By Ryan L. Maness
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji — Ousted Fijian Prime Minister Lasenia Qarase, long an outspoken critic of Fiji’s interim government, has come out this week in opposition to the draft of the proposed People’s Charter.  According to Qarase the draft, as written, will do more to divide the people of Fiji than it will do to unite them.

He has particular concern about the role of Fiji’s Constitution under the new proposed system.  He has said that charter is talking out of both sides its mouth with regard to the Constitution.  “While on one hand they say the supreme law of the land will be the constitution, they are saying that the electoral reforms will have to be in place before the election, and to do that you would need to change the constitution, so they are simply suggesting that the charter will be stronger.”

Qarase has also expressed concern that the Charter to expand Fijian racial divides.  “For the indigenous population it would violate their rights to property (land reforms), as well as their rights to a separate Fijian administration,” he said.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International — Ousted Fiji PM says new charter fuels divisions — 07 August 2008

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited — Political Parties reject Charter — 09 August 2008

Fiji Daily Post — PEOPLE’S CHARTER WILL ‘DIVIDE FIJI’ — 08 August 2008

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SUVA, Fiji — Among the items included in the draft of the proposed People’s Charter is that Fiji’s military play a greater role in the governance of Fiji.  NGOs have come out to say that the role of the military should not be expanded in Fiji.

Angie Heffernan, executive director of the Pacific Center for Public Integrity,  said that there is no need to expand the military’s role, because its role is already fully explained by the Constitution.  If anything, Heffernan said, the military should be downsized.  “Fiji has a military strength that is ridiculous for the size of Its population, and as long as we feed the monster that we have chosen not to take to task, Fiji will continue to be vulnerable to coups perpetuated with the help of the military,” she said.

The Pacific Concerns Resource Centre has also condemned the suggestion, saying that the military’s involvement in the last three coups demonstrate that the military should not be brought any closer to governance.  “We don’t agree with the recommendation that it should even be involved any further than what we are currently experiencing,” Ema Tagicakibau, campaign director for the PCRC, said.  “If what we are going through is any indication of what future military involvement will be like then I think every law abiding citizen of this country must strongly condemn that call.”

For more information, please see:
Fiji Times — Reject military’s expanded goal: NGO — 07 August 2008

Radio New Zealand International — PCRC opposes Fiji charter’s role for military — 06 August 2008

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SUVA, Fiji — The National Council for Building a Better Fiji has released a draft of its much anticipated People’s Charter on Wednesday.  The draft was released and will be distributed to the public for discussion and consultation.  It is hoped that the draft will be ready to be presented to the President of Fiji by October.

According to council member, Josefa Serulagilagi, the aim of the Charter is to guarantee good governance and provide for social and economic development.  “What we would like to do is to really take out what is always called the coup culture in this country, and if we can, develop a kind of system whereby we move forward, and have solutions, so that we make sure that we don’t have that kind of attitudes in the minds of the people,” Serulagilagi said.

Among the proposed changes in the Charter is to change to convert the Fiji electoral system to proportionate representation, to adopt “12 principles” to end the coup culture and to reduce poverty to negligible levels by 2015.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Daily Post News — The People’s Charter and the Way Forward – Summary — 07 August 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji says it may need help to fund Charter consultation — 06 August 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji council releases draft charter aimed at ending coup culture — 06 August 2008