Bainimarama makes friends at Forum [1]
Monday, October 22, 2007 - 07:17. Updated on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 18:52.
By Pesi Fonua
When Commodore Bainimarama, the Interim Prime Minister of Fiji, announced in Neiafu, Vava'u, on October 17 that Fiji will have a Parliamentary Election early in 2009, it was welcomed by Pacific Islands leaders who gave him their overwhelming support- but not the leaders of Australia and New Zealand, he explains in an interview in Tonga.
Cmdr. Bainimarama is the first to admit that he and his interim government are having problems convincing people that he has good intentions, after his take over of Fiji's elected government on December 5 last year.
"But that is okay," he told Tongan journalists on Friday, "because what is important is that the Forum understood the situation in Fiji and it has given the interim government and I, and the nation their support to move forward."
Cmdr. Bainimarama was commenting to local Tongan media at the International Dateline Hotel on Friday October 19, at the end of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meetings in Tonga.
"I think it will be a while before New Zealand gives me, Fiji, their support, but we are open for dialogue, we need their support, their endorsement and their understanding. It will probably take them a while to come around and understand the situation in Fiji."
Positive outcome
Cmdr. Bainimarama said that he and his Interim Government are having problems convincing people that what they did, "was not for power or for some kind of evil intention. It was all to do with saving our country from where it was heading.
"I thought the outcome of the [Forum] meeting on Wednesday has been very positive for us."
With regards to the process of democratisation since he overthrew the elected government of Laisenia Qarase on December 5 last year, he said that Helen Clark had talked in length about the Fijian Constitution, "what we should do about the constitution, we should not abrogate the constitution, and we should not do this or that with the constitution. When in fact, they don't have a constitution in New Zealand. Maybe she is trying to tell me that is the best way to go, abrogate the constitution, get rid of it and go the New Zealand way, no constitution."
Cmdr. Bainimarama said that from the very beginning there was no intention of throwing away the constitution, "for obvious reasons, we want the constitution to give this government credibility.
"After December 5, our definition of democracy is good governance, good leadership, no racial discrimination, no racial policies, that is our definition of democracy," he said.
Elections
"Going for elections for the sake of elections is not democracy. Democracy is not about having numbers in parliament or being a member of Cabinet, that is not democracy. Democracy is about good governance, and unfortunately the international community has come [down] heavy on us, because when the military do this to an elected government they see it as an evil intention. But we did what we did on December 5 was to stop our country from destroying itself."
Cmdr. Bainimarama said he did not actually talk to Helen Clark in Tonga.
"We were in the same room but she would not speak to me. But I must thank Alexander Downer for giving me a free flight on the [Australian] airforce plane to Vava'u. That is probably the closest that I have ever got to Australia!"
Travel ban
Cmdr. Bainimarama is upset that Australia and New Zealand have introduced a travel ban on anyone who has a relative in the Fiji military.
"For example, our top soccer player was refused entrance into New Zealand last week. The problem was that his future father-in-law was in the military. That is how stupid it is, a bit childish, but that is Helen Clark's policy. He hopes that she will come around at some stage and lift the travel ban."
Cmdr. Bainimarama said that he staged what he called, "a clean up campaign and not a coup" on December 5 last year because of the failure of various attempts to give Fiji a good government.
He explained that after the coup in 1987 when things had just started to come right again, "we had another coup by George Speight in 2000. Everything went haywire from then on and the military, we went and asked Sir Kamasese Mara to give us the executive authority so that we could deal with George Speight and his coup.
"He gave it to me aboard a ship on Suva harbour. We then gave the leadership to Qarase and the interim government on the understanding that that would take us forward.
"In fact, they did exactly the opposite, they took us backward. They started hiring people who were involved in the coup, they even brought some people who were involved in the coup and made them Cabinet Ministers, and because of that corruption started to filter in. They have abused the authority that the military gave them in 2000 and I think that spoiled the very good relationship that we were supposed to have."
Cmdr. Bainimarama said that before the election in 2009 he wanted the people of Fiji to have a referendum on what he called the 'People's Charter'. He said that the charter, "captures our vision of what Fiji should be, a country free of racial discrimination.
"The politicians abuse the politics of race whenever there is an election. If the People's Charter will be passed these politicians will never be able to get into government," he said.
Invited
According to Cmdr. Bainimarama, in the lead up to the Forum, Australia and New Zealand were trying to get other Pacific Island leaders to take a position against him, and it was uncertain whether or not Fiji would attend this year's Forum meeting. But then Cmdr. Bainmarama received an invitation from Tonga.
"An invitation from His Majesty's Government, was something for me as a soldier I could not turn down, and, of course, coming from the Tongan Prime Minister who was a former Suva Marist boy like me, " said Cmdr. Bainimarama.