C'Wealth team hopeful of Fiji's return to democracy

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SUVA, JUNE 16. A Commonwealth delegation, which held day-long talks with the Fijian leaders on crisis-busting, left by nightfall after striking a note of expectation that the promised ``rough road- map'' to the renewal of democracy in the island- Republic would not turn into a mirage.

The ``road-map,'' as indicated by the head of Fiji's ``Interim Military Government,'' Commodore J. V. Frank Bainimarama, would cover a ``reform'' of the recently-abrogated Constitution of 1997, which featured political pluralism and multilateral democracy. This was disclosed by a member of the Commonwealth team - the Australian Foreign Minister, Mr. Alexander Downer - shortly before the team's departure from Suva. While the nature and scope of the proposed ``reform'' were not spelt out by Cmdr. Bainimarama, he indicated to the delegation that a restoration of democracy would be the objective. On the related issue of the restoration of multiracial politics, Cmdr. Bainimarama gave the delegation to understand that it would be kept in mind.

The delegation pointed out that the immediate priority, before the Military Government, was to secure the safe release of the political hostages being held by the `civil coup' leader, Mr. George Speight. The strategy in securing the release of the dismissed Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry, and his colleagues, would be left to the Fijian Government.

There was little or nothing the international community could do in the present circumstances to force the pace of their release. But, the head of the delegation representing the Commonwealth Action Group - the Malaysian Prime Minister's Special Representative, Mr. Musa Hitam - indicated that the team conveyed the organisation's condemnation of the hostage-taking and impressed on Fiji, the need to end the crisis as soon as possible. In this context, the Commonwealth leaders told Cmdr. Bainimarama that his plans to revive democracy in two years would be too long a wait.

On the question of Cmdr. Bainimarama's stated intention of constituting a transitional civil administration, the delegates expressed satisfaction over his commitment to keep Mr. Speight and his ``henchmen'' out of the provisional arrangement that would work under the overall auspices of the military regime.

The military leader's commitment to ``rebuild'' the 1997 Constitution, which was scrapped in the wake of the recent `civil coup' and counter-coup by the armed forces, was also noted by the Commonwealth interlocutors. They met the representatives of almost the entire Fijian spectrum, including the minority ethnic Indians and the majority natives, except Mr. Speight and his cohorts.

While the visitors were willing to give the present regime some benefit of doubt with regard to the pace of crisis- resolution, they drew the attention to the inherent dangers of avoiding ``inclusive politics'' in any future arrangement and misreading the present silence of those Fijians, of all races and political persuasions, who voted for a Government, headed by a man from a minority race, in a free election that was held under a democratic Constitution, which the indigenous leaders themselves had drafted and adopted in 1997.

While hinting that the Commonwealth team was not thinking of further ostracism of Fiji, as an immediate solution to the current impasse in Suva, the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Mr. Phil Goff, said, ``our first and best solution is that the Government (the one duly formed under Mr. Chaudhury's premiership) should be returned to office following the end of the hostage situation.'' However, the Commonwealth leaders did not recommend this solution as the only course open to Fiji if it were to do normal diplomatic business with the international community.

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