But can it do away with the coup culture?

Samisoni Pareti
2007 for Fiji will be a year of re-construction as the island nation picks up the pieces yet again from its fourth coup in 19 years. It has become a familiar road for many after Sitiveni Rabuka staged his two coups in 1987 and failed businessman George Speight tried to copy it when he ousted the government of Mahendra Chaudhry in May 2000.

Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama

When military strongman Frank Bainimarama ordered his troops to the streets of the capital and other towns around the country on December 5, the realisation dawned that the island nation did not sever its links to the vicious coup cycle.

"He has raped democracy," decried Laisenia Qarase on national television minutes after learning of the military coup which ousted him and his government from power.

"We have again become the laughing stock of the world."

Many in Fiji agreed with him, not necessarily because they supported his government, although he got popular support with a November poll which gauged indigenous Fijian support for Qarase at more than 80 percent.

But others, civil society organisations included, denounced the idea of using force and the seemingly unlawful means to oust a democratically-elected government.

Yet the action of the military does have some support as shown in the number of letters published almost on a daily basis in the country's three dailies.

It is a well-known fact that the tourism industry was not comfortable with the Qoliqoli Bill of the Qarase Government as it would  require the payment by resort owners of royalties to owners of the fishing grounds. His government's two other proposed pieces of legislation concerning inter-ethnic reconciliation from the 2000 coups and the proposed land claims tribunal were also not widely accepted amongst the non-indigenous communities.

Just a week after the coup, the Fiji Employers Federation revealed that its members had laid off nearly 1000 workers because of the downturn in business.

Many of these workers, the Federation said, were in the tourism business. One of the country's biggest multi-million dollar tourism and land development projects at Momi near Nadi International Airport is being halted because of the uncertainty, sending home hundreds of construction workers and labourers. International hotel chain Marriott was to manage the Momi resort.

Work had also stopped some months before this at the neighbouring Natadola hotel development that houses an 18-hole golf course designed by golfer Vijay Singh.

Ousted PM Laisenia Qarase

One thousand five hundred more workers were left jobless overnight when Fiji's sole mining operation, Emperor Gold Mine, decided to close shop. Gold exports last year totalled F$218 million, representing some seven percent of total exports of a country that is already suffering from poor export receipts and a rising import bill.

Although the Australian-listed company said the closure had nothing to do with the coup as it was more to do with poor gold ore, many questioned the timing of the closure-coming on the same day Bainimarama announced his takeover.

By press time, no country had yet announced a trading ban against Fiji. Sanctions imposed so far by Australia and New Zealand were to do with travel, defence and in New Zealand's case, sports.

The United States had also put a freeze on defence cooperation with Fiji while the European Parliament urged the European Commission to slap a ban on non-humanitarian aid with the island nation.

Four days after the military takeover, Fiji woke up to the news that it had been expelled for the third time from the Commonwealth, a decision that could jeopardise the recruitment of young Fijians into the British Army which already has over 2000 Fiji Islanders-some women-but men mostly in its ranks.

Equally devastating will be the termination of Fiji's participation in the United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad, although the world body has yet to indicate whether such a sanction will be imposed.

By late last month, the military was talking of an economic revival and attempting to reassure investors and tourists that Fiji was still safe. Yet all in Fiji know that economic rehabilitation and reconstruction work will be long and painful.

More businesses will close, thousands more will be jobless, more so if Fiji's main trading partners-Australia and New Zealand-decide to use trade sanctions as a leverage to get Fiji quickly back on the path of democratic government.

2007 will also be a busy year for Fiji in the area of mending ethnic relations. Given Qarase's wide popularity amongst the indigenous community that makes up 60 percent of its 800,000 population, the Fiji military and the interim government it will appoint will have to try and appease this segment of the population.

President Ratu Josefa Iloilo

Honouring the two percent Cost of Living pay rise for government workers which had already been granted by the ousted government would help, as is its intention to remove the 2.5 percent Value Added Tax increase provided for in Qarase's 2007 Budget.

Analysts believe the way the military implements its so-called cleaning exercise will also be crucial, as it needs to ensure the exercise is not perceived to benefit only certain segments of the community.

By the second week of December, the military had made changes to the boards of at least 10 public companies.

In addition, it has closed down one entire company, government's investment arm called the Fiji Investment Corporation, labelling the company as typical of the Qarase Government's 'empire building'.

"Here is another example of taxpayers' money wastefully being used to create another institution, whose role could have been adequately performed by one of the existing institutions of the state," Bainimarama said in one of his regular media briefings at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks.

"It has hardly benefitted the lives of ordinary people apart from the company putting out glossy annual reports and exaggerated figures on investment.

"I have decided that the government and the people of this country will save F$2 million annually straightaway if the operation of this entity is suspended and its functions subsequently absorbed either by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning or the Ministry of Public Enterprise."

In one of his many media briefings, the military strongman strongly warned the ousted prime minister against any plans to form a defacto government.

He warned those behind the plot that they are only putting themselves in harm's way. Qarase and his SDL Party were quick to disassociate themselves from such plans.

SDL party director Peceli Kinivuwai laughed off Bainimarama's claims when contacted by this magazine.

"Why should we form a defacto government when we are still the legitimately elected government of this country," said Kinivuwai.

But he couldn't deny the strategy paper a few SDL parliamentarians authored in the event of a military takeover which was leaked to the Fiji military and released to selected media outlets including ISLANDS BUSINESS.

The document written under three separate dates advocated mass civil disobedience by party leaders and supporters. These include roadblocks, sit-ins, and even the changing of the software of government's pay system.

"We must always remember that this battle is ultimately a public relations one," said the SDL strategic paper.

"And so we must always be aware of the public relations aspects of whatever we do, or whatever is going on. As long as we keep this battle a public opinion one, the military can't win it. Doesn't matter even if our last strategy suggestion paper was leaked to the military."

Throughout the paper, the authors stressed the need to keep the protests free of violence.

"The most important aspect to remember about these protests is not to give the soldiers an excuse to use violence or their weapons," the SDL document.

"That means not using any violence or weapons yourselves but to 'catch them on film' if they do.

"If they come to "break up" your roadblock, just let them and then re-form it again there or somewhere else after they leave."

Whether the ousted party was truly planning such peaceful protests, there was no sign of it by mid-December.

Given the way things progressed in the islands, some observers say it is early days still. Much hinges on the position of the country's council of tribal leaders, the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC).

Scheduled to meet early December, the council's decision on whether to support the military regime of Bainimarama or stick with the ousted government of Qarase will determine what happens in Fiji in 2007 (Update on the GCC meeting on page 14).

Having shown that it has never freed itself from the devastating strangle of coup culture, Fiji's propensity to solve its problems through the barrel of the gun will be a source of uneasiness for many regional and international agencies that house their regional offices in the country.

Already, the removal of Qarase has put the Suva-based Pacific Islands Forum secretariat in an unusual bind since never before has its sitting Forum chair been ousted in a coup d'etat.

"As the actions of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces now prevent Prime Minister Qarase from exercising his leadership of the Fiji Government and also making it impossible as a matter of practicality for him to fulfill his duties as the current Pacific Islands Forum chair, Forum Leaders have now considered an alternative chairing arrangement," said Forum secretary-general Greg Urwin in a brief statement on December 15. Outgoing chair, Sir Michael Somare of Papua New Guinea, has been appointed interim chair. But he is likely to be distracted with a general election in PNG in June.

Next year's chair, Dr Fred Sevele of Tonga, is equally busy, engrossed in rebuilding the kingdom from the disastrous riots last November. Already a few non-government organisations and politicians like ousted opposition leader Mick Beddoes are talking of a "legal" way out for the military whereby it should allow the return of aging Ratu Josefa Iloilo as president, who will then get Qarase to advise on the dissolution of parliament in preparation for a fresh election.

The Citizens Constitutional Forum wants to see all those convicted and suspected of supporting the 2000 coup barred from any interim cabinet.

Bainimarama has yet to indicate his position on the latest initiative. But many agree that while such a plan may see a quicker return to parliamentary government, it may not go far enough to bury the coup 'ghosts' for this island nation once and for all.