Time to end Fiji's trauma

THE TIME HAS arrived for effective international action to match the strong words of condemnation that followed the ethnic coup in Fiji. The United Nations' and the Commonwealth's confidence that the forces of moderation will prevail have apparently proved to be misplaced as is the hope that the weight of global opinion will ultimately work. A new civilian administrative set-up, controlled by the military, brings no cheer as the island nation continues to remain hostage to political thugs. It is obvious that in the absence of the release of the hostages and movement toward restoration of democracy there is no escape from the imposition of economic sanctions followed by a clearcut message that in this age of democratic plurality there is no going back to the stone age, that while the indigenous Fijians may legitimately claim special consideration for their socioeconomic uplift this cannot come at the expense of the equality and fundamental rights of the ethnic Indians who have helped build the nation. Australia and New Zealand had refrained from imposing sanctions on the ground that this would only add to the misery of the people. It is clear that continued inaction, with thuggery and looting remaining unpunished, can have a disastrous fallout.

All that the international community has seen in the last 45 days is that a multiracial Constitution has been changed by a bunch of gunmen and a democratically-elected Prime Minister and his Cabinet have been beaten up and held at gunpoint. Besides, every passing day confirms that people of Indian origin, who constitute 44 per cent of Fiji's population, will remain second class citizens without political rights. The military which sounded reasonable in the days immediately following its seizure of power in that small South Pacific island has turned out to be unreliable or incapable. When it took power on May 29 in a bid to quell racially-motivated violence 10 days after the so-called civil coup by Mr. George Speight and his men, it ruled out abrogation of the multiracial Constitution which had allowed the election of Mr. Mahendra Pal Choudhry, an ethnic Indian leader, and insisted that the hostages be released before any talks could be held with the rebels. Through a series of concessions which ran contrary to its initial proclamations, the military began to yield to the dictates of Mr. Speight, conceding all his major demands: it agreed to the ouster of the well-respected President, Ratu Kamisese Mara, removal of the Constitution and grant of amnesty to the rebels for their treasonous actions. The latest twist has been provided by the banker who has become the ``Prime Minister'' in the military-appointed administration, Mr. Laisenia Qarase. He has declared that there can be no return to the multiracial Constitution of 1997. Representatives of people of Indian origin have rightly opted to stay out of the advisory council, which will be subservient to the military. The council will help stitch together a Constitution that will give primacy to the natives, apparently on the Malaysian sons-of-the-soil model.

India has waited long enough for international diplomacy to intervene and must now get the Commonwealth and the United Nations to bring pressure, first for ensuring the safety and freedom of the hostages and secondly for reviving attempts to construct a multiethnic society. It should be possible to evolve acceptable constitutional arrangements that safeguard the rights of the minorities while providing for the unhindered progress of the majority in the particular demographic situation of Fiji. Solutions should be found within a democratic framework where no one is reduced to the status of second class citizens, where the rights of all Fijians are safeguarded regardless of the accident of their ethnic origins.

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Section  : Opinion
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