For some cases, garment factory ownership changes, and they turn to other parts like Asia," Mr Urai said. Mr Solanki said this as United Apparel is not the only garment factory that's closing down because of this but others too in the West and in Suva.

Mr Solanki said that it certainly is not the political instability but the actual trade sanctions and bans and the continuing threats to trade in Fiji which has created fear in the customers. "The customers get nervous about their deliveries and they feel it as a real threat," Mr Solanki said.

He said if they do not bring the problem of sanctions then this would not happen. The advice Mr Solanki gives is that one should not combine unions with politics, otherwise, we will have the result we are facing today. "If this trend continues, then 25 to 30 more garment factories will close down soon, adding to the problems already caused by the falling of the Australian dollar," he said. Mark Halabe of Mark One Apparel said the industry has been suffering from its first decline in exports since 1987.

Fiji's Daily Post

Newspaper slates Qarase for perverting law

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 19 2001

The Fiji Sun has questioned the political credibility of the reappointed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.

In a strong but objective editorial written on Saturday, the paper stated:
"The people no longer place their faith in the office of the President, the Prime Minister and even the once exalted Great Council of Chiefs no longer commands the respect it once did. Why? Because our leaders have not been honest with the people who made them leaders. How Laisenia Qarase can claim to have the majority backing of the people of Fiji should be explained to the people. His policies are blatantly racist. His very appointment is a smack in the face for all right thinking people who were led to believe that Mr. Qarase would live by his words and abide by the High Curt ruling. The way the court judgment has been perverted will blight the conscience of this nation for generations".

The editorial echoes the sentiments of a vast majority of Fiji's people.

Earlier, the head of the Women's Crisis Centre, Shamima Ali had called Qarase racist and stated that he was not a respectable person. A day later the regime attacked Ali for making the comments, saying that she is unelected and unrepresentative!

Meanwhile the Sunday Times columnist Netani Rika has also questioned the credibility of the Great Council of Chiefs. Calling the Council of Chiefs a "flatulence", Rika slated the inability of the Chiefs to make a firm decision on the Court of Appeal decision.

Ravuvu of CRC says he will defy court order

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 19 2001

The Chairman of the regime's Constitution Review Commission, Asesela Ravuvu says he will defy the court order to not to hold any more meetings of the CRC until 3 May.

In a case brought against the regime by the Fiji Labour Party, the High Court granted an interim injunction on 17 January stopping the CRC from continuing to hear submissions and use taxpayer funds. The case was brought again for mention on Friday 16 March when the court extended the interim injunction until 3 May when the case will be heard.

Yesterday's Sunday Sun, however, reports Ravuvu saying that he will defy the court order. He stated that once he is officially informed by the President to go ahead, he will restart the meetings despite the court order.

In his address to the nation after taking office on Thursday 15 March, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo had stated that he will be issuing instructions for the CRC to continue work. (see http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_o/president_speech_15mar.htm ).

Already the President has defied the Constitution of the land. The regime has also gone on record defending the unlawful acts of the regime. The statement by Ravuvu that he will also defy the court is in the same trend as the defiance of the law by the President and the Qarase regime.

Reconciliation contributes to positive development
Tuesday March 20, 2001

RECONCILIATION should be everybody's business, says Regional Development and Mutli-ethinc Affairs Minister Ilaitia Tuisese. "Some form of reconciliation should happen, otherwise all our developments would be of no use," Mr Tuisese said.

"All of us should look at ourselves and break down the barriers and get across to anybody no matter what culture and religion. "It's everybody's business.

"Everybody in this nation should have an attitude of reconciliation," he said. Mr Tuisese said during his visits around the country he has been promoting the idea of reconciliation.

He one day hopes that the friendly spirit and atmosphere normally associated with sporting events would spread across the country. "I hope that spirit would be carried across the country and affect the whole nation," the former national rugby lockforward said.

Calls have been made for the reconciliation of Fiji's major two races who seem to be drifting further apart especially after the 1987 coups and last year's events after May 19.

Former interim prime minister Laisenia Qarase, upon the formation of the then government, set up a Ministry of Reconciliation to work on bringing the two major races together.

Fiji's Daily Post

Dissolution of parlt is 3rd coup
Tuesday March 20, 2001

FORMER co-deputy prime minister Adi Kuini Speed yesterday described the dissolution of Parliament as Fiji's third coup in less than a year. In a statement, Adi Kuini claimed "every clearly available opportunity to return Fiji to genuine constitutional democracy has been intentionally ignored."

"While pretending to work within it, Mr (Laisenia) Qarase and his re-appointed, but unelected interim government have actually broken their promise to the Fiji Court of Appeal that they would abide by its decision." She said the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo by not following the decision of the court in upholding the 1997 Constitution has illegally exceeded his constitutional authority.

Adi Kuini said the prospect of election in August cannot justify the repeated subversion of the 1997 Constitution. The Fijian Association Party leader said "these unconstitutional actions have intensified the climate of uncertainty, confusion and despair."

She added: "The reality is that there can be no peace or stability in Fiji until we abide by the rule of law, and our leaders respect and follow the law. "The alternative is continuing civil disorder and a further breakdown of traditional

Fiji's Daily Post

Polls set for Aug 27
Monday March 19, 2001
7.25 pm

The caretaker cabinet is to be advised tomorrow that Fiji should go to the polls on August 27.

Writs of election are to be issued on July 10.

Cabinet is expected to sit for two consecutive days.

Rabuka seeks SVT meeting
Monday March 19, 2001
7.25 pm

Former Prime Minister Major General Sitiveni Rabuka is seeking a meeting with the SVT management board to iron out differences.

Rabuka says he will make a decision on which party he will stand for in the elections after this meeting.

He told Fiji TV there was no truth to rumours that he was forming a new party.

GCC seeks Fijian unity
Monday March 19, 2001
7.25 pm

The Great Council of Chiefs continues to seek the unity that they hope will ensure Fijians will not lose political control in the country.

The GCC and the Ministry of National Reconciliation organised a meeting at Parliament House today of Roko Tui from around Fiji to create awareness about the issue and discuss the causes for disunity.

Meanwhile the GCC secretariat has denied that another GCC meeting will be held in two weeks.

Caretaker cabinet to meet
Monday March 19, 2001
5.30 pm

The caretaker cabinet meets for the first time tomorrow, and high on the agenda will be legal issues, including the validity of decrees passed by the interim government.   The cabinet is also expected to discuss the timing of the general election which has been proposed for August or December.

Fiji has 68 HIV/AIDS cases
Monday March 19, 2001
7.00 pm

The Ministry of Health has confirmed a total of 68 HIV/AIDS cases in Fiji.

Of the 68 reported cases, 67 per cent were detected in Suva, 23 per cent in Lautoka and 5 per cent in Nausori.

The figures were revealed by Dr Vilikesa Rabukawaqa of the Ministry of Health

Fiji had its first case of AIDS reported in 1989 where there was a vigorous campaign mounted by the Ministry of Health which was more or less interpreted as a "scare tactic" for the public.

However, says Dr Rabukawaqa, due to the increase in numbers, Fiji cannot afford to do nothing as there will be a continuous increase in the number of people being diagnosed with HIV infection.

Most people have been infected with HIV through heterosexual sexual intercourse. "Gone is the myth that a person can only be infected with HIV through a gay relationship," he said.

Dr Rabukawaqa said there have also been 5 cases of mother to child transmission.

Of those infected, the Ministry of Health reports that 70.5 per cent were indigenous Fijians, 21.3 per cent Indo-Fijians and 8.2 per cent others.

Dr Rabukawaqa said most people infected with HIV are young adults. The highest number of people are aged in their 20s, a time when they are most sexually active and often starting to have children.

However, he said, students were also at risk. "It is imperative that sexual education be made compulsory in the school curriculum so the students are adequately informed about their sexual and reproductive health," he said.

However, says Dr Rabukawaqa, parents must lift the "taboo" curtain and play a leading role in the sexual education of their child so the issue is not treated as a joke when they are taught in schools.

"This disease can only emanate from the high number of sex workers, both male and females; an increase in streets kids which can lead to child sexual abuse, poverty-stricken families can force family members to individually seek money in return for sexual favours and the change in values and lifestyle of young people altogether," says Dr Rabukawaqa.

He said the use of condoms is a strong preventative measure from HIV/AIDS contamination.

Dr Rabukawaqa says one of the biggest problems that affect the care of people with HIV/AIDS in Fiji is the stigma of being infected. This stops people telling others and seeking any health services.

It indicates that there is a need for widespread education to promote acceptance and understanding of persons who have /HIV/AIDS.

Indo-Fijian summit soon
Monday March 19, 2001
5.30 pm

The Indo-Fijian summit, first held last year, will be meeting again soon.   Summit organiser Dr Biman Prasad says representatives of Indian political parties, religious and other groups will be meeting to discuss the current political situation in the country.

Brutality raises ire
Monday March 19, 2001

REPORTS of alleged police brutality on women continues to increase in Fiji.

The Women's Crisis Centre has recorded three cases of verbal and physical abuse by police officers within the past seven days.

Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali yesterday said the latest victim was a 45-year-old Indo-Fijian woman who was detainee at the Samabula Police Station for five days during which she was allegedly tortured by police officers, receiving bruises on her arms and thighs.

The 45-year-old was detained at the station for five straight days and is expected to appear in court today.

"This is the third case in a week and surely something needs to be done," Ms Ali said.

"Again, we call on the Police Commissioner Isikia Savua to take an immediate action on the police officers involved."

In two other incidents, a three-month pregnant woman who was taken in for questioning had a miscarriage after she was punched, slapped and verbally abused by police officers at the Nabua

Police Station while another woman who was also taken to Samabula Police Station was allegedly verbally and emotionally tortured by the officers in charge at that time.

All three victims are Indo-Fijians.

The Minister for Women and Social Welfare, Ro Teimumu Kepa, has also called on the Police Commissioner to conduct an immediate investigation into the reported incidents.

Ro Teimumu last night said such alleged acts cannot be condoned and accepted.

She said any responsible government would not take such matters, especially cases of abuse on women, lightly.

"Police officers must always act professionally and I believe the department needs to train and counsel these police officers ... it is known that the police department had been under pressure during the crisis but it certainly doesn't mean that they act in an unprofessional way," the minister said.

"The reported alleged cases are serious and my ministry will surely look into it... as a matter of fact, we would like to look into it in detail."

The two alleged cases have been reported to the Fiji Human Rights Commission and it is expected to begin its investigation on the incidents from today.

Commission director Dr Shaista Shameem had earlier gave assurance that the commission would surely investigate the cases if complaints were lodged.

Meanwhile, a Suva-based lawyer said it was important for members of the public to know their rights upon being arrested or detained by police.

"It is important that people know their rights. It is sad that our law and order has deteriorated to an extent that now the guardians of law are breaking the law themselves... it is becoming a joke," the lawyer said.

Fiji's Daily Post

Sunday, March 18 1:16 PM SGT

Dayak tribesmen kill eight migrants in unrest-hit Borneo town

JAKARTA, March 18 (AFP) -

Indigenous Dayak tribesmen have continued their killing spree in Borneo, murdering at least another eight migrants, a report said Sunday.

The bodies of eight victims have been found since Friday in and near the Central Kalimantan town of Sampit, where bloody ethnic violence erupted last month, the Banjarmasin Post said.

The daily newspaper quoted a witness as saying one of the victims was killed when he returned from hiding in the forest to check on his house early on Saturday.

Another five Madurese, who also ventured into town late on Friday, were killed not far from the base of an army unit, the daily said.

The newspaper quoted a local journalist as saying that the five and two other Madurese had gone into town from their hideout in the forest to look for food but were attacked by armed Dayak tribesmen. The other two escaped.

The first clashes in Sampit between Dayaks and settlers from Madura, an arid island off East Java, occurred on February 18.

The violence quickly spread across the province and degenerated into massive bloodshed, with armed Dayak tribesmen launching a bloody campaign to rid the province of Madurese.

Some 500 people have been killed since, most of them Madurese. Many of the victims were decapitated or mutilated.

More than 50,000 Madurese have fled or been evacuated from the province while many others are believed to be still hiding in the dense forests of the region.

Several houses, mostly those left vacant by their fleeing Madurese owners, were also set on fire in Sampit on the weekend, the Banjarmasin Post said.

Meanwhile, in the Central Kalimantan capital of Palangkaraya, the Central Kalimantan Dayak Council of Elders were Sunday preparing to hold a tribal ritual to appease the spirits, seek the return of peace and purify the blood-soaked soil, a Dayak elder said,

"We are holding a series of ceremonies of the Kaharingan faith today to call on the spirits of our ancestors and seek their forgiveness for the violence," Muhammed Usop, who is also a former dean of the Palangkaraya state universty, told AFP.

"It is basically to ask their forgiveness for the violence that has happened and seek their blessing, so that peace can return in this land. It will also purify the land that has been dirtied by so much blood," Usop said.

Kaharingan is the animistic belief of the Dayak.

Usop said the ceremony was expected to be attended by the governor, the heads of military and police, and other dignitaries.

Health officials in Sampit said that "pyschological problems" were beginning to set in among Sampit's Dayak population following the violence. Many, they said, were exhibiting stress and hallucination at the constant fear that the Madurese would seek revenge.

The violence has been blamed on cultural differences between the two communities and the dominance of the Madurese in the local economy.

Sunday March 18 2:36 AM ET
Indonesia's Aceh Hit by More Violence And 10 Die

JAKARTA (Reuters) - At least 10 people have died in the latest round of violence to hit Indonesia's rebellious province of Aceh, police said Sunday.

The killings follow the government's announcement last week of a limited military crackdown to quell the separatist rebellion in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, where violence has continued to erupt despite a formal cease-fire.

Growing fears over safety has already forced Exxon Mobil Indonesia, a unit of the U.S. oil giant, to close its gas fields in Aceh just over a week ago, threatening one of Indonesia's key exports.

Police said the latest killings were from three different incidents, mostly in rebel strongholds in the east of the fiercely independent territory.

``In East Aceh, the rebels killed seven civilians (on Friday) as part of a campaign to drive out settlers,'' Aceh chief detective Manahan Daulay told Reuters.

Most of the bodies were found under a bridge with their hands tied behind their backs.

Daulay said police had shot dead three rebels in a separate incident just outside the capital Banda Aceh Saturday.

Another police official, Sad Harun Nantyo, said the rebels were patrolling the main roads linking the local capital to the neighboring province of North Sumatra, disrupting traffic.

Exxon Mobil said it was forced to close the gas fields because of threats from Free Aceh rebels, who have been fighting for decades for independence from Jakarta.

Indonesia's chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Saturday urged the company to reopen the fields whose closure has forced a local liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to stop production.

PT Arun NGL's output, most of which is shipped to Japan and South Korea, is worth almost $4 million a day.

Yudhoyono said there were three battallions around Arun to guard the gas fields, most of them onshore, and the LNG plant.

``These are the largest security forces to guard such a vital project in this country,'' he said.

Monday 19 March 7:22 AM

Indonesia investigates Aussie toddler assault

A two-year-old Australian girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at an exclusive Balinese resort and infected with the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea.

Australian Federal Police have confirmed Indonesian police are investigating the incident which reportedly happened while the child was being minded at the five-star Sheraton Nusa Indah resort in January.

"Those issues which are being dealt with are in the hands of an overseas agency. Because it's taken place in another jurisdiction, we have no powers beyond Australia," the AFP spokesman told AAP.

The spokesman said federal police had passed information about the allegations to Balinese police.

In the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper, the girl's mother, who was not identified, said the family was seeking compensation from the $200-a-night hotel.

A family friend, who was also not identified, told the newspaper the couple found their daughter in a distressed state and alone with a man when they collected her from the resort's creche.

The resort's front office manager, Giri, also confirmed an internal investigation into the allegations was carried out by owners, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, last week.

The alleged assault was not identified until the two-and-a-half-year-old girl was diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea, a day after the family returned to their home in Melbourne.

Gonorrhoea is a notifiable disease and authorities must be contacted.

The Victorian Department of Human Services said it could not confirm this particular case of gonorrhoea, but said it may have been reported.

A spokesman said dozens of sexually transmitted disease cases were reported every month, and individual cases of gonorrhoea did not present a public health risk.

Regime defends Unconstitutional acts

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands _ March 18 2001

The Qarase regime has defended the breach of the Constitution saying that the breach was necessary to go back to democracy.

In a media interview, the regime's Attorney General Alipate Qetaki stated that the regime had to take unconstitutional and unlawful steps in order to implement the Fiji Court of Appeal decision. He further stated that the appointment of the interim regime as the caretaker regime is the process "to ensure that after the elections everything will be in order".

Qetaki, a civil servant before becoming the Attorney General, also revealed that he still has a contract with the Public Service Commission which expires in 2003.

This revelation confirms the belief of many, including the Fiji Public Service Association, that the upper echelons of the civil service is heavily politicised. The ease with which certain elite ethnic Fijians move from the civil service to politics to statutory body board memberships and chief executive positions, back into civil service and politics, reveals how a small coterie of elite Fijians have been trying to control Fiji's politics after the 1987 military coups. These are the faceless people within the government structure who have detested a democratic government from running Fiji and who have ensured that the President takes steps which are unconstitutional.

Meanwhile the Fiji Public Service Association has cautioned its members of senior civil servants who were too politicised and were behaving as they were the elected representatives of the people.

Newspaper withdraws Qarase endorsement calling him power hungry

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands _ March 18 2001

The influential daily, the Fiji Times, has withdrawn its hearty endorsement of Laisenia Qarase only a day after the endorsement.

On Friday, the paper wrote that the reappointment of Qarase was a "wise and justified" decision.

While the paper did not reason why was it wise and justified, especially in light of the decision being unconstitutional and unlawful, it stated that career politicians can not be trusted for maintaining law and order, rebuilding the economy and preparing the groundwork for the next election. It stated: "Qarase should think very carefully before reappointing his interim team - not because they have done badly but because of the public perception that the politicians among them will use their positions to attract votes. His team should be small and apolitical…. He should say when the election will take place and make a clear commitment that politicians - present and aspiring - can have no place in his interim regime".

But Qarase did exactly the opposite. Not only did he reappoint the entire team of 30+ ministers and assistant ministers, but he also announced in clear terms that he was going to contest the next election. And over a half of his ministers and assistant ministers also announced that they will contest the next election.

An irritated Fiji Times yesterday slated Qarase saying he "misled the public". It stated that the Qarase team "is too big for the job it is asked to do. And it contains a large number of active and aspiring politicians who cannot be expected to act impartially".

The paper went on to call Qarase a power hungry politician: "Here is a man they [people] thought would guide the nation back to democracy without fear or favour - yet it can now be argued that he is just another aspiring politician hungry for power".

Those who know Qarase know very well that he is not only power hungry but also corrupt and a racist.

Over the recent past, the Fiji Times and the state owned Daily Post have been heaping praises on Qarase, each albeit for different reasons. The Post is not only state owned and as such used by the regime to the optimal, but its Acting Editor is also a close relative of Qarase. Furthermore, the Publisher and General Manager of the Post was put in that position by someone who is now in the Qarase team; he has for some time been writing a column called Aage-Piche column heaping praises for Qarase and his team, and the defeated National Federation Party. It is understood that the person had made overtures to the People's Coalition Government for a few top statutory body jobs for which he was deemed unsuitable by the boards.

The Fiji Times, on the other hand, has been rail-roaded by personal agendas of one or two senior journalists with close links with defeated politicians and senior bureaucrats earlier put in place by the defeated politicians. The obvious political propaganda - for example that the Qarase regime did not do badly - in light of the historically unparalleled eviction of farmers in the country during the regime's term, the continuing economic recession, the massive rise in corruption and nepotism, the entrenchment of apartheid, the rising prices, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, rising poverty, etc. - can only be explained not in terms of any objective assessment of the composition, performance, and legality of the regime, but in terms of hatred for the People's Coalition Government which a few senior journalists have. That the management of the newspaper has allowed these handful of petty politicians masquerading as journalists to continue with their propaganda reflects poorly on the management of the paper as well. It also tarnishes the image of a large number of professional journalists with the newspaper who have remained neutral of any government.

Dishonourable intentions, says PM

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands _ March 17 2001

The recent decisions of the President show that he and his advisors had dishonourable intentions right through.

The elected Prime Minister of Fiji, Mahendra Chaudhry has called all the decisions made by the President illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful.

In a press statement released yesterday, Chaudhry stated:
"It is clear that Ratu Josefa and his advisers never had any intention of acting within the bounds of the constitution or the rule of law. Their undertaking to do so was a mere stage show to mislead the people of Fiji and the international community."

Chaudhry stated that the President did not heed his advice to stay within the provisions of the Constitution. He stated:
"Had the acting President heeded my advice, he would have stayed within the bounds of the Constitution. If members of the House did not want me as prime minister, as claimed by him, they would have had the opportunity to bring a no confidence motion on the subject and remove me, thus paving the way for Ratu Josefa to appoint a new prime minister who had the support of the House to lead a caretaker government until the general elections."

"It is not proper for Ratu Josefa to assume that he could not appoint a caretaker prime minister from the elected members of the House of Representatives because of the split among political parties."

"Clearly, the answer lay in his awaiting developments in the reconvened House of Representatives in relation to the prime minister issue. Ratu Josefa is quite wrong in pre-empting the matter on bad advice."

"Fiji had the option of dealing with its political crisis within the law. But those in authority chose to take the unlawful path. They chose not to listen to the good counsel of a majority of our people, our Courts and the international community."

"Sadly, the innocent people - the poor and the disadvantaged of all races in the community will have to pay the price for the decision of those in authority not to act responsibly."

The full text of the statement is at: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/press_rel/pm_qarase_appointment.htm

Its the same cabinet, Regime rejects Courts decision

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands _ March 17 2001 

Fiji is back to where it was before the Fiji Court of Appeal had delivered its landmark decision on the legality of the Qarase regime.

While the Court declared the Qarase regime illegal and Qarase pledged to uphold the decision of the Court, Qarase has finally rejected the decision of the court.

Today Qarase announced that he was maintaining his cabinet team until new elections in Fiji.

Qarase was reappointed on Thursday to be the Prime Minister. This appointment came exactly two weeks after the landmark court decision declaring the Qarase regime illegal.

While the Great Council of Chiefs had decided that the 1997 Constitution is still the supreme law of the land, either the Council failed to give the President the directive to work within the provisions of the Constitution, or it also said one thing and directed that another be done.

In either case, the reputation and the credibility of the Great Council of Chiefs is at stake. If it decided to accept the 1997 Constitution as law, then it must immediately demand that the President work within the provisions of the Constitution.

If, on the other hand, it endorses the actions of the President, then it itself will be rightfully blamed for encouraging illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful actions in the country.

What is clear now is that the regime and those behind the breakdown in law and order in the country can not fool the international community any more. They have demonstrated that they have no intention of abiding by established law. As such they will be the ones to be blamed for any response which Fiji gets for the continuing reign of the illegal regime.

It is clear that Fiji is now heading towards major economic sanctions, possible expulsion of Fiji troops from peacekeeping operations abroad, and a likely expulsion from the Commonwealth of Nations.

Qarase says he will stay on fight next election

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands _ March 17 2001

Laisenia Qarase, with his controversial appointment as the Prime Minister, has stated that he will continue to serve as the Prime Minister despite the criticisms that his appointment is illegal.

He also informed the media that he will contest the next election. He also announced that his cabinet will be about the same size as his last cabinet, and that he may retain most of its past members.

Meanwhile, the Qarase appointment has come under across the board criticism as being illegal.

The net effect of the decisions has been that the regime has rejected the Fiji Court of Appeal decision.

Many now believe that Qarase has been adamant in clinging to power because of the danger that a transparent government will expose the Qarase dealings with public funds when he was the Managing Director of the state owned Fiji Development Bank. Many now believe that the FDB is in a similar state as the state owned National Bank of Fiji which went bankrupt because of massive corruption.

Trade sanction looms
Sunday March 18, 2001

Fiji can expect more international trade sanctions following Laisenia Qarase's appointment as Caretaker Prime Minister on Friday.

The Pacific News Agency (PACNEWS) had reported the Australian Confederation of Trade Unions (ACTU) urging the international community to maintain and intensify its pressure on the Fijian administration to find a swift and constitutionally valid solution to the country's political and economic crisis.

PACNEWS reported ACTU president Sharon Burrows condemning President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's decision to dismiss Fiji's democratically-elected prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry and re-appoint Laisenia Qarase to lead a caretaker government as illegal and unconstitutional.

"Those who are fighting for democracy in Fiji need to know they have the on-going support of the international community. Now is not the time for the Australian government, the Commonwealth and the European Union to relax diplomatic and economic pressure on the Fijian administration to return the country to democracy, Now is the time for that pressure to be intensified," Ms Burrow said.

"The Fijian administration made a promise to the people of Fiji and the international community that it would respect the recent decision of the Fiji Court of Appeal upholding the validity of the 1997 Fijian Constitution... that promise has been broken and by ignoring the Court of Appeal ruling, President Ratu Iloilo was putting at risk the already fragile economic situation in Fiji."

The Fiji Trade Union Congress said; "The hope that constitutional rule will be restored has been dashed. This will result in on going sanctions plac