Author: Sudha Ramachandran
Publication: Deccan Herald
Date: March 8, 2001
Introduction: The Court of Appeal
has declared the interim administration illegal. But will Mahendra Chaudhry
return as prime minister?
Fiji's deposed prime minister,
Mahendra Chaudhry, must have felt vindicated, even victorious, following
the Court of Appeal's ruling last week. The verdict was clearly in favour
of his ousted government. Yet, barely a week after that historic ruling,
Mr Chaudhry himself, just might have little to celebrate.
Although the Court ruling has paved
the way for the return to democracy in Fiji, there is a strong possibility
that it might not be restored. Besides, a serious challenge to Mr Chaudhry's
leadership from within his own party indicates that even if democracy is
restored in Fiji, he might not return as the country's prime minister.
A five-judge Court of Appeal declared
last Thursday that the interim administration under Prime Minister Laisenia
Qarase was illegal. It called on acting president Ratu Josefa Iloilo to
recall the parliament that was toppled in the May 2000 coup and it held
that the 1997 constitution, which gave ethnic Indians and indigenous Fijians
equal political rights, had not been abrogated but remained the supreme
law of the land.
It was in elections held under the
1997 constitution that the multi-racial People's Coalition came to power.
A year later, following a coup, the government was ousted. The military
then stepped in and set up an interim administration. A case filed in the
High Court by an ethnic Indian farmer, Chandrika Prasad, resulted in the
Court ruling that the 1997 constitution remained valid. The Court of Appeal
upheld that ruling last Thursday.
While both, acting president Iloilo
and interim prime minister Qarase have made public pledges to work towards
the return to constitutional rule, there is a lot of uncertainty about
the next steps they will take. For one, neither seems to be in any hurry
to see that democracy and the deposed government are restored immediately
Ratu Iloilo has said that he will decide on his next steps following the
decision that the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) makes at its meeting later
this week.
It has emerged, meanwhile, that
under the 1997 constitution, the Power to reconvene the parliament is vested
with the Speaker of the House. The Court of Appeal, which had revalidated
this constitution in its verdict, had called on the acting president to
recall the deposed parliament. This confusion can be expected to complicate
the political situation in Fiji further.
The death of former Speaker, Apenisa
Kurasiqila means that the power to reconvene parliament is now in the hands
of his deputy, Gyannendra Prasad. Mr Prasad is a member of the Fiji Labour
Party (FLP), a main constituent of the ousted government. It remains to
be seen whether Mr Prasad will go ahead and reconvene the parliament as
per the Court's directions, or act, as President Iloilo said he would,
in accordance with the decision of the GCC.
The GCC, which wields considerable
political power and influence in Fiji, is not known to make quick decisions.
It is a deeply divided house and it is doubtful whether it will reach a
clear decision by the weekend. Informed observers say that sections within
the GCC resent the Court of Appeals infringement of its (the GCC's) role
in Fiji's politics. As a custodian of Fijian interests, it might therefore
decide against supporting the ruling. At the same time it is unlikely to
completely discard the ruling and could be expected to express qualified
support.
The immediate response of various
sections to the Court of Appeal's ruling indicates that little has really
changed in Fiji since the coup last year. Although the average Fijian is
now weary of the political and economic turmoil, resistance to political
power in the hands of an ethnic Indian persists. Sections that were against
an ethnic Indian holding the prime minister's post - the Fijian ultranationalists
- have come out against the Court ruling. Indian businessmen too who were
opposed to the Chaudhry government have not welcomed the ruling and are
against the return of the deposed government.
Rejecting the Court of Appeal's
ruling, the Fiji Forum, a grouping of hard-line nationalist parties, stated
that it would not accept the reinstatement of the deposed government. Its
chairman, Esira Rabuno, said that indigenous Fijians would not accept a
ruling that threatened their rights in the country they "owned". The Soqosoqo
ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), one of the constituents of the Fiji Forum
has said that it continues to support the Qarase administration. Trounced
in the 1999 election, the SVT is believed to have been involved in events
that culminated in the coup of May 2000 as well as in the November mutiny.
Sitiveni Rabuka, the 1987 coup leader
and founder leader of the SVT heads the GCC. According to reports, he may
be ousted from his position in the GCC during the upcoming meeting.
If he is removed he could still
create trouble from outside the GCC. The SVT and other components of the
Fiji Forum have the capacity to arouse nationalist sentiments and to get
the indigenous Fijians out into the streets. They will not hesitate to
orchestrate violence as they have done in the past. Besides, Mr Rabuka
wields influence over key sections in the armed forces.
Even as Fiji awaits the outcome
of the crucial GCC meeting, political parties are planning their next steps.
The successor to the Qarase administration will have to be acceptable to
the indigenous Fijians. It is with this in mind that constituents of the
deposed government are charting out their strategy. Moves are afoot to
make the coalition more acceptable to the Fijian people. To this end sections
of the coalition are seeking to oust Mr Chaudhry from the leadership of
the Coalition.
Although a meeting of the FLP caucus
on Monday initially announced unanimous support for Chaudhry, it was reported
later that a motion was tabled calling for his removal from the post of
the party's leader. There has been opposition for some time now to Mr Chaudhry's
"abrasive and arrogant style of functioning".
Besides, many members of the FLP
and other constituents of the People's Coalition believe that with Mr Chaudhry,
an ethnic Indian, at the helm, the acceptability of the Coalition is much
reduced.
They feel that the only way the
Coalition can regain power, whether through the formation of a government
of national unity or in a future election, is by replacing him with an
indigenous Fijian. Tupeni Baba, deputy prime minister in the deposed government,
who is a native Fijian, is expected to emerge as the Coalition's leader.
The People's Coalition appears to
be gearing itself up for a government of national unity. Such a government
is expected to include members of the Qarase administration as well. But
the Fiji Forum is not in favour of the formation of a government of national
unity
Needless to say, such strategies
will be relevant only in a scenario where the Court of Appeal's ruling
will be implemented and democracy restored. All these strategies will be
rendered meaningless should the military, for instance, which has been
silent since the Court of Appeal's verdict, choose to come out of the shadows.
