Australian Diplomat Receives Third Death Threat; High Court Approves Investigative Power of FICAC; Australian Journalists Should Be Allowed Visas

Australian Diplomat Receives Third Death Threat; High Court Approves Investigative Power of FICAC; Australian Journalists Should Be Allowed Visas

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

SUVA, Fiji — Australia’s foreign Minister Stephen Smith received a death threat on June 27, the third such threat that the diplomat has received in the last few months.  Describing the death threat, Smith said it was serious credible and offensive.

Tension has mounted between the Australian government and the Fiji’s interim government about the appropriate response to the threats.  Australia has requested that federal police personnel be allowed to enter Fiji to beef up Smith’s security detail, but Fiji said that no Australian police officers will be allowed into the country.  Fiji police spokesman Ema Mua said that local Fiji police were available upon request, insisting that local authorities were sufficient to deal with the death threats.

Minister Smith is now on leave in Australia and has been since receipt of the last death threat in May.

For more information, please see:

Fiji Times — No requests received by police — 03 July 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji refuses to allow Australian police to protect High Commissioner — 30 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Australia’s Fiji High Commissioner receives third death threat — 30 June 2008

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SUVA, Fiji — The interim government came to power in December 2005 under a promise, among other things, to weed out corruption from Fiji’s government.  A central instrument to this policy is the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, which was designed to investigate and prosecute public bodies.  While promulgated by the interim government, it was an open question until this week about what the future of FICAC and whether it was legal.  This week, however, a Fiji High Court has confirmed that FICAC has the power to carry out investigations and prosecute those that it finds evidence against.

The Commission’s deputy commissioner, George Langman, said, “I’m glad that the court has finally come out with that. It hasn’t stopped our investigations we have continued to investigate and charge public officials. We are at the moment investigating a number of public bodies.”  Langman also said that twenty-two public officials and two business men have faced charges of corruption.  More indictments are expected to be handed down soon.

The future is still somewhat uncertain though because the full powers of FICAC are dependent on the legality of the interim government.  As such, if ousted Prime Minister Lasenia Qarase is successful in his suit challenging the legality of the interim government then FICAC will not be allowed to operate.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Daily Post — FICAC to charge more — 30 June 2008

FijiVillage — Lawyers to Appeal Judge’s Decision — 30 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji court confirms power of Commission against Corruption — 29 June 2008

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SUVA, Fiji — Over the past several weeks the Fiji Media Council and the interim government have been trading comments, with the government hinting that governmental regulation of the media might be necessary and with the Media Council denouncing any such regulation.  It is in this atmosphere that many international observers have begun to worry about the media’s independence in Fiji.  This is why it has come as a welcome relief to the Fiji Media Council and others that Fiji has decided to consider giving visas to a group of Australian journalists.

The journalists, from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, had originally been denied visas by the interim government when they had requested to enter Fiji after reporting on the Festival of Pacific Arts in American Somoa.  Explaining the reason for the refusal, acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Information Major Neumi Leweni, said, “”Some reporters from abroad and, the decision has been made and I don’t think I should really been explaining it, because the decision halews been made and Fiji is a sovereign country and decides on who comes in, and that’s it.”

This position has now shifted, however, as reports from the interim government suggest that the journalists will be allowed in after all.  According to Leweni, he had spoken to ABC’s director of international relations and has gotten a better idea of ABC’s mission in Fiji.  This lack of clarity, the Fiji Times reports, was the reason why the visas were to be denied in the first place.  Now Leweni has said that, “We are in the process of advising proper authorities regarding the granting of their visa.”  While not definite, this indicates that it is likely that the reporters will be allowed in.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Times — Visa for journos — 01 July 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji rejection of Australian journalists described as unacceptable — 29 June 2008

FBCL — Reporters likely to get green light to enter Fiji — 29 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Reporters likely to get green light to enter Fiji — 27 June 2008

Fiji Times — Foreign journalists may face ban — 27 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji suggests more journalists’ ban over unspecified negative reporting — 26 June 2008

SDL to Discuss Chaundhry Tax Evasion; Rewa Chief Says He Will Not Bow to Pressure; No Big Deal to Remove Constitution, Says Bainimarama

By Ryan L. Maness
Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji — Ousted Fiji Prime Minister Lasenia Qarase has confirmed that he and the SDL party will be discussing the tax evasion allegations against Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.  Qarase said that while he was pleased that the FICAC proved that any case could be investigated, he still wanted to a full, complete investigation of the matter.  The matter seemed to have been swept under the rug, Qarase said.

Chaundhry responded by calling on Qarase to stop making personal attacks against him and to join Fiji’s way forward by lending his support to the People’s Charter.  He also said that if the SDL party supports the People’s Charter then there will no further talk of excluding the SDL party from the next election.

Fijivillage also reports that ousted Opposition Leader Mick Beddoes said that Chaundhry has referred to Qarase as a part of the problem in Fiji.  This despite the fact that, according to Beddoes, there is no evidence that Qarase has done anything wrong.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Village — Where Is The Evidence? — 04 June 2008

Fiji Village — SDL to ‘Discuss’ Chaundhry Tax Evasion — 03 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji’s ousted Prime Minister says his party wants Chaundhry brought to justice — 02 June 2008

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SUVA, Fiji — Rewa chief Ro Filipe, of the Rewa Provincial Council, said that he has rejected pressure from the interim government to accept the People’s Charter and the GCC task team report.  Interim PM Bainimarama said that the interim government would sack Provincial Council members who did not express their support of the charter.  Bainimarama also said that Ro Filipe could be the first one to go.

Despite this, the Rewa chief said that his position was researched and discussed before the decision was taken and that pressure from the government would not change that stance.

As of this writing, there are no reports of Ro Filipe has been sacked.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited — Sacking won’t change stance: Rewa Chief — 03 June 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Rewa Provincial Council in Fiji will not change its stance on Charter — 03 June 2008

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PORT VILA, Vanuatu — Following the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders Summit, Fiji’s interim Prime Minister agreed to conduct an interview with the Fiji Times.  During that interview, Bainimarama reemphasized his desire to hold elections, but that Fiji’s way forward required unanimous support of the People’s Charter.  If groups, specifically SDL party, obstruct the process then they will be barred from contesting the election.  When the Fiji Times interviewer asked if abrogating the constitution was an option for effectuating this end, Bainimarama replied, “Yes, that’s one way. To abrogate the Constitution is no big deal if we have to find a way forward for Fiji.”

During the interview, Bainimarama also defended the coup of 2006 and the military government.  He insisted that the military’s acted for the best intentions of the people of Fiji, but  because the military was responsible for the coup observers assume that they are “power grabbers.”  “Because we’re the military and the military all over the world, as soon as you overturn the elected government, you’re seen as being out to grab power.”

He also said that the purpose of the 2006 coup was to change how Fiji was governed and now that the government is in power the ousted PM Qarase and the SDL party need to come to terms with Fiji’s new direction.  “The charter is the only way forward,” Bainimarama said.   “So if we want to have elections, the way forward for us is to have elections without the SDL. The military can find 50 ways to get rid of them.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International — Fiji regime leader says removing constitution no big deal — 02 May 2008

Fiji Times — Charter, the way out for Fiji — 02 May 2008

HRW Calls on Egypt to Investigate Deportation of Sudanese Refugees

NEW YORK CITY, United States – Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Egypt to investigate the forced deportation of 30 Sudanese men and boys; 11 were granted refugee status by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.  One of the deportees is a 17 year old boy who was provisionally approved for resettlement in Canada.  Forced return to a country where an individual has a well-founded fear of persecution constitutes a breach under international refugee law.

Relatives of the deportees state that on April 19, Egyptian authorities deported 30 Sudanese men and boys to southern Sudan.  According to Egyptian authorities, these individuals were deported because it was suspected that they were a part of a Sudanese gang involved in a fight in early February.  However, family members of some of the deported told HRW that they were neither members of a gang nor present during the fighting.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said “Egyptian authorities need to conduct a credible and transparent investigation to determine whether their forced return amounts to serious abuse and ensure such violations never happen again.”

For more information, please see:

Sudan Tribune – Egypt Deports Southern Sudanese Refugees to Juba – 1 June 2008

AHN – Egypt Deports Sudanese Refugees, HWR Condemns Actions – 31 May 2008

HRW – Egypt: Investigate Forcible Return of Refugees to Sudan – 30 May 2008

Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Gets 1-Year Jail Sentence; Civilian and US deaths in Iraq drop in May; Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Iraq

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – A young activist and lawyer in Iran became the first man sentenced for participating in a campaign to change laws that discriminate against women.  Amir Yaghoub Ali, 21, was convicted of acting against national security and sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the “Change for Equality” campaign, launched by Iranian women activists in September 2006.

Ali was detained last July while collecting signatures for the campaign in a park in northern Tehran and spent 29 days in Evin prison before being freed on $20,000 bail.

“Changing discriminatory laws will benefit Iranians and will create a fairer social environment,” Ali said. “Our call for change is considered by the ruling Islamic establishment as crossing the red lines. Authorities don’t want to allow any changes in laws in support of women rights. That’s why they seek to suppress such demands.”

Iran has refused to ratify the UN convention on women’s rights and the country’s senior clerics in Qom, Iran’s main center of Islamic learning, have rejected the convention, calling it un-Islamic.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Iranian Women’s Rights Activists Sentenced – 2 June 2008

Reuters – Iran Jails Man Campaigning for Women’s Rights-Lawyer – 2 June 2008

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BAGHDAD, Iraq – US military deaths in Iraq have fallen to the lowest monthly total since the invasion five years ago.  19 American service members died in Iraq in May, compared to 52 from April.  14 were killed in action and one solider died of wounds inflicted in combat.  Four of the deaths were non-combat related, the US military said.

Accounts for how many Iraqi civilians were killed in May vary, but most estimates put the number at approximately 530, about half of the number as were killed in March and April.

The US military claims that the troop surge was a key factor in limiting the amount of casualties in May.  The ceasefire in early May that stopped the fighting in Sadr City also explains the death reduction.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg News – U.S. Deaths in Iraq in May Were Lowest Since 2003 – 2 June 2008

San Jose Mercury News – U.S. Deaths Hit 5-Year Low in Iraq – 2 June 2008

BBC – US Iraq Deaths ‘At Four Year Low’ – 1 June 2008

L.A. Times – In Iraq, Month Ends With Lowest U.S. Death Toll Yet – 1 June 2008

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ANBAR, Iraq – A suicide bomber killed 10 people at a police checkpoint in western Iraq on May 28 including Iraqi police Lieutenant Colonel Khaleel Abarhim.  The attacker approached the checkpoint in the town of Hit in the Anbar province and detonated an explosives belt he was wearing.  Hit’s administrator, Hikmat Jubeir, said that twelve other people were also wounded.

Iraqi security forces arrested 49 suspects in a sweep following the attacks and detained them on suspicions of links to the bombing.

The suicide bombing came as the Iraqi authorities reported a near 50 percent drop in violence across the embattled nation last month. The US military too said it recorded the lowest monthly toll in May with 19 soldiers killed.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraqi Troops Arrest 49 After Deadly Bombing – 2 June 2008

Associated Press – Suicide Bomber Kills 10 In Iraq – 31 May 2008

BBC – Iraqi Checkpoint ‘Hit By Bomber’ – 31 May 2008