YAREN, Nauru –- With Nauru’s Parliament now evenly split between the Government and Opposition parties, the Speaker of Parliament is calling for new elections to settle the stalemate. Meanwhile, President Marcus Stephen is strongly condemning Speaker, David Adeang’s recent actions as unconstitutional. 

Last Saturday, Mr. Adeang called a Parliamentary session without notifying the Government. At the meeting, Opposition members passed a rule that, if constitutional, will effectively oust two Senior Cabinet Members, giving the Opposition a majority. The Nauruan Supreme Court is now determining the validity of the session. (See post,  26 March ).

Mr. Adeang is defending his actions as “commonsense,” but President Stephen says the Speaker is hindering Nauru’s attempts to build a lasting government free from the corruption and poverty of its past.   

Mr. Adeang has announced he will call Parliament back into session at 4pm tomorrow.   

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand International — Nauru MPs debate ban on dual citizenship politicians — 28 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Nauru to block dual-citizen MPs — 27 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — New elections are the only commonsense move says the Nauru Opposition — 27 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Nauru opposition calls for fresh elections — 27 March 2008

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

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — This year’s Pacific Island Forum saw the meeting of Foreign Ministers from around the Pacific gathering together to discuss issues that involved them all.  Primary among these topics was the current viability of the March 2009 Fijian election timetable that had been discussed at last year’s Pacific Island Forum. 

While Fiji’s interim Foreign Affairs Minister, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, seemed pleased with the outcome of the conference, the mood among the other foreign ministers was less optimistic.  The foreign ministers were concerned about Fiji’s “slow progress” towards democratic elections as well as with “[Fijian] human rights abuses, threats to media freedom and judicial independence, and similar actions that were inconsistent with the creation of an environment in which free and fair elections could be held and Fiji’s longer-term issues resolved.”  They recall the promise that interim Prime Minister Bainimarama made to seek elections by March of 2009 at last year’s Pacific Island Forum, but have, to date, not seen enough follow through.  Concerned over this lack of progress Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu have joined together to form the Ministerial Contact Group in an effort to “work more closely with Fiji over plans for an election by next March.”

Beyond the formation of an international working group, Winston Peters, the New Zealand Foreign Minister, has proposed a more coercive answer to the problem of Fijian elections.  At a Forum meeting, he reminded the interim government that a number of institutions in Fiji are run by people from other island nations, such as the University of the South Pacific.  Peters wondered aloud whether other Pacific Nations should continue to support such institutions in light of the political turmoil and humanitarian unrest in Fiji, when perhaps relocation would be a more amenable way forward. 

The interim government was less than enthusiastic about the scrutiny paid to them by the international community.  During a speech that he delivered in Fiji’s capital of Suva, Bainimarama said that elections “are not always, on their own, a magic or quick-fix solution.”  He said that central to Fiji’s move forward was the passage of his People’s Charter and a healing of the racial divide in Fiji.  He also took the opportunity to attack his international detractors saying, “[i]t has not helped that some detractors have been concocting phony criticisms, lighting up little bushfires here and there, so that we spend more of our time and effort in responding to these.” 

Speaking separately, the Interim Finance Minister reiterated the interim PM’s stance that before any electoral changes can take place, the People’s Charter must be put before the people and ratified.  He also said that other Pacific leaders need to understand that democratic elections will not cure all of Fiji’s problems: fundamental changes must take place in Fiji before lasting progress can be made.  Such changes, Chaundhry said, take time.   

Even beyond the interim government, there are elements in Fiji that believe that 2009 elections would be too quick.  The Citizen’s Constitution Forum chief executive Reverend Akuila Yabaki said today that he believes that, under the current system, democratic elections will not heal the social ills that plague the island nation.  According to Yabaki, Fiji’s current system of race-based communal voting has failed to establish racial cohesion and until that system is changed–Yabaki himself favors a proportional representation model–Fiji’s underlying problems will remain.  He expressed hope that the international community would highlight the real issues facing Fiji, namely, election monitoring, power sharing, the People’s Charter and violence in Fiji.  Yabaki was also critical of the interim government, expressing his fears that the interim government might try to use the People’s Charter as a way of delaying the return to democratic elections. 

In related news, after a prolonged search the interim government has announced that it has found a suitable candidate for the position of Supervisor of Elections.  While the identity of the individual is being kept secret until the confirmation, it has been leaked that the person in question is a New Zealand legal professional who the interim government considers to have extensive work experience in the Pacific.  A spokesman for the interim regime said that the government hopes that the new Supervisor of Elections will assume their post in the next six to eight weeks. 

For more information, please see:
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited — Understanding of Pacific problems — 28 March 2008

Fiji Times — Outcome pleases foreign minister — 28 March 2008

Solomon Times Online — Region to Monitor Fiji’s Move towards Elections — 28 March 2008

FijiVillage — Charter First then Elections- Chaundhry — 28 March 2008

Fiji Times — Stand by Fiji process, Yabaki calls on world — 28 March 2008

Fijivillage — Pressure on Fiji to Hold Elections — 27 March 2008

Stuff.co.nz — Elections no magic solution – Bainimarama — 27 March 2008

Pacific Magazine — Regional Ministers Concerned At Fiji’s Slow Progress On Elections — 27 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — New Zealand legal professional could be Fiji’s next supervisor of elections — 26 March 2008

SUVA, Fiji — Cutting against the grain of the common international sentiment, the Fiji’s interim government has thrown its support behind the Chinese government in their recent handling of the riots in the Tibetan city of Lhasa. 

The Permanent secretary to the interim Prime Minster, Parmesh Chand, confirmed that the interim Prime Minister had written to the Chinese government to officially express his support.  According to Chand, the PM Bainimarama praised the Chinese government for abiding by the rule of law and stressed that he understood that the situation in Tibet was an internal matter for China to deal with.  Chand also said that it is not uncommon for world leaders to pass along notes like this. 

Concern has grown, particularly in New Zealand and Australia, regarding Fiji’s increased dependence on China.  Since the 2006, Fiji’s relations with Australia and New Zealand have been strained and an increasing amount of Fijian aid is coming from China.  New Zealand Green MP Keith Locke has publically expressed his fears of what a fusion of these alliances and his perception of Fiji’s lack of respect for democracy could mean for the future.  “It’s bad enough that Mr Bainimarama has trampled on democracy in Fiji, without supporting the Beijing’s suppression of Tibetan rights,” he said.  He also called upont the New Zealand government to condemn the Fijian statement. 

For more information, please see:

News Talk ZB — Concern at ties between China and Fiji — 25 March 2008

The Sydney Morning Herald — China applauded for Tibet crackdown — 25 March 2008

Scoop — NZ Govt caught over Bainimarama support for China — 25 March 2008

Radio New Zealand — Fiji supports the Chinese government’s handling of fatal riots in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet — 25 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji indicates support for Chinese government’s action in addressing deadly riot in Tibet — 24 March 2008

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Leaders from more than 15 nations around the Pacific will converge on Auckland this week for the Pacific Island Forum.  New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the Fiji Times that among the topics to be discussed at the conference is Fiji’s progress towards Democratic elections.  Peters has also said that all Pacific Islanders share the goal of returning Fiji to democratic elections. 

“We will continue to encourage Fiji to build on its preparations for elections, and we all stand ready to assist and encourage this process,” he said.

The Fiji’s interim Foreign Minister has said that he is willing to attend the meeting with an open mind.  At the meeting Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau will be asked by the other Foreign Ministers attending the meeting to give a presentation of what has transpired over the last twelve months in Fiji. 

The meeting is set to begin this Wednesday.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Times — Forum wants Fiji to return to elections next year says NZ — 24 March 2008

Pacific Magazine — Meeting on Fiji in Auck this week — 24 March 2008

News Talk ZB — Fiji Foreign Minister Has Positive Outlook on Forum Ministers Meeting — 23 March 2008

Fiji Times — Fiji on Forum agenda: Minister — 21 March 2008

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

YAREN, Nauru –- Amidst recent political instability, Nauru’s President, Marcus Stephen, has declared the newly appointed parliamentary Speaker, David Adeang, “out of control.” Mr. Adeang, a member of the Opposition, working with Nauru’s former President, Rene Harris, attempted to oust Mr. Stephen with a vote of no confidence on Tuesday.

While Mr. Stephen’s supporters still hold a majority of 9 in the 18 member Parliament, Mr. Adeang’s appointment as Speaker is significant because it allows the Opposition to recall Parliament even when Government Ministers are out of the country and unable to vote.

Eager to remove Mr. Stephen’s government, the Opposition is calling for new elections. In accordance, Mr. Adeang has recommended dissolving Parliament and holding a new round of elections. Mr. Stephen has accused the Speaker of “breaking every parliamentary rule in the book.” 

But Mr. Adeang and the Opposition are justifying last week’s vote of no confidence on the “pollution and phosphate dust emissions” resulting from Nauru’s recent revival of its phosphate industry. Last month’s closing of an Australian detention center has placed nearly ten per cent of Nauruans out of work. The government has been pressed to find alternative solutions for creating a sustainable economy. Phosphate exportation is one of those solutions. 

The mining of phosphate, a mineral used in farm fertilizer, has long been a source of political unrest in Nauru. In the last hundred years, the phosphate industry has been both a blessing, transforming Nauru into one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and a curse, more recently bankrupting the island and ravaging its environment. President Rene Harris, whom the Opposition favors, is credited, at least in part, with causing Nauru’s fall from riches.

Meanwhile, President Stephen has retaliated, calling Mr. Adeang’s environmental reasons for the vote of no confidence a “a red herring being used in an attempt to justify their selfish and uncaring actions, which are not only affecting the smooth conduct of parliament; they are also hurting Nauru’s reputation at a time when genuine progress is being achieved.”

Nauruans are caught in the middle; many favoring a return to prosperity, yet, others unwilling to sacrifice their backyards to dust and phosphate emissions. The majority merely want an end to the political instability.   

If Parliament calls for new elections, however, foreign minister, Dr Kieran Keke, is confident the current Government will prevail.

For more information, please see:

PacNews –- Nauru talks ongoing to find political stability –- 24 March 2008

Pacific Magazine –- Nauru President Claims Parliamentary Speaker “Out of Control” — 22 March 2008

ABC News –- Oppn MP appointed Nauru Speaker –- 20 March 2008

Al Jazeera.net –- Nauru’s riches to rags decline — 17 March 2008

BBC News — Nauru seeks to regain lost fortunes — 15 March 2008