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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 placed by donor governments."

FTUC general-secretary Felix Anthony said the European Union had been monitoring developments in this regard.

"Now that we once again have an illegal Caretaker Government, prospects for increased sanctions become very real," he said.
"The congress is surprised that Mr Qarase while recognising the implications of an unconstitutional government has opted to accept the offer of prime minister."

Mr Anthony said the congress hoped Mr Qarase would have given the president the right and honourable advice.
Meanwhile, the National Federation Party said the legal and unconstitutional difficulties arising from the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo's, decision to appoint a caretaker government could be settled.

Party secretary Attar Singh said only dialogue between Ratu Iloilo and political leaders could resolve them.

"We suggest that this be done in the interest of up holding the rule of law.

"It would have been constitutionally correct and prudent to re-convene parliament and test the support and confidence of prime ministerial aspirants before dissolving parliament."

Fiji's Daily Post

Indigenous Fijian unity
Sunday March 18, 2001

The Fiji Court of Appeal has made its decision regarding the legality of the abrogation of the 1997 Constitution.
And by now so would have the Great Council of Chiefs and for what its worth, those men and women of noble birth have publicly made known their stand.

Fiji is to abide by the rule of law but at the same time the 1997 paper is no more . At least, not in its entirety.
The whole of Fiji and whoever else in the world was interested in the political and legal developments throughout the past year will now know the Laisenia Qarase led interim administration was illegal.

During a meeting of the GCC before the May putsch last year, a paper was to have been presented and it was supposed to have addressed the fragmentation within the (indigenous) Fijian community. According to some, it was this split which enabled the indo-Fijian dominated Fiji Labour Party to sweep into power via the 1997 Constitution and the 1999 General Elections. A landslide victory was called, the people had spoken, democracy had triumphed.

Not long afterwards, the indigenous Fijians who had just recently had been unable to unite on the political front were banding together, and concertedly so it seemed. What on earth could have cemented the cracks caused by wedges which just a few months previously had successfully splintered the Fijian vote?

Many reasons were put forward and there was no lack of it. At the top of the list, just to mention two, was the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party. If they had done their job well the Fijian people would have been only to willing to return them as the re-elected government. But it so happened that the SVT had not delivered on its election promises. In doing so it squandered its chances, and so Chaudhry and his gang were ushered in, or as some would put it, rode in on the crest of the wave of disenchantment with the SVT.

Fiji being Fiji and humans being what they are, indigenous Fijians lashed out blindly. Somebody or something had to conveniently take the fall. And so the Indians also copped their share of the blame for Fijians (the SVT Government in particular) being unceremoniously shoved out of parliament and the driving seat in the process. Those who believed in this line of thought said that Fijians had voted in accordance with the spirit of the 1997 Constitution. They however admitted that the Indians had not broken any law when they supposedly bloc voted in the 1999 General Elections and thus secured for the Labour Party led People's Coalition an overwhelming majority in parliament. Fijians felt they had been cheated and they were looking for anything and/or anybody to shoulder the guilt of usurping what they thought to be rightfully theirs.

So who was to blame for Fijians disenfranchising themselves?

At an elementary level, just to keep things simple, it would seem that if Fijians had remained united then, we wouldn't have had to endure the hardships we have gone through as a nation since May 19 last year. Should have Fijians stayed united, Chaudhry wouldn't have managed to make his way into the executive.

On top of it all we wouldn't have this mess we are currently in.
But Fijians didn't unite and the question inevitably is why?

They did unite but only when they were confronted but what they perceived, whether rightly or wrongly, to be the common enemy. So when the threat was perceived to be no more or had been removed from where he was perceived to be at his most dangerous the Fijians went back to their own bickering. Why did they? If they are serious about and passionate enough about what they are always fondly referring to as their God given heritage, doesn't it make sense that they would gladly given a limb for its retention, maintenance and sustenance?

Why is it that they after eliminating the foe from the halls of power and then institutionalising it in the 1990 Constitution, conveniently squabbled among themselves allowing the foe to rampage through their depleted ranks?

Maybe, just maybe, because Fijians do not have it in them to work together. Remember, that particular constitution, the 1990 one, could only guarantee Fijian numerical supremacy in the House of Representatives but in no way could it, or any other paper or document for that matter, have guaranteed Fijian unity.

Okay, I know I may have overstepped the mark here. I may have said a little bit wee too much. But look at it from my point of view. If we really love ourselves and each other as indigenes, why is it that we always throw away the chances to govern ourselves? Why is it that we keep doing this to ourselves?

The answer I think lies in the past.
Take for instance our not so long ago past but our very recent past as in a year ago, since May 19 to be exact. Everybody knows about the attempted coup. Up till very recently (01/03/01 Appeals Court ruling) I was calling it the coup.

Prior to the attempted civilian takeover there had been several marches organised by taukei organisations who aligned themselves to the right of centre. These marches were accompanied by the usual rhetoric associated with fire brand nationalism. As a result racism reared its ugly head. Throw in a bit of persuasive eloquence to whip up emotions mixed with some reality, and there you had a potent concoction to remove the enemy from government, the executive, the prime ministership.

It didn't work out like the 1987 coups where the perpetrator was elevated by Fijians to the rank of saviour and martyr. The May 19 2000 event instead of removing an Indian dominated government and installing a Fijian one became a monumental power struggle amongst Fijians.

The irony of it is this.

While Chaudhry and company were still being held hostage at the parliamentary complex at Veiuto some chiefs made their way to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Nabua pledging their support to the military backed interim government. In the meanwhile the subjects of these chiefs flocked in droves to the parliamentary complex to dance and make merry to the then heady tunes of an enthusiastic nationalistic band. Chiefs there, subjects somewhere else.

Doesn't this lend some credence to what I said earlier, that we Fijians just don't have it in us to work together. If that was not enough, Fijian political parties quickly got together before the Court of Appeal began its deliberations and said the 1997 Constitution, for all they cared was dead and gone. Not long afterwards they, the forum as they were called, named their candidate, the pre-May 19 SVT parliamentary leader Ratu Inoke Kubuabola for PM. No sooner had the name been made public was it heatedly contested. The other parties cried foul. They said the SVT had jumped the gun on this one not to mention breaching their trust and being "un-Fijian". There we go again. The enemy is not so prominent on the political front and the squabbling begins.

An Indian or indo-Fijian cannot be the prime minister. It must be a Fijian, a kai Viti. But who is it to be.
We cannot begin to agree on something we all feel strongly about.

And then we have the two factions within the Fijian Association Party. Okay, I must concede that it's not only Fijians who have disagreements. Everybody, regardless of race and religion do have their little and not so little differences. But then again, with the number of Ratus and Adis in the party we would think or like to think that there would be an abundance of characteristics, attributed to Fijians, such as veivakaturagataki, veirogorogoci, consensus and the like.

It is common knowledge that where you have a gathering of Fijians you have provincialism. Admittedly it goes with the territory. In some places it's very pronounced whereas in others it is very subtle but nevertheless present. Sometimes simmering just beneath the surface and sometimes dormant altogether. But make no mistake about it, it is there.

We now have 14 or so provinces. How many did we have in the era which is now referred to as the pre-contact period? simply, none. So how did the 14 divisions come about? They are a result of the older provinces boundaries being redrawn. For instance the districts (tikinas) who made up the old Colo North Province, Navatusila, Savatu, Nabobuco and Nadrau now pay their provincial dues to Navosa, Ba and Naitasiri.

And the older provinces, how did they come about? Simple, they were the result of the colonial government who saw the divisions as an effective way to facilitate their carrying out their administrative tasks.

What have provinces got to do with Fijian unity? Well, as I see it provinces are something new which is a result of the kai valagi's having colonised us. But it's this kai valagi legacy which is nowadays used a basis for Fijian communal get togethers for a variety of reasons. So when a province gets together it will be, though some Fijians will not publicly admit this, a gathering of disparate people.

Fiji's Daily Post

CRC stops work again
Sunday March 18, 2001

The work of the Constitution Review Commission has been delayed again by a court injunction.

The injunction, which put a stop to the work of the then Interim Government's Constitution Review Commission, has been extended to May by the Lautoka High Court yesterday.

The court had granted the injunction, sought by the Fiji Labour Party, for the commission to abort its task last year.

Permanent secretary in the President's Office Jeremaia Waqanisau last night confirmed that Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was personally served with that injunction and that the latter was seeking legal advice on the matter.

The President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, had instructed the CRC to resume its work four days ago after being sworn-in.

Ratu Iloilo had said that a large section of the indigenous Fijians and the highest Fijian institution, the Great Council of Chiefs, wanted a review of the 1997 Constitution.

"I will be, therefore be giving instructions for the review to resume... the focus will be on desired improvements to the 1997 Constitution," the President had stated.

But commission secretary Walter Rigamoto was reported to have said the work would be on a hold until legal issues have been resolved.

Fiji's Daily Post

Caretaker govt to return Fiji to democratic rule
Sunday March 18, 2001

The re-appointed Laisenia Qarase-led administration yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to returning Fiji to democratic and constitutional rule.

After the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, most of the caretaker ministers said they prefer early general elections.

According to them, this was one of the swiftest and surest ways of healing the many wounds and bridging the divisions which surfaced after the political chaos that ensued from the May 19 armed takeover of parliament.

Tensions were further heightened after the Court of Appeal declared the 1997 Constitution was still the supreme law of the land and the then interim government illegal.

They said the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, has chosen the best political solution for the country in the present circumstances, thus all the different ethnic communities should cooperate with the Caretaker Government and move the country forward.

"It is just a matter of few months and everything will begin to fall in the right place... so I appeal to the population to bear with us till we go to polls," one of the ministers said.

Most of those sworn-in on Friday expressed interest in contesting the next general-elections and those interviewed also said the elections would be an interesting and an historic one because for many it would be the `real test' of acceptability by the people.

This was what some of the re-appointed ministers said minutes after being sworn-in:

Information Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola: "We have to follow the path that is being mapped out by the president and also what the prime minister told us this morning that the elections will be held in August. This Caretaker Government is only for the short term and we will prepare the country for elections, take it back to the people to decide, who should govern."

Ratu Inoke said he would contest the next elections on a Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party ticket.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Alipate Qetaki said he was honoured to be re-appointed as a minister.
When asked if he doubted being recalled because of his perceived poor handling of the State's appeal case Mr Qetaki said: "People are entitled to their views but that case was only one part of my job. I have other jobs, one of which is advising Cabinet on a wide range of matters. But I think that we have done well as far as the case is concerned."

On the issue of further legal challenges on the legality of their appointments, Mr Qetaki said: "I think people will understand the situation we are in. It is a matter of practicality, a matter of necessity and a matter of convenience that we should move forward, the way that we are now moving.

Foreign Affairs and Sugar Minister Kaliopate Tavola said the president's decision for early elections should be an assurance to both the national and international community.

On the likelihood of sanctions, Mr Tavola said: "I haven't heard of any such threat. First, I need to hear those threats and make an assessment of what they entail, I haven't heard anything so I can't comment. Foreign governments have to understand that we have set plans to take the country forward to a democratic rule."

He said no international reaction on the appointment of the Caretaker Government has been received yet but he was confident the international community would understand government's commitment to returning Fiji to democratic rule.

Mr Tavola agreed the sugar industry was a matter of concern saying: "The land legislation needs to be looked into in detail, expiring land leases also needs to be looked at to see what can be done to it. We were hoping to achieve a lot under the interim administration but we were not able to do that and there is very little that we can do in terms of entrenched laws (as a Caretaker Government) but I am sure there are ways of resoling the problem."

Mr Tavola encouraged indo-Fijian farmers to carry on farming as some solution would be sought.

Education Minister Nelson Delailomaloma said he hopes to decrease the number of drug-related problems in schools before he leaves office.

However, he said he had no desire to contest the next general elections.

"I am not a politician and what I am doing now is just for the sake of the children. However, I could always be hired by the next elected government to provide consultancy work in the field of education. They can always do that, but I have no desire to contest the elections."

Fiji's Daily Post

Police under fire
Sunday March 18, 2001

Police have come under fire again for allegations of brutal abuse on women by police officers last week.

In two separate incidents, police officers reportedly applied `excessive force' on two women who were taken in for questioning.
The women were allegedly assaulted both physically and emotionally by the officers.

One of the women, who was in her third month of pregnancy, lost her foetus after she was allegedly punched, slapped and verbally abused with racial remarks by a group of police officers at the Nabua Police Station.

In the other incident, another woman was taken in by police officers for questioning at the Samabula Police Station for parking her vehicle at a no parking zone; she was allegedly hurled into the back of a police van and was detained at the station where she was allegedly harassed.

Police officers had asked her if she had tattoos on her body and then they took her toe prints - all this for a traffic infringement.
Both women are Indo-Fijians.

Women's activist and coodinator of the Women's Crisis Centre Shamima Ali yesterday said police have to speed up investigation on the officers involved and called the department to take the cases seriously.

Ms Ali said the incidents reflect pure police brutality and gross violation of human rights.

"In the incident where the woman lost her baby, other than being punched and slapped, she was also verbally abused with racial remarks where one of the officers told her, `The Chaudhry Government has gone and this is the time of the Qarase administration', such comments add up to the abuse the woman went through," Ms Ali said.

Fiji's Daily Post

Man jailed for giving girlfriend HIV

March 16 2001

LONDON (Reuters) - A Scottish man, found guilty of recklessly infecting his girlfriend with HIV through having sex, has been jailed for five years, a court official said.

Stephen Kelly, 33, from Glasgow, knew he was HIV positive when he passed on the virus that causes AIDS to his then partner, 34-year-old Anne Craig.

Passing sentence, judge Lord Mackay said he had acted with disregard for the consequences of his actions and had put Craig's life in danger.

Kelly, who had denied the charge of culpable and reckless conduct in the first case of its kind under Scottish law, was said to have had sex with Craig several times during a whirlwind relationship in 1994.

He had not told her he was carrying the virus before they had sex for the first time even though he had known 18 months earlier that he was infected as a result of injecting heroin.

British court convicts teenage girl of rape

AFP - 17 March 2001

A teenage girl was convicted of rape today after pinning down a woman in a "vile and horrifying" sex attack by a gang of young friends.

Claire Marsh, 18, is thought to be the youngest of the few females ever to be convicted of such an offence in Britain.

Between 1997 and last year, a total of 14 women were charged with such an offence in the London area alone, mostly in a domestic setting.

The court in London was told that Marsh punched the 37-year-old victim in the face, called her a "slag" and ripped off her top before she was raped.

Others in the 14-strong gang, one aged 12, stood and shouted encouragement as the attack was carried out near the Grand Union Canal in west London last July 22.

Prosecutors had argued that, by holding the victim down, Marsh was just as guilty of rape as the others.

Eventually the woman, who had earlier been thrown into the canal, wriggled free from her attackers.

Marsh showed no emotion as the jury found her guilty of rape, but then started crying when judge Timothy Pontius remanded her in custody until May 8, when he will pass sentence.

He warned that "given this was a particularly vile and horrifying offence of sexual brutality, a substantial custodial sentence is inevitable".

Marsh will be sentenced with Marvin Edwards, 18, and a youth of 15 who had both earlier admitted rape.

Two other youths, aged 15 and 16, were today cleared of the same charge.

Under English law, juvenile defendants under 18 cannot be identified. - AFP

Gun-wielding teens to see dead in Los Angeles
16 MARCH 2001

NZAP -
LOS ANGELES (Reuters): Los Angeles County has passed a law forcing students caught with guns or making threats to view dead bodies and watch autopsies being performed at the coroner's office.

"Young people need to see the results of violent acts," Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said.

"Far too many youngsters are desensitised to violence.

"They need to realise it's not a movie or a video game when someone is shot."

Antonovich said it was the nation's first such law and was modelled after a similar programme for young drunk drivers that had been proven to work.

The resolution was unanimously passed by the board just over a week after a 15-year-old high school student in the San Diego area opened fire on his classmates, killing two people and wounding 13.

Los Angeles has reported 11 arrests of minors for making threats or bringing a gun to school since February 22, Antonovich said.

Fiji decision disappoints
16 MARCH 2001
NZAP

A number of organised groups in Fiji have expressed disappointment over the island nation's presidential decisions.

Ratu Tevita Momoedonu was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday by his uncle, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, during a ceremony convened hastily at Lautoka, on the northwest of Fiji's main island Viti Levu.

The Fiji Trades Union Congress says his actions are unconstitutional.

Its secretary, Felix Anthony, has told the Fiji Times the president's decisions contradict undertakings given by him, the Great Council of Chiefs and the military. The great council and the military have said they would follow a Court of Appeal ruling this month that the military-backed government of interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was illegal.

Mr Anthony said on Friday the decisions mean continued political instability, further economic stagnation or decline, no further investment and eventually no jobs for people.

The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre says there is still a possibility of a Government of national unity through the reconvening of Parliament as provided for in the 1997 constitution.

Its coordinator, Shamima Ali, says the caretaker prime minister's blueprint document for indigenous Fijians is racist and they want someone who has the respect of all people.

The Fiji Teachers Union says if the caretaker government had been formed from elected parliamentarians, that would have been in order.

Farmers unions have also expressed disappointment, saying the future of their members looks bleak after sudden political decisions.

Meanwhile, Mr Qarase is reported to have said there will be no new laws or decrees during the term of the caretaker administration.

Nation in deeper constitutional crisis

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 16 2001

The unconstitutional decisions of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has thrown Fiji into a deeper political crisis.

Most lawyers, politicians, and prominent citizens as well as the diplomats, have expressed disbelief that the flagrant violation of the law and the Constitution by the President.

The series of acts which culminated in the reappointment of Laisenia Qarase began when the Council of Chiefs decided not to invite the Prime Minister to its meeting. The Prime Minister is an ex-officio member of the Great Council of Chiefs.

Next, the GCC did not consult the Prime Minister in the appointment of the President and the Vice-President. Under the Constitution the GCC must consult with the Prime Minister in appointing the President.

Third, the President claimed he dismissed the elected Prime Minister. This dismissal is against the Constitutional provisions.

Fourth, he appointed another Prime Minister, his nephew Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, again in breach of the Constitution.

Fifth, he accepted the resignation of the newly appointed Prime Minister within 20 hours and accepted his advice of a dissolution of the Parliament.

Sixth, he re-appointed Laisenia Qarase as the Prime Minister, once more in serious breach of the Constitution.

These unconstitutional acts call into question the sincerity of the regime in upholding the Constitution and the law of the land.

It also seriously tarnishes the integrity of the Office of the President, the highest authority in the land. That the President may have been advised wrongly by bureaucrats is another matter of serious concern. It doesn't even take a law graduate to figure out the gross violation of the Constitution by the President. The least which the bureaucrats could have done is to alert the President of the illegality of his planned acts as and when they were made aware of them. And surely they were aware of this. While the law protects civil servants from liability for wrong advice given to decision makers, the fact remains that many of Fiji's governments and decision makers have perished because of the poor quality of advice given by the bureaucrats. In the present case, the office of the Solicitor-General, which looks after the interest of the state, should not have been allowed to be used in the way it was.

What is more disconcerting is the claim by some that the President's speech was actually drafted in the Prime Minister's office. That it was a conspiracy hatched by some of the Qarase regime team and some bureaucrats to keep Fiji away from a constitutional rule, can not be ruled out.

It is even more worrying that the military says it knows of the unconstitutional decisions of the President. By not advising the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the army, of the legalities, the military has also failed in its duty to uphold the Constitution and to safeguard the integrity of the Office of the President, and certainly to prevent the Office from being used by unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats.

The cost to the nation of the decisions made during the past two days, and which are expected to be made today, is immense. It is the final blow to the nation's integrity and image.

Entire ministry in Fiji's illegal interim government returns

ABC News - March 16 2001

The entire ministry in Fiji's interim government which was declared illegal two weeks ago, is back as Fiji's caretaker government.

As Sean Dorney reports Fiji's president has sworn in the same 20-ministers and eight-assistant ministers who served up until Thursday in the government installed by the military last year.


Australian unions will meet next Tuesday to discuss possible action over the latest political developments in Fiji.

President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions - SHARAN BURROW - says the Fiji Trades Union Congress has requested the meeting.

She says the decision by President, RATU JOSEFA ILOILO, to select a Prime Minister to run the interim government who is not an elected offical, is an outrage.

Ms Burrow says the Council will look at every position open to it including the possibility of trades bans.

In what may be interpreted as a snub to the court of appeal they're all back as the caretaker government. And there's just one Indo-Fijian amongst the 28 of them. The attorney-general Alipate Qetaki who lost the court of appeal case defends what the President and the caretaker Prime Minister have done. Mr Qetaki says the court of appeal simply made a declaration that was unenforcable. Sean Dorney, Suva.

(08:23:29 AEST)

Friday March 16 2:14 AM ET
Caretaker Fiji PM Reappoints Entire Government

SUVA (Reuters) - Fiji's caretaker prime minister on Friday named a cabinet unchanged from the post-coup administration ruled illegal two weeks ago.

Fiji's appeal court ruled on March 1 that Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's administration had been illegally appointed after nationalist rebels staged a coup in May 2000 .

The military-backed government includes just one member of the elected government that was ousted in the coup when indigenous Fijian rebels raided parliament and took hostage Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Qarase had said he was considering appointing more politicians from Chaudhry's ousted government. He would not comment when reporters asked why he had reappointed the same 19 members put in place by the military.

The military quelled the rebellion but then appointed Qarase, an indigenous Fijian civil servant, as interim prime minister.

The cabinet will now lead the South Pacific nation to elections in August.

The only representative from Chaudhry's ousted government is Labor Minister Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, an indigenous Fijian and the nephew of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

Iloilo dismissed Qarase and installed Momoedonu as prime minister for a day this week, before reinstating Qarase. The maneuver appeared to be an attempt to observe constitutional formalities after the court ruling.

Chaudhry said in a statement issued before the cabinet was named: ``It is clear that (President) 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,'' he said.

Iloilo has stressed the need to avoid a repeat of the widespread violence against ethnic Indians which was sparked by last year's coup against Chaudhry.

Ethnic Indians make up 44 percent of the population and dominate the sugar and tourism based economy.

Qarase plans to contest the elections in August.

Qarase's revelation
Saturday March 17, 2001

Caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase yesterday informed the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo that some decrees and policies of the interim government were not legally sound.

Mr Qarase made the revelation not long after he was sworn-in as Caretaker Prime Minister. He said he would ask his legal advisers to look into the various decrees.

According to Mr Qarase the decrees which are deemed necessary for the day to day running of the State such as the Emergency and the Budget Decrees could be regarded as lawful.

"But those that impair the rights of citizens under the 1997 Constitution could be doubtful cases and could be the subject of legal challenges in Court."

Mr Qarase said the decree facilitating the transfer State Schedule A and B lands to be administered by the Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB) could be regarded as one of these.

Some landless indigenous Fijians were overjoyed on the promulgation of the decree and were eagerly awaiting the return of State Schedule A and B lands.

One of the implications of the recent Court of Appeal ruling is that the transfer of the administration of State lands to the NLTB could only be decided by Parliament.

The decree while it was hailed by indigenous Fijians was slated by the indo-Fijian community and others who are leasing on Schedule A and B lands.

Mr Qarase also said the interim administration was happy because it had fulfilled its mandate when the President appointed them on July 28, 2000.

"We have restored the law and order situation, laid the foundation for the rehabilitation and return to growth of Fiji's economy and we have addressed issues of genuine concern to the indigenous Fijian community whilst also embarking on a new initiative to actively promote national reconciliation and unity and social cohesion building."

Mr Qarase also requested the President to consider the following:

the provision of appropriate legal safeguards for the interim civilian military government from May 29, 2000 and the interim civilian government from July 28, 2000, inclusive of all ministers and all decrees, actions and policies undertaken from May 29, 2000; and

the enactment by the newly elected parliament of appropriate legislation to implement measures already agreed upon by the interim government, covering:

a) the transfer of native land from ALTA (Agricultural Landlord and Tenants Act) to NLTA (Native Lands Trust Act);

b) the conferment of customary ownership rights on traditional qoliqoli; and

c) the Blueprint for Fijian and Rotuma development.

The other request concerning the resumption of the Constitution Review Committee to continue with their work had been granted by the President, however parliament will then deal with its report and recommendations.

Fiji's Daily Post

Cabinet size may increase
Saturday March 17, 2001

The size of the interim cum Caretaker Cabinet may increase as Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase strives to strike a racial balance by including indo-Fijians in the line-up.

Mr Qarase yesterday said he would set out his recommendations on representatives of the Indian community in Cabinet soon after he has held the appropriate consultations.

"The assurance I give today is that I will create portfolio responsibilities in Cabinet to allow for this," Mr Qarase said. Mr Qarase has retained his 28 member interim administration Cabinet despite criticism from some quarters of there being too many ministers.

But Mr Qarase said he didn't see any problem with having a 28 member Cabinet.

"In the absence of parliament, I expect members of the administration to be in constant touch with the people of Fiji, especially those in rural areas.

"We will be operating for six months only and there will be no parliament so the question of cost is not particularly important. As far as I am concerned the delivery and quality of the service of Government is more important than the number of people in Cabinet."

He said Government had a responsibility to guide the country. "I don't expect ministers and their assistants to be sitting in their offices all day.

They have a role to play in promoting our belief in peaceful changes, tolerance and patience during the election period."

Mr Qarase said the country is expected to go to polls, in which he will be a candidate, in August this year.

"I am an aspiring politician and I will contest the next general-elections. I haven't decided yet as to which political party I will be in but I have decided that I will contest it."

On the validity of the decrees promulgated since May 29 last year when Army Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama assumed executive authority, Mr Qarase said some decrees are still in place, like the one governing law and order.

"The legal people will have to check on which decrees are valid and which are not. I understand that the one essential for law and order is still valid.

The Budget Decree 2001 has to be obviously valid. It has to be checked whether the Decree on the transfer of Schedule A and B lands is still valid."

Fiji's Daily Post

Chaudhry challenges President's move
Saturday March 17, 2001

The ousted People's Coalition Government has branded President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's recent moves as unconstitutional and illegal.

Former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry yesterday said all appointments to high government posts were unconstitutional. "It is clear that Ratu Iloilo and his advisers never had any intention of acting within the bounds of the 1997 Constitution.

Their undertaking to do so was a mere stage show to mislead the people of Fiji and the international community," Mr Chaudhry said.

"To begin with, his own appointment as president and that of the vice-president are unconstitutional because the chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs didn't consult me as the constitutionally-appointed PM, as required under Section 90 of the 1997 Constitution; the appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as the PM for a day made a mockery of the Constitution itself.

"The re-appointment of Mr Qarase as the caretaker PM is yet again unconstitutional because the appointment contravenes Section 98 of the Constitution which stipulates that only a member elected to the House of Representatives can be appointed as prime minister and Mr Qarase is not a member of the House of Representatives."

The Fiji Court of Appeal had declared two weeks ago that the 1997 Constitution was the supreme law of the country and that the pre-May 19 Parliament had not been dissolved.

The democratically-elected prime minister also pointed out that the dissolution of the House of Representatives on the advice of Ratu Tevita was null and void.

Fiji's Daily Post

Residents shed tears of joy
Saturday March 17, 2001

Tears flowed at the Dawasamu District School yesterday.

But they were tears of joy as members of the small Indian community there mingled with their Fijian neighbours freely for the first time since the atrocities of May 19 last year.

Members of the two major races in the area were there to celebrate Dawasamu Day - a day organised by the Police Force and the Ministry of Youth to forge reconciliation.

"This is a great day for humanity," Akata Matavotu said as she greeted her friend Manjula Bi. Although Manjula's home was burnt by rampant Dawasamu youths at the height of George Speight's occupation of parliament, she has come to terms with the reality of her situation.

"I still live here with my family because this is our home. There is no where else to go," she said.

Since those horrible days things are getting better and with the support of people like Akata, we are moving along fine." At the school ground yesterday, people mixed freely, drank yaqona together, had lunch together and danced together as they sought forgiveness from each other.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Romanu Tikotikoca spoke in glowing terms of how the Ratu Mai Dawasamu (high chief) helped the law enforcement unit turn what was perhaps the most volatile situation during the George Speight coup into a reconciliation process.

"If it was not for the support of the Ratu Mai Dawasamu and fellow chiefs in the area our work would have been much harder," Assistant Commissioner Tikotikoca said.

"It is now for us the residents of Dawasamu to bury our differences and work together for the future generation of our country." Earlier, reconciliation ministry official Paula Sotutu thanked the Indian community of Dawasamu for their contribution towards the development of the area.

"Be rest assured that without your dedication, hard work and perseverance, Dawasamu and even Fiji would not have enjoyed what we now take for granted," Mr Sotutu said.

"We are very thankful for your contribution. We may have our differences but this is your country.

Please help us rebuild it." Dawasamu Day was indeed a joyous occasion as villagers came with their lovo delights and the Indians with their pots of curry for a joint hearty lunch.

Fiji's Daily Post

Mum hands Poese over
Saturday March 17, 2001

Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit member, Tevita Poese is now in custody after his mother handed him over on Thursday.

And she claimed her son had been in Vanua Levu since October 7 last year. Poese's mother, 63-year-old Naomi Bera said she had been harbouring her son moving him between their home and farm knowing full well she was breaking the law.

"I knew it was illegal to harbour wanted people.

However he is my son, and if I had handed him over to the soldiers last year, I believe he would have been dead by now." She however said she was happy with the way soldiers treated her son when she handed him over to them.

A letter allegedly hand written by Poese said he was at the parliamentary complex after May 19 last year to offer his spiritual guidance.

Mrs Bera said Poese had also told the authorities on the whereabouts of an arms cache in the Monasavu area.

Poese was wanted for a series of unlawful activities including those within parliament, the murder of two servicemen and an armed robbery.

Fiji's Daily Post

Council supports Ratu Iloilo
Saturday March 17, 2001

The Textile Clothing and Footwear Council says it supports Ratu Josefa Iloilo's appointment as president inspite of the council's gloomy future.

Council president Ranjit Solanki says the president's plans can and will create stability if key participants work towards the latter's ultimate goal of leading Fiji to a democratically elected government as soon as possible.

He says the TCF industry has been damaged severely with losses of up to $10 million per month to the economy, which subsequently leads to the redundancy of thousands of workers and closure of factories.

"It's time for the destructive internal and international bickering to stop," Mr Solanki says. "Our president has chosen a path he feels will return our nation to political stability and economic growth.

It is our duty to at least respect his decision and be seen to rally behind our executive national leaders for the good of Fiji."

The council also supports the appointment of the new Caretaker Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, because "he has proven himself to be a capable and respected leader to those who have engaged in dialogue with his previous Interim Government".

Fiji's Daily Post

Accept decision, says Vagh
Saturday March 17, 2001

The Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the public to accept the decision of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

And support Caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as he takes the country forward to the next general elections.

Chamber president Natwarlal Vagh said the public should accept the President's decision just as they accepted the Court Of Appeal's decision.

"We all should accept what our president has undertaken in order to get the country moving." Mr Vagh said now is the time to move forward and take Fiji to a more prosperous future.

"This is not a time of splitting hairs on the legality of things.

It is the time to move forward and bring the country to democratic rule.

"The economy of Fiji depends on the stability and vision to establish a firm foundation upon which we can build a prosperous Fiji."

Mr Vagh emphasised the economy of the country can only be recovered if everyone works together.

"The economy and investor confidence can be restored if every race works together to bring our beloved country to parliamentary rule.

"The police force and military are expected to administer to the rule of law.

The security forces in the country are here to see that everything is free from all pressures in the best interest of the country."

He said there was a need for all citizens to understand and abide by the law.

Fiji's Daily Post

Friday March 16 7:19 PM ET
Thousands Pack Vienna to Protest Against Racism

By Julia Ferguson

VIENNA (Reuters) - More than 6,000 people packed the main square in the Austrian capital Vienna on Friday to demonstrate against racism and the presence of the far-right Freedom Party in a coalition government.

The protest in the square surrounding St. Steven's cathedral came nine days before Vienna holds municipal elections that are being closely watched to see how the far-right party fares after gaining national power in February 2000.

Organizers of the peaceful anti-racism meeting said up to 14,000 attended the protest. Police said 6,000 showed up.

The Freedom Party, dominated by Joerg Haider although he is no longer officially its leader, is making immigration a central theme of its campaign for the March 25 elections in Vienna.

Haider led his party into power last year in a coalition with the conservative People's Party. This prompted Austria's European Union (news - web sites) partners to impose bilateral diplomatic sanctions because they regard the Freedom Party as racist and xenophobic.

The sanctions were subsequently lifted after the EU partners determined Vienna's government was sticking to democratic norms.

Haider later resigned as Freedom party leader but continues to dominate the anti-immigration grouping. Haider is playing an active role in campaigning for next week's elections.

The populist firebrand is under fire both at home and abroad for his attacks on the leader of the country's Jewish community, Ariel Muzicant.

Haider on Friday defended his controversial remark that Muzicant had ``Dreck am Stecken,'' which literally means dirt sticking to someone and is broadly interpreted as meaning ``to have skeletons in the closet.''

'Speaking Against Our Country Abroad'

``It should not be forbidden in Austria to criticize somebody, who as an Austrian, has been actively speaking against our country abroad,'' Haider said on Austrian state television.

``I think it's pretty bad that this comes from someone who at one time emigrated to this country and for whom Austria became a peaceful and open country,'' he added.

Muzicant, in an address to the thousands massed around Vienna's landmark St. Steven's, said the latest campaigning in Vienna was racist and anti-Semitic. He also lashed out against the dominant coalition partner for failing to condemn it.

``It is an Austrian specialty that a government party is responsible (for espousing racism) and the other party just keeps silent for the last 13 months,'' he said in reference to the Freedom Party and Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's conservatives.

Muzicant said earlier on Friday he was suing Haider for his allegedly anti-Semitic remarks, made during a speech on February 28 in which Haider made a punning reference to the Jewish leader's first name and the name of a well-known washing powder, Ariel.

``I'm fed up with Haider relentlessly throwing muck and dirt at me, on issues he cannot prove,'' Muzicant said. Haider said the remark on washing powder was a ``humorous play on words.''

Another Freedom Party politician, Peter Schumann, on Friday withdrew his candidacy for Vienna's local elections after causing a furor with some of his comments.

Schumann had commented that he had no problem belonging to a ``brown'' party -- German shorthand for a Nazi party -- in what he termed an ironic response to a Social Democratic politician's description of the Freedom Party as a ``brown rabble.''

The Freedom Party said Schumann had decided to withdraw because his remarks had been deliberately misinterpreted and because he had received threats.

Caretaker Fiji PM Reappoints Entire Government

L.A Times - 16 March 2001

     SUVA - Fiji's caretaker prime minister on Friday named a cabinet unchanged from the post-coup administration ruled illegal two weeks ago.
      Fiji's appeal court ruled on March 1 that Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's administration had been illegally appointed after nationalist rebels staged a coup in May 2000 .
      The military-backed government includes just one member of the elected government that was ousted in the coup when indigenous Fijian rebels raided parliament and took hostage Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.
      Qarase had said he was considering appointing more politicians from Chaudhry's ousted government. He would not comment when reporters asked why he had reappointed the same 19 members put in place by the military.
      The military quelled the rebellion but then appointed Qarase, an indigenous Fijian civil servant, as interim prime minister.
      The cabinet will now lead the South Pacific nation to elections in August.
      The only representative from Chaudhry's ousted government is Labor Minister Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, an indigenous Fijian and the nephew of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.
      Iloilo dismissed Qarase and installed Momoedonu as prime minister for a day this week, before reinstating Qarase. The maneuver appeared to be an attempt to observe constitutional formalities after the court ruling.
      Chaudhry said in a statement issued before the cabinet was named: "It is clear that (President) 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," he said.
      Iloilo has stressed the need to avoid a repeat of the widespread violence against ethnic Indians which was sparked by last year's coup against Chaudhry.
      Ethnic Indians make up 44 percent of the population and dominate the sugar and tourism based economy.
      Qarase plans to contest the elections in August.

Friday March 16 1:00 PM ET
Second Florida Boy Sentenced to Life in Prison

By Frances Kerry

MIAMI (Reuters) - A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for strangling a 12-year-old schoolmate and dumping his body in a septic tank, becoming the second Florida teen in a week to be locked up for life.

John Silva, who was convicted in February of first-degree murder for the death of Jerry Allen in May last year, was sentenced on Thursday in Palatka, northeast Florida, by 7th Judicial Circuit Court Judge A. W. Nichols.

The mandatory sentence in Florida for a juvenile convicted as an adult of first-degree murder is life in prison without parole, meaning the judge had little leeway in a case that again highlighted the state's tough stance on juveniles convicted of serious crimes.

Just one week ago, Lionel Tate, 14, was sentenced to life in prison without parole by a Broward County judge for the murder of a 6-year-old girl in a case that stirred national controversy over how minors should be punished, and sparked criticism of Florida by rights activists.

So far, Silva's case has attracted far less attention.

Tate was just 12 when he battered Tiffany Eunick to death in what his lawyers argued was an accident that occurred while he was play wrestling with the girl.

Ken Padowitz, the prosecutor in Tate's case, sought a first-degree murder conviction. But he offered a pretrial plea agreement that would have meant a far more lenient sentence and has also said he will join the boy's defense attorneys in a clemency appeal to Gov. Jeb Bush.

``Heinous, Premeditated Crime''

But the prosecutor in Silva's case, Garry Wood, said on Friday he would fight any such clemency appeal were it to be made, arguing that both the conviction he sought and the punishment the judge handed down were justice for a boy who had committed ``a very heinous, premeditated crime.''

In a crime that shocked the rural community of Interlachen, Alley's body was found in an abandoned septic tank after he disappeared in a wood. Nearby, police found instructions for killing Alley in handwriting that matched Silva's.

``He listed four or five things he wanted to do, gagging and tying him up, and stripping him to his underwear,'' Wood, deputy division chief for the state attorney's office in Palatka, told Reuters. ``He strangled and tied him up, left him in the tank, threw his bike on top ... then went home and watched TV.''

Wood did not speculate on a motive but said, ``whatever his motivation was, it caused such a rage in him to have not only planned this but to have killed a 12-year-old boy with such brutality that we had great concern he would do this again.''

``I do believe John Silva's capable of killing again, and he'll never have that opportunity again,'' Wood said.

Silva's defense argued that the death was an accident. The Miami Herald Friday quoted Silva's mother, Cynthia Silva, as saying she still did not feel her son did the crime.

``He is immature ... he does not understand most of the process and what is going on,'' the paper quoted her as saying.

Amnesty Objects

Rights group Amnesty International, which condemned the sentence handed down to Tate last week, said in a statement such sentences were a violation of international law.

``The John Silva case, like the Lionel Tate case, is indicative of a growing trend of sentencing children to life imprisonment without parole -- and at the moment, Florida seems to be leading the way,'' Amnesty said.

``We continue to remind the Florida authorities that such a sentence is in violation of international law. The main purpose of any sentence in this case should be rehabilitation.''

The Miami Herald said Cynthia Silva had asked for her son to be sent to a juvenile facility and that Nichols had agreed to ask the state for this.

A spokeswoman for the state's Juvenile Justice department said the department had had no such request yet from the Department of Corrections. In the Tate case, the boy was moved this week to a juvenile detention center.

Wood said that while he understood concerns over Silva's age, he felt the boy understood about crime and punishment.

In an school essay on juveniles who commit adult crimes, written four months before the murder, Silva ended his work with the words, ``if you do the crime, you do the time.''

Constitutional Crisis
Friday, 16 March 2001, 11:26 am
Press Release: Fiji Peoples Coalition Government

Issue No: 592 16 March 2001

The unconstitutional decisions of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has thrown Fiji into a deeper political crisis.

Most lawyers, politicians, and prominent citizens as well as the diplomats, have expressed disbelief that the flagrant violation of the law and the Constitution by the President.

The series of acts which culminated in the reappointment of Laisenia Qarase began when the Council of Chiefs decided not to invite the Prime Minister to its meeting. The Prime Minister is an ex-officio member of the Great Council of Chiefs.

Next, the GCC did not consult the Prime Minister in the appointment of the President and the Vice-President. Under the Constitution the GCC must consult with the Prime Minister in appointing the President.

Third, the President claimed he dismissed the elected Prime Minister. This dismissal is against the Constitutional provisions.

Fourth, he appointed another Prime Minister, his nephew Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, again in breach of the Constitution.

Fifth, he accepted the resignation of the newly appointed Prime Minister within 20 hours and accepted his advice of a dissolution of the Parliament.

Sixth, he re-appointed Laisenia Qarase as the Prime Minister, once more in serious breach of the Constitution.

These unconstitutional acts call into question the sincerity of the regime in upholding the Constitution and the law of the land.

It also seriously tarnishes the integrity of the Office of the President, the highest authority in the land. That the President may have been advised wrongly by bureaucrats is another matter of serious concern. It doesn't even take a law graduate to figure out the gross violation of the Constitution by the President. The least which the bureaucrats could have done is to alert the President of the illegality of his planned acts as and when they were made aware of them. And surely they were aware of this. While the law protects civil servants from liability for wrong advice given to decision makers, the fact remains that many of Fiji's governments and decision makers have perished because of the poor quality of advice given by the bureaucrats. In the present case, the office of the Solicitor-General, which looks after the interest of the state, should not have been allowed to be used in the way it was.

What is more disconcerting is the claim by some that the President's speech was actually drafted in the Prime Minister's office. That it was a conspiracy hatched by some of the Qarase regime team and some bureaucrats to keep Fiji away from a constitutional rule, can not be ruled out.

It is even more worrying that the military says it knows of the unconstitutional decisions of the President. By not advising the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the army, of the legalities, the military has also failed in its duty to uphold the Constitution and to safeguard the integrity of the Office of the President, and certainly to prevent the Office from being used by unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats.

The cost to the nation of the decisions made during the past two days, and which are expected to be made today, is immense. It is the final blow to the nation's integrity and image.

END 16 March 2001

---

Military Denies FT Report; Threatens Journalist
Issue No: 593 15 March 2001

The military has strongly denied a report in yesterday's Fiji Times that it is aware of the President's decision being outside the law.

In its lead story on the appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu by the then Acting President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, the paper wrote: "A senior military officer said the security forces were aware that the decisions taken by the President was outside the law". The reporter, Margaret Wise, quoted the officer as saying: "We are aware that it might be outside the provisions of the Constitution but this is the least worst option that can be taken to return the country to parliamentary rule within the shortest time. We are choosing the lesser of two evils".

In a statement taken out by the regime yesterday, the military condemned the report and the reporter. The statement, refuting the allegations, said: "Through a statement, army spokesman, Captain Ned Taito stated that the reporter claimed to have quoted from unofficial sources which the RFMF considers as slanderous."

"The RFMF has never made nor condoned such a statement that implies that decisions made by His Excellency the President were illegal or that the RFMF was party to any such action."

The statement further stated that the military was requesting "the Fiji Times to refrain from making such unsubstantiated allegations and cautioned that any future allegations as such will result in appropriate actions being taken by the military against the newspaper and the reporter responsible."

If the threat is any action outside the law, then this is reprehensible, however mischievous the reporter may have been.

The issue now is that we have a leading newspaper almost claiming that the military endorsed the unconstitutional acts of the President, and the military denying any such endorsement. This is a serious matter.

What is the military's position on the series of unconstitutional acts by the Commander-in-Chief of the army? Was it ever consulted by the Office of the President? That the military had a meeting, albeit even a regular meeting, on the 14th, does raise the question of whether the military made any decision to advice the President at all.

If it hasn't, as the government statement stated, then this is of concern. By not advising the President of the illegalities of his planned actions, the military has failed in its duty to be true to their oath, to uphold the Constitution and to safeguard the integrity of the Office of the President. It has also failed to prevent the Office of the President from being used by unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats and in the process seriously tarnishing the image of the President and the military.

Claims that the military may be a party to the decisions and that this is another "bloodless coup" which has been carried out in the country with the willing hand of the military, need to be laid to rest by the military.

END 15 March 2001

Aust unions to consider bans
Friday March 16, 2001
7.20 pm

Australian unions will meet early next week to discuss the situation in Fiji and whether to consider the imposition of bans.

"Australian unions led the way with bans during the hostage crisis and we are willing to reconsider the imposition of bans if there are no concrete moves toward a constitutional solution to the Fijian crisis," said ACTU president Sharan Burrow.

And she has urged 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 worsening political and economic crisis.

Burrow condemned as illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful the decision of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo to dismiss the democratically elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and re-appoint the caretaker Laisenia Qarase regime.

"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 or 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," said Burrow. "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 Constitution. "That promise has been broken," said Ms Burrow.

By ignoring the Court of Appeal ruling, Iloilo was putting at risk the already fragile economic situation in Fiji, Burrow said.

"Since George Speight hijacked the democratically elected Government at gun-point, hundreds of Fijians have become refugees in their own country.

Farmers have been evicted from their land, 8,000 building workers have lost their jobs and 5,000 tourist industry workers are unemployed or working reduced hours.

The Fijian administration owes it to these people to find a constitutional solution to this crisis and get the Fijian economy back to work."

Iloilo's actions illegal: Chaudhry
Friday March 16, 2001
7.20 pm

Every action of Ratu Josefa Iloilo as acting President since the Fiji Court of Appeal judgment on the 1997 Constitution has been illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful, says sacked Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

"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," Chaudhry said.

"Their undertaking to do so was a mere stage show to mislead the people of Fiji and the international community."

"His own appointment as President and that of the Vice President are unconstitutional because the chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs did not consult me as the constitutionally appointed prime minister, as required under Section 90 of the 1997 Constitution.

"The appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as ‘prime minister’ for a day made a mockery of the constitution itself."

Chaudhry said the reappointment of Laisenia Qarase as the caretaker Prime Minister is also unconstitutional because the appointment contravenes Section 98 of the Constitution which stipulates that only a member elected to the House of Representatives can be appointed as Prime Minister.

Qarase is not a member of the House of Representatives, he said. The Fiji Labour Party leader said the dissolution of the House of Representatives on the advice of Momoedonu is null and void.

Legally and constitutionally the House elected in May 1999 continues in existence, he said. "Iloilo's assertion that he did not heed my advice for dissolution of the House because he believes I did not have the confidence of the members is pure conjecture," said Chaudhry.

"My support was not tested on the floor of the House. It certainly does not explain how Ratu Tevita Momoedonu’s purported advice for dissolution was accepted without ascertaining his support. So far as I know Ratu Tevita was not supported by any political party in the House.

"My advice to Ratu Josefa was offered in good faith and to help the acting President find a solution to our political impasse within the Consitution.

"Let me make it quite clear that in my meeting with Ratu Josefa on March 7, I had offered to advise dissolution but only after Parliament had been reconvened to deal with the call from a number of indigenous political parties for a change to the voting method to revert to the first-past the-post system."

Chaudhry said if Iloilo had heeded his 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 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."

"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."

Economic consequences ahead: FTUC
Friday March 16, 2001
4.50 pm

The Fiji Trades Union Congress has raised concern about the appointment of a caretaker government by the President.

The congress says the move will hurt the workers most.

It said the appointment sent the worse signal for investors and the economy.

"There will be huge reluctance on the part of foreign governments and investors to deal with Fiji," the congress said.

It said that the EU had been monitoring developments and the prospects for increased sanctions could become very real.

The congress said it was surprised that Lesenia Qarase had opted to accept the office of the Prime Minister.

Convene Parliament: Yabaki

Fiji Times - 16 march 2001

THE President must convene Parliament so the country can be informed of who the prime minister is and to resolve the decision for a general election, Citizens Constitution Forum spokesman Reverend Akuila Yabaki said.

He said the President received a petition signed by 40 parliamentarians on March 1, calling for the convening of Parliament. He said advice on the appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu under Section 109 was based on wrong interpretation.

"The President can only appoint Ratu Tevita for the purpose of testing his support in Parliament, not for dissolution of Parliament, the calling of fresh elections or the appointment of a caretaker government. These decisions are unconstitutional and the CCF intends to challenge them directly through the High Court,'' Mr Yabaki said.

Fijians misled by leaders Chaudhry

Fiji Times - 16 march 2001

INDIGENOUS Fijian institutions, including the Great Council of Chiefs, must be blamed for the perceived grievances of their people, Mahendra Chaudhry told guests at a fund-raising dinner in Sydney on Saturday.

He said the indigenous people were not marginalised and that the struggle in Fiji for indigenous rights was really a cover for racism.

Calling himself Fiji's prime minister, Mr Chaudhry said rights of Fijians were fully protected by the Constitution, which placed their interests paramount to other communities.

They owned all the resources sea, land, forests and minerals dominated the public service and Fiji's army was almost exclusively Fijian, he noted.

Fijians were beneficiaries of special education funds and soft loans, he said. "Despite this, the majority of the Fijian people remain poor,'' he said at the Australia Labour Party/Fiji Labour Party dinner.

"We must ask why, when for 30 years since independence they retained a monopoly on power, governed by indigenous leaders.

"Much of the blame for the perceived grievances must lie with their own institutions' failure.
"The Great Council of Chiefs, the Native Land Trust Board, the Fijian Affairs Board, and the provincial councils are indigenous institutions that have not fully discharged the trust placed in them by the ordinary Fijians,'' he said.

"They have not questioned the poor utilisation of Fijian resources, the wastage and the lack of initiatives to develop these resources to maximise returns for the indigenous people.

"They have never bothered to look at the real reasons behind the poverty of their own people.''
He said always, a scapegoat was "inevitably'' found in "the unfortunate Indian''.

Mr Chaudhry said his party's struggle for social justice and individual freedoms were complicated by racism and fundamentalist forces opposed to social and political changes.

These forces, which he claimed was backed by the army and police, continuously interfered with the people's will.

Labour's first win in 1985 challenged Fiji's political structure and the party's multi-racial appeal and policies for socio-economic reforms became a real threat to "entrenched political interests,'' said Mr Chaudhry.

"It is not surprising, therefore, that the success of the Fiji Labour Party instigated the vested interests to plot three coup d'etats to overthrow two Labour governments.''

Fiji media see political crisis deepening

15.03.2001 2:00 pm

SUVA - Fiji's political crisis looked set to deepen today as local media speculated the President would dissolve Parliament, the Prime Minister resign after a day in office and a post-coup premier be re-appointed as caretaker.

The Fiji Times and Daily Post newspapers said President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who will be formally sworn in today, will dissolve Parliament and appoint a caretaker administration to steer Fiji to elections.

But the question all Fijians were asking was who would be the racially-torn nation's Prime Minister in the lead-up to the elections expected later in the year, possibly in August.

"Who will be PM?," asked Fiji's Daily Post.

The newspaper outlined a bizarre series of events which would see former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who tendered his resignation last week after a court ruled his interim government illegal, again leading Fiji towards elections later in the year.

In such a scenario Qarase would become Fiji's fifth Prime Minister since a racially motivated coup in May 2000 toppled Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier, Mahendra Chaudhry.

In a surprise move, President Iloilo appointed his nephew Ratu Tevita Momoedonu Prime Minister yesterday, but both The Fiji Times and Daily Post said he would either resign today or be removed automatically when Parliament was dissolved.

His appointment was seen simply as a tool to allow Iloilo to follow the formal mechanism for dissolving parliament.

"Who will then lead the caretaker Government? If Ratu Iloilo is to be guided by the Great Council of Chiefs decision, then expect Mr Qarase to be re-appointed as caretaker Prime Minister," said the Daily Post. The chiefs are Fiji's traditional rulers.

The Fiji Times said Momoedonu would resign.

"Interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is expected to be appointed caretaker prime minister in the build-up to elections. He will return to office and expectations are that he will announce a much leaner team to assist him over the five-month period (to elections)," said The Fiji Times.

Momoedonu, labour minister in the post-coup Government and a minister in the multi-racial Chaudhry Government, has said he will recommend to Iloilo that elections be held in August.

Chaudhry, who said he had received his formal letter of dismissal from Iloilo yesterday, described Momoedonu's appointment as unconstitutional.

Iloilo is due to be sworn in formally as President today in a ceremony in Suva after being appointed by the powerful Great Council of Chiefs on Tuesday.

Iloilo and the chiefs have been trying to find a way out of Fiji's political crisis since the Court of Appeal ruled on March 1 that Qarase's post-coup Government was illegal.

Qarase was installed after nationalist rebels toppled the Chaudhry Government in the name of indigenous rights, sparking a wave of violence against Fiji's ethnic minority Indo-Fijians.

Indians make up 44 per cent of the population of 800,000 and dominate the sugar and tourism driven economy.

- REUTERS

Ratu Iloilo sworn in
Friday March 16, 2001

Tui Vuda Ratu Josefa Iloilo was sworn in as Fiji's President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces yesterday afternoon.

And Bau chief Ratu Jope Seniloli took the oath of Vice President in the same ceremony.

Chief Justice Sir Timoci Tuivaga officiated at the ceremony administering the Oath of Allegiance and Oath for Due Execution of the Office of the President and Commander-in-Chief.

He also administered the oath to Ratu Jope.

The swearing-in ceremony was held under a tight security and was attended by the diplomatic corp, the Laisenia Qarase-led Cabinet, prominent members of the public and members of the local and international media. In a national address, Ratu Iloilo expressed his appreciation to the people and the highest Fijian institution, the Great Council of Chiefs for having continuous trust and confidence in him.

"I thank them for the confidence shown by their unanimous support of my Presidency.

"As Head of State, the Office of President also symbolises the unity of our country, that unity must reflect the make up of a multi-cultural and multi-racial society."

Ratu Iloilo was first appointed as the acting President after former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was asked to step aside by the military during the height of the May 19 crisis.

Fiji's Daily Post

CRC given mandate resume task
Friday March 16, 2001

The Constitution Review Commission were yesterday given a presidential mandate to continue their aborted task of reviewing the 1997 Constitution.

The commission was ordered to stop after the High Court in Lautoka granted an injunction filed by the People's Coalition last year.

Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who was sworn-in yesterday afternoon said a large section of the Fijian community including the highest Fijian institution, the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) wanted the 1997 Constitution reviewed.

He said the country needed a constitution that served to hold the nation together and that the 1997 Constitution remained an object of dissent rather than unity.

"The submissions to the Constitutional Review Commission appointed by the interim administration, gave convincing evidence of the dissatisfaction of the indigenous people with the 1997 Document.

Before its work was suspended, the commission received 512 representations from indigenous Fijians - the overwhelming majority of these were opposed to the constitution, compare this with the number of Fijian representations made to the Reeves Commission, whose report led to the 1997 Constitution, there were just 240 representations," Ratu Iloilo said.

"There is a message in this that can't be ignored, the strong feelings which have been expressed in the GCC meeting can also not be disregarded - the chiefs made it plain in their meeting this week that they too wanted the constitution to be reviewed."

The President said the constitution should be seen as a living document that should be reviewed and modified, if need be, to reflect the wishes of the people.

"We need a constitution that promotes racial harmony and the economic and social development of all communities.

The least we can do in the interest of building a united Fiji is to allow the indigenous Fijians to express their grievances and concerns about the 1997 Constitution."

On the Court of Appeal decision that was passed two weeks ago, Ratu Iloilo said: "We have accepted the Court of Appeal declaration that the 1997 Constitution remains our supreme law but let us recognise that it has become an object of dissent. At present I am committed to the verdict of the Appeals Court.

The approach I have adopted is about dealing in the most effective manner with the uncertainties and realities of Fiji's position.

I would say that since the Appeals Court declaration there has been an increase in apprehension and uncertainty and a widening of the racial gulf."

Ratu Iloilo said the Appeals Court restricted itself to legal questions and did not propose a solution to our political dilemma.

Fiji's Daily Post

It's Qarase again
Friday March 16, 2001

The President Ratu Josefa Iloilo yesterday ended all speculation on the country's top political job when he yesterday named former interim prime minister Laisenia Qarase to lead the Caretaker Government.

Ratu Iloilo announced Mr Qarase's appointment minutes after being sworn in as President yesterday afternoon.

Announcing Mr Qarase's appointment, Ratu Iloilo said the mandate of the Caretaker Government was to take Fiji to the polls, maintain law and order and thus pave the way for a smooth economic recovery.

"In my view, there is evidence that a large number of Fijians had confidence in the Interim Administration and its leader Mr Qarase... there was unanimous support for the administration," Ratu Iloilo said.

"The Court of Appeal said that they (Interim Administration) were not able to prove they have the popular support of the people, but the overwhelming show of support and confidence in them by the GCC (Great Council of Chiefs), on behalf of the Fijians and Rotumans, the majority community in Fiji, paints a totally different picture."

The Caretaker Government is expected to be sworn-in this morning. It is understood the Caretaker Cabinet will be announced on Monday.

"I've got a very good team and I would like to retain as many as possible but a decision on that will be made very shortly," Mr Qarase said.

However, it is understood that the size of Mr Qarase's Cabinet will depend on when the country goes to the polls.

There would be no point in making too many changes to the interim cabinet, which is now effectively the Caretaker Cabinet, if elections are to be held as early as August.

Regarding the General Elections Mr Qarase said: "We could be looking at the end of the year and we will be advising His Excellency on that soon." Mr Qarase said he was honoured to be assigned the duty of taking the country forward and requested the public to support and trust the Caretaker Government so it could fulfil its national commitment.

"We need your support and trust.

We have ruled for over seven months and they (the public) know our performance and I hope that would be sufficient to allow them to give us encouragement to take the country to next elections.

I certainly feel that I have a duty to perform for the country and I have done it for the seven months, it was challenging but rewarding.

"To the indo-Fijians, their is absolutely nothing to be worried about, this is their country, the process of constitutional change will take place as His Excellency has mentioned.

There is no intention to disenfranchise the Indian community or anyone else for that matter, so they should feel fairly safe in this country, which is their country."

However Mr Qarase refused to be drawn into any discussion on the legality of his and the presidential appointment saying: "We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

He said there would be no new laws or decrees during the term of the Caretaker Government.

Fiji's Daily Post

Early elections to return Fiji to normalcy
Friday March 16, 2001

The President Ratu Josefa Iloilo yesterday after being sworn-in said consultations have shown that fresh elections at the earliest opportunity would return the country to full constitutional rule.

"An early election will give us a new start. It will allow those who aspire to be in parliament to go back to the people to seek their mandate," Ratu Iloilo said.

"The people themselves will be able to speak on issues such as land laws, reconciliation, indigenous rights, national unity, leadership and the constitution."

The President said the country had suffered enough following the overthrow of the democratically-elected Government and it was a time Fijians strived unity among themselves.

"Fijians should also be concentrating now as never before on attaining political unity.

They are the majority of the population, if they are united, democracy will work in their favour.

"Our modern history shows what happens when the Fijians are politically fragmented.

They must seek protection in their own unity. No constitution, no matter how it is worded, can provide that.

Let me repeat, the ultimate guarantee of the protection of the paramountcy of Fijian interests lies not in the constitution but in the political unity of the Fijians themselves."

Fiji's Daily Post

Justice Gates orders re-trial
Friday March 16, 2001

Lautoka High Court Judge Justice Anthony Gates yesterday ordered the re-trial of eight youths who were sentenced to five years in jail each for rape by the Nadi Magistrates Court.

In ordering the re-trial, Justice Gates said all the relevant facts had not been provided to the court by the police prosecutor.

He said the Magistrate Rudra Nathan had not judicially and fairly handled the case when sentencing the eight on December 1 last year.

Ananaia Nawaqa, Esala Takau, Solomone Wakai, Ilikimi Kunagogo, Emosi Nacebe, Navitalai Matalau, Waisale Kurisaravi and Kini Nauvasi were charged with rape at Nasau in Nadi on November 29 last year.

Lautoka lawyer Iqbal Khan later appealed the sentences in the Lautoka High Court.

In his appeal Mr Khan claimed the magistrate did not judicially and fairly handle the case.

He said the prosecutor misled the court by saying all the accused admitted to the alleged rape which was not true. Justice Gates further said none of the accused were represented when the case was before the Magistrates Court.

He said it's only proper that those accused with serious crimes such as rape should be allowed to see a lawyer which did not happen in this case. According to Justice Gates the magistrate did not read all the interviews of the accused.

Had he done so he would have given a fair judgement. The case will now be called in the Nadi Magistrate Court on March 30 before a different Magistrate.

The eight youths have been released on $500 surety bail each with a number of conditions.

A breach of their bail conditions will see them having to pay $250.

They have to attend court when required while keeping peace and a good character.

They are not to interfere with the complainant or any prosecution witness in any way and no pressure is to be brought on the complainant or her relatives in any way. Justice Gates reminded the eight they had not been acquitted but were being re-tried with the benefit of a lawyer.

Fiji's Daily Post

New contraceptive ring as good as the pill - study
15 MARCH 2001

LONDON (Reuters): A revolutionary contraceptive ring, due to go on sale in the United States this year, is as effective as the pill, despite delivering substantially less hormone, a leading scientist said on Wednesday.

The flexible plastic device, which is inserted into the vagina each month, fits around the cervix and releases a steady flow of both progestogen and oestrogen to prevent conception.

"The results are very promising indeed," said Frans Roumen, a gynaecologist at the Atrium Medisch Centrum in Heerlen in the Netherlands, who conducted a year-long study on the ring made by Organon, a unit of Akzo Nobel.

Roumen found only six pregnancies among 1145 women who used the ring over one year, a failure rate of well under one percent, making it as effective as oral contraceptives. Results of his research were published in the journal Human Reproduction.

The ring, which is around 5cm (two inches) in diameter and is folded before use, can be inserted and removed by women themselves.

It is designed to be kept in for three weeks followed by a one-week ring-free menstruation period, although it is possible in future it might be used continuously to stop periods altogether.

Organon plans to launch its Nuvaring product in the US market this year with Europe following later, once marketing approval is received.

It is not the first contraceptive ring to be developed but it offers a significant advantage over previous versions which only released progestogen, resulting in abnormal bleeding.

Vaginal rings are also being developed for other treatments. Northern Ireland drug company Galen Holdings Plc plans to launch a ring for delivering hormone replacement therapy in Britain within the next couple of months.

In addition to convenience, Roumen said Nuvaring's low dose would be a major plus for women worried about high hormone levels in the pill.

"The ring releases hormones continuously through the vaginal mucus, which is completely different from using a pill which produces an initial increase in hormones and then a decrease," he told Reuters.

"It leads to less complaints, better bleeding patterns and the total daily dose is less than when using the pill."

That may be good news for women at risk of thrombosis since oestrogen has been associated with an increased risk of the condition.

Canada to criminalise surfing for child porn
15 MARCH 2001

OTTAWA (Reuters): The Canadian government, apparently breaking new ground internationally, introduced a bill on Wednesday to make it a crime to surf for child pornography on the Internet, with penalties of up to 10 years in jail.

Canadian officials said they were unaware of any other country with similar legislation designed to crack down on child porn in an age when it is just a mouse-click away.

"Combating crimes committed using the Internet is crucial, particularly when it come to the most vulnerable members of our society - our children," Justice Minister Anne McLellan said.

In Canada, as in the United States and many other jurisdictions, possession of child pornography downloaded from a computer is a crime.

But the bill would go further to ban knowingly bringing it up on a computer screen.

It is not meant to catch people who inadvertently open e-mail attachments or web pages that have child pornography, but those who "knowingly cause child pornography to be viewed," a federal Justice official Yvan Roy told reporters.

"If it's inadvertent, it's not caught," he said.

The provisions are part of an omnibus justice bill covering everything from firearms to cruelty to animals.

But the most dramatic measures are those relating to sex crimes.

It would create a new criminal offence of transmitting child pornography, for example by e-mail, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Exporting it from Canada would also become criminal. Importing it is already illegal.

Judges would be empowered to order the deletion of on-line child pornography - as well as links to foreign child porn sites - from Canadian Internet servers.

The new legislation, which the Liberal government is able to easily push through Parliament by using its majority in both houses, would also make it criminal to lure minors by using a computer to meet them to commit sexual offences.

It would also make it easier to go after Canadian child sex tourists, allowing their prosecution even without the approval of the country where they committed the offence.

It also has other provisions not related to children:

* it would double the maximum penalty for stalking, or criminal harassment, to 10 years.

* it would ask judges to increase penalties for "home invasions," where an intruder enters a home knowing that someone is home. This would be on top of assault, burglary or break-and-entry charges.

* it would increase penalties for cruelty to animals.

Although Canadian officials were unable to point to any other legislation banning "accessing" child pornography, they said a draft Council of Europe convention on cyber-crime would create a new category of procuring child pornography.

The council, with the co-operation of countries outside Europe, has been working on this for more than a decade. US civil liberties groups have criticised it as infringing on individual privacy.

Ghana man shot dead as bulletproof magic fails
15 MARCH 2001

ACCRA (Reuters): A Ghanaian man was shot dead by a fellow villager while testing a magic spell designed to make him bulletproof, the official Ghana News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Aleobiga Aberima, 23, and around 15 other men from Lambu village, northeast Ghana, had asked a jujuman, or witchdoctor, to make them invincible to bullets.

After smearing his body with a concoction of herbs every day for two weeks, Aberima volunteered to be shot to check the spell had worked.

One of the others fetched a rifle and shot Aberima who died instantly from a single bullet.

Angry Lambu residents seized the jujuman and beat him severely until a village elder rescued him, the report added.

Tribal clashes are common in Ghana's far north, where people often resort to witchcraft in the hope of becoming invulnerable to bullets, swords and arrows.

Australia allows Fiji soccer team in

Times of India - March 15 2001

SYDNEY: The Australian government has succumbed to pressure mounted by different national and international sports organizations and decided to issue visas to the Fijian soccer team to participate in a World Cup qualifying tournament.

"If the Fiji team is denied entry to Australia, it is apparent that the World Cup event will be moved to Fiji. This would be an unacceptable result. It would deny the community of Coffs Harbor the sporting, social and commercial benefits of hosting this sporting event and it would also force the Australian team to play away from its home grounds and crowd. All the benefits of the event would be reaped by Fiji," Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement.

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) had fixed Tuesday as the deadline for Australia to decide whether they wanted to host the tournament or not. "In the light of the above circumstances, I have decided that the most constructive solution is to permit this Fiji team to enter Australia for the World Cup Qualifying Round," Downer said Tuesday.

Australia, and a number of other countries, had imposed sanctions against Fiji in July last year after the appointment of an interim government by the powerful Fijian military. The interim administration, led by businessman Laisenia Qarase, had fixed a three-year timetable for the restoration of the democratic process in the South Pacific island country.

Earlier, a coup led by a native Fijian businessman George Speight had led to the ouster of the government of the first ethnic Indian prime minister, Mahendra Choudhry. He was held captive by Speight and his armed followers for almost two months.

Australia had allowed the Fijian sportspersons to participate in the Sydney Olympics held soon after the imposition of the sanctions. But Australia had refused to relax sporting sanctions imposed on Fiji earlier last year for a Sevens Rugby tournament which was to be organized in Brisbane. The rugby games had to be cancelled as Australia refused to bow to enormous local and international pressure to allow the Fiji team to participate.

Neighboring New Zealand had, however, failed to honor its sporting sanctions against Fiji and issued visas to the Fijian team to play in the Sevens Rugby meet at Wellington in December last year.

But much has changed in Fiji since the Australian refusal to relax sanctions to allow the rugby team to participate in Brisbane Sevens meet.

A Fiji Court of Appeal had given a verdict a few weeks ago declaring the 1997 multiracial constitution as still valid and hence the interim government as illegal. The president of Fiji had sought advice from the powerful Great Council of Chiefs about the crisis.

If some of the latest reports coming out of Fiji's capital Suva are to be believed, the council has decided that the interim government should be asked to step down. Qarase may be asked to operate as prime minister till elections are held in the troubled island country.

"This is a one-off decision (about the soccer tournament). It has no implications for the range of measures taken against Fiji since July 18, 2000. Those measures, including those applying to other sporting teams, will remain in place until there is more tangible progress toward restoring democracy in Fiji" Downer said in his statement.

The Oceania qualifying round of the soccer World Cup is being organized in Coffs Harbor from April 8-20 and would feature teams from Australia, Tonga, Fiji, American Samoa and Samoa.

Construction industry has collapsed

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 15 2001

Fiji's construction industry has collapsed, the media reports.

A report today states that the number of employees remaining in the construction industry has declined from 14,000 workers at its peak to a mere 1,000 now.

The report quotes the President of the Construction Industry Council Malcolm Brian who says that several companies were forced to reduce the working hours and cut overhead costs to sustain ongoing losses. He stated: "We are now in the 10th month since the events of May 19 2000, and it has been a long wait for investors for a lasting solution on the political impasse. Any further delay in finding a permanent solution to the current political impasse will bring about closure of many more businesses with consequent job losses".

Brian is quoted as saying that the Acting President should appoint a government from within the elected members of Parliament for political stability.

The move by the Acting President to appoint Tevita Momoedonu as the Prime Minister in breach of the Constitution has been seen by many investors as signs that the regime is not willing to get back on track of law and order.

Attempted dismissal of PM is unconstitutional

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 15 2001

The attempt by the Acting President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo to dismiss the elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry is unconstitutional.

In a media statement made shortly after receiving a letter from the Acting President purportedly dismissing him from the Prime Ministership of the country, Chaudhry stated:

"I was notified this afternoon of my purported dismissal as Prime Minister from today 14 March, through a letter signed by the Acting President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo."

"It is clear from Ratu Josefa's letter that his decision to dismiss me is premised on his incorrect assumption, deliberate or otherwise, that I had accepted I no longer enjoyed the confidence of the House because I had offered to advise him to dissolve the House of Representatives so as to make way for fresh elections to resolve the political impasse facing the nation."

"The Acting President wrote: "Therefore, acting in my own judgement under Section 109(1) of the 1997 Constitution … I hereby notify you that I have decided to dismiss you from your appointment as Prime Minister of Fiji with effect from 14 March, 2001"."

"I have consulted my legal counsel on my purported dismissal and have been advised that the Acting President's decision is badly advised and unlawful."

"It is correct I had conveyed to His Excellency that I was prepared to advise a dissolution of Parliament. I had done this in order to assist him find a way out of the constitutional difficulties confronting him. My offer of assistance was made in good faith and with a view to helping him find a solution to the nation's problems which was within the law."

"But it takes a considerable leap of logic for the Acting President to now conclude that this advice means I do not believe I have the confidence of the House of Representatives. The best way to ascertain this is to summon the House of Representatives. Why is it that those who advise the Acting President are unwilling to consider testing this option on the floor of the House?"

"I had not advised the Acting President that I had lost the confidence of the House of Representatives. Section 109(1) of the Constitution - the section under which he purports to act - says as follows:
109..-(1) The President may not dismiss a Prime Minister unless the Government fails to get or loses the confidence of the House of Representatives and the Prime Minister does not resign or get a dissolution of the Parliament."

"The necessary conditions under which the Acting President may act under s.109(1) simply do not exist. I am frankly astounded that his advisers believe otherwise."

"I urge His Excellency to reconsider his decision. At this time, it is vital for him to demonstrate to the nation the importance of governing within the law to enhance confidence in our country's ability to be so governed."

"I have written to the Acting President advising him to reconsider his decision."

"The purported appointment of Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as prime minister is unconstitutional and unlawful because firstly, I have not vacated the office of prime minister. Secondly, Ratu Tevita has not been nominated by the People's Coalition nor has his entitlement to the position been tested on the floor of the House of Representatives."

UN, Commonwealth should ensure democracy in Fiji - PM

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 15 2001

The UN and the Commonwealth must ensure that democracy gets firmly established in Fiji, says the Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

In a speech to an Australian Labour Party-National Farmers Union dinner held in Sydney over the weekend, the PM stated:
"My message to democratic societies such as Australia and the rest of the international community is that if they do not take a firm stand against treasonous and oppressive regimes, they will be faced with greater instability in the South Pacific."

"The coup of 19 May might not have eventuated if the instigators and
executors of the 1987 coups had been brought to justice. Western societies and international institutions such as the United Nations and the Commonwealth cannot just pontificate on the virtues of democracy and good governance."

"They must act to ensure these principles are protected. Failure to do so will only lend greater encouragement to the forces of destabilisation."

Chaudhry was speaking before the Acting President sent him a letter purportedly dismissing him from the PMship.

The full text of the speech, delivered by video, is found at:
http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_c/pm_speech_nfu_sydney_9mar.htm

Fiji Indians made scapegoats of past govts' failures

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 15 2001

Fiji's ethnic Indians have always been the scapegoats for the failure of ethnic Fijian leaders to deliver to the ethnic Fijians, says the country's elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

In a speech to an Australian Labour Party-National Farmers Union dinner held in Sydney over the weekend, the PM stated:
"Much of the blame for the perceived grievances of the Fijian people must lie with the failure of their own institutions, initially set up to safeguard indigenous interests. The Great Council of Chiefs, the Native Lands Trust Board, the Fijian Affairs Board, the Provincial Councils are indigenous institutions that were set up by the colonial government to protect Fijian rights and enhance their interests."

"These institutions have not fully discharged the trust placed in them by the ordinary Fijians. They have not questioned the poor utilisation of Fijian resources, the wastage, the lack of initiatives to develop these resources to maximise returns for the indigenous people. They have never bothered to look at the real reasons behind the poverty of their own people."

"Always, a scapegoat had to be found to hide the failure of the Fijian leadership to deliver to its people. And this scapegoat is, inevitably, the unfortunate Indian."

"Racism in Fiji is rampant. If not checked now, it is going to be the major downfall of Fiji. The coup last year set us back 20 years at least. It shattered our economy which prior to May 19, was poised for a real takeoff. The coup, our third in 13 years, has badly shaken the confidence of foreign investors as well as the local business community and it will take a long time before this confidence can be restored."

The Prime Minister also questioned the role of the police and the army during the terrorist uprising. He stated:
"Of serious concern also to Fiji is the role of the army and police in propping up corrupt, discredited people and undemocratic forces. The army's role both in the 1987 and 1999 coups have left it badly discredited. Many are questioning its failure to act swiftly to deal with the situation on May 19."

"The reputation of our police force took a severe battering during the political unrest when it failed to provide any protection to the civilian population against racial violence unleashed by the rebels."

The full text of the speech, delivered by video, is found at:
http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_c/pm_speech_nfu_sydney_9mar.htm

Aust Labour Party stands firm for democracy

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 15 2001

The Australian Labour Party stands firm for democracy and racial tolerance in Fiji.

In a speech which the ALP's Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurie Brereton delivered at a fundraising dinner for ALP and Fiji's National Farmers Union, he stated:
"Should the Chiefs and the military fail to allow the early restoration of democratic government in accordance with the 1997 Constitution, they should expect they will be dealt with and regarded as we dealt with the South Africa of old. Let them have no doubt. Australian Labor stands, and stands absolutely, for democracy and racial tolerance in Fiji."

Brereton also stated that the ALP's policy on racial tolerance and democracy in Fiji will be maintained.

The full text of the speech is found at: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_o/alp_brereton_speech_9mar.htm

President defies Constitution

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 14 2001

Members of the Qarase regime are desperately trying to get reappointed by the President.

In an unconstitutional move, the Acting President today announced the swearing in of a new Prime Minister. The media reports that the new PM sworn in by the President is Tevita Momoedonu.

It is believed that the Qarase regime lawyers had advised the Acting President Ratu Josefa Iloilo to dismiss the elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and appoint a member of the Qarase team as a caretaker Prime Minister.

According to sources in government, the regime has advised that the President has powers under the Constitution to dismiss a Prime Minister in his own deliberate judgment. They call this power the reserve power of the President.

There, however, is no reserve power provided for in the Constitution.

The Constitution provides clear guidelines for the dismissal of the Prime Minister. This is provided for under s107-s109 of the Constitution. In essence the provisions allow only for a dismissal when the Prime Minister loses the confidence of the House of Representatives. There is no other power which the President has to dismiss the PM.

Sources close to the regime indicate that the President was been advised to dismiss the Prime Minister and appoint Momoedonu as PM who will then get in Qarase and other members of the Qarase regime into his cabinet who are members of the Parliament. These include numerous senators and another member of House of Reps.

The wrong advice which the regime has provided the President is seen as a way to engage the nation into another legal case and in the process give further life to the illegal regime. This is despite the Fiji Court of Appeal ruling that the regime is illegal, and despite the regime stating that it intends to abide by the court decision.

Many people in Fiji believe that regime will not budge despite the assurance given to the courts.

State treason lawyers want direction from President

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 14 2001

In a surprise twist to the treason case against terrorist George Speight and his group, state lawyers today asked for an adjournment because they had not received any word from the President. The case was called before magistrate Salesi Temo today on Nukulau Island prison.

Radio Fiji reported today of state lawyers saying that since Ratu Josefa Iloilo and Ratu Jope Seniloli have been confirmed as President and Vice-President, respectively, they are waiting for a word from them before they could proceed further. The case was adjourned for later in the month.

The state lawyers' view that they have to get advice from the President has shocked the People's Coalition Government. It is clear that by claiming to wait for advice from the President, the state law office is politicising the case.

What type of advice the state lawyers are waiting for is not clear. But it is certain that the terrorists hoped that Ratu Jope, whom they had made the President after taking over the Parliament Complex, would press for their release and pardon.

If the media report is true, then it confirms the suspicions of many that not only is the state law office not capable of handling the case, but also that it is actively trying to get the terrorists released.

While the GCC decision to stay within the confines of the 1997 Constitution has been welcomed by various interest groups in Fiji, the delay in getting the terrorists tried raises serious questions on the integrity of law and order in the country.

Last week, the terrorists' lawyers had advised Laisenia Qarase and the GCC to grant the terrorists immediate immunity and pardon.

Meanwhile, it is believed that some prominent politicians who are with Qarase, as well as some prominent businessmen, including some ethnic Indian businessmen, are lobbying strongly for the release of the terrorists.

GCC refutes claims that it wants Qarase to continue

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands - March 14 2001

The Great Council of Chiefs has refuted claims that it wants Qarase to continue.

In a statement, the Chairman of the GCC, Ratu Epeli Ganilau stated: "Individual members of the Council have expressed their support for Mr Qarase and his Interim Government. However, the choice of a Caretaker Government, should His Excellency deem it necessary will entirely be his prerogative."

A large push has been made by the Qarase regime to stay in power despite the court ruling. Ratu Epeli confirmed that Qarase had sough the advice from lawyers who recommended that the GCC reject the Court decision. Answering media question on the GCC's response to the opinion submitted by the two groups of ethnic Fijian lawyers, Ratu Epeli responded: "Firstly allow me to correct the misunderstanding. The Legal Opinion referred to was not requested by the GCC Secretariat it was requested by the PM. The Chiefs considered the papers submitted by the Interim Government and its Secretariat". He further stated that these opinions were not considered by the GCC.

The statement confirms that Qarase had sought the advice of lawyers for have been involved with terrorists, and that he presented their view to the GCC. This also lends weight to the view that Qarase and some in his group want to cling to power at any cost to the nation. This group has been using the state owned Daily Post to advance their cause.

In his response to media questions, Ratu Epeli also stated that the GCC had left the matter of the path forward in the hands of the President HE Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Whether he accepts the advice from the Parliament to call for an early election or not is for his to decide, said Ratu Epeli.
Ratu Epeli further stated that it was his opinion that the "best way forward for Fiji is the one that will ensure that we all go forward together as a Nation and not as separate groups based on ethnicity or political affiliation."

Adi Kuini slams PM's appointment
Thursday March 15, 2001

Deposed co-deputy prime minister Adi Kuini has slammed Ratu Tevita Momoedonu's appointment as prime minister of Fiji saying it is unlawful.

Adi Kuini who is also the leader of a faction of the Fijian Association Party said: "I belive that the acting President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has acted unlawfully in appointing Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as prime minister under section 109 (10) of the 1997 Constitution.

"It is obvious that the President had been ill-advised yet again by lawyers who are unethical and incompetent. The incompetent advice given to the President treats the House of Representatives with utter contempt."

Adi Kuini said the House of Representatives cannot be arbitrarily dissolved to suit the political agenda of only a few people.

"The prime minister is not to be dismissed without the participations of the House of Representatives, likewise, parliament cannot be dissolved without the participation of the House of Representatives.

"In both cases whatever decision is taken by either the Head of State or the prime minister outside of the House of Representatives has to be tested on the floor of the House of Representatives."

Fiji's Daily Post

Beddoes urges all to support PM
Thursday March 15, 2001

The whole country must now rally around the new Prime Minister and his government and help rebuild it to its former status of being the way the world should be.

This was the word yesterday from the chairman of the Fiji First Movement Mick Beddoes.

Mr Beddoes said yesterday's decision of the Great Council of Chiefs to stay within the Court of Appeal ruling is the most positive step forward since the May 19 political takeover.

"This move has indeed redeemed the chiefs and will go a long way in restoring the confidence of all people in them," Mr Beddoes said.

According to Mr Beddoes the country's fate now rests with the President but he should have appointed a Prime Minister from the former Members of Parliament to set up a Government of National Unity to immediately move this country forward.

Mr Beddoes said the new government must work quickly to get the economy moving and it should ask the international community for support so the Fiji economy gets back on track.

Fiji's Daily Post

Brain warns of industry closure
Thursday March 15, 2001

Fiji's ailing construction industry could close down in a matter of months unless a quick solution was found to Fiji's current political impasse, the Construction Industry Council has warned.

Council chairman, Malcolm Brain, in letter to the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo dated March 12 made the claim saying closures would be accompanied with the inevitable job losses.

Mr Brain supplied staggering figures which indicated employment figures in the industry sliding downwards in an astonishing rate since May 19 coup.

He urged Ratu Iloilo to appoint a government from within the elected members of parliament for the remainder of their term with specific emphasis on reconciliation and rebuilding the economy.

"During normal times our industry has an average of about 8,000 to 10,000 people going as high as 12,000 to 14,000 in boom times.

"Since the events of May 2000, employment figures have been sliding downwards as projects that were in progress get completed. "At the same time several major projects totalling millions of dollars have been shelved.

"The situation has now become so bad that employment within the industry approximately employs a thousand persons.

"Several major companies including their both professional and other staff have reduced working hours and are endeavouring to cut overheads as it is not possible to sustain on-going losses with no permanent solution in sight.

"We are in the tenth month since the events of May 2000 and it has been a long wait for investors for a lasting solution on the political impasse.

"Suggestions of fresh elections will further escalate these problems and will bring about closure of many more businesses with consequent job losses.

"Our economy works on strict rules, regulations, law and order and code of ethics.

Fiji's Daily Post