THE FIJIAN PROBLEM IS NOW NO LONGER THE ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT
BUT THE ARMY

by 
Raymond Croxon Q.C.
President
Movement for Democracy in Fiji

THE FIJIAN PROBLEM IS NOW NO LONGER THE ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT BUT THE ARMY

The momentous decision of the Court of Appeal upholding the continuing legality of the 1997 Fijian Constitution and the consequential knock-on effect of this being that the Government we had claimed as being illegal was in fact illegal and everything it has done has no validity. The democratically elected Government is therefore still the legal Government of Fiji whether the gang of Indigenous Fijians likes it or not. The army publicly stated that it would abide by the decision of the Fijian Court of Appeal. The truth is now out in the open, they forgot to mention that this only applied if their friends the Indigenous Fijians won. Instead they lost and the army is disgracefully trying to wriggle out of this declaration by the same route as before i.e. claiming that the restoration of the Coalition Government would bring disorder to Fiji. "The March 4th Fiji Times quotes an unnamed senior army officer as saying: "The military is hoping that the pathway chosen to return Fiji to constitutional rule is in accordance with the law that is according to the provisions of the 1997 Constitution. But at the same time as a matter of national interest we cannot afford to have Mr. Chaudhry and his group back". It also says "that the Fiji Military does not want Prime Minister Mahendra "Chaudhry and his group" back in government".

In a lead story, written by Margaret Wise subtitled "Army regards deposed PM a threat to national security", the paper claims that the army came to this conclusion "after three days' of discussions on the implications of the Court of Appeal ruling. Today's Fiji Times says that the Fiji Military does not want Prime Minister Mahendra "Chaudhry and his group" back in government.

If these newspaper reports are true the army after three days' discussion have forgotten or ignored what the Court of Appeal judgement was about. The beliefs of the army taken without discussion or seeking the authority of the legal Government is illegal and irrelevant. They have been told by the Court of Appeal that the Coalition Government is the lawful Government and must be re-instated. The 1997 Fijian Constitution has remained in force since 1997 and it follows from this finding that anything done during the past year since the Government was deposed is illegal and hence void.

Yet, if the report is accurate, then the army is trying to manipulate what the Illegal Government failed to do, that is the continuation in power of the small group of Indigenous Fijians who with the support of the army have caused such havoc by adopting a wholly racialist program of control aimed at subjugating the Indian Fijians to an inferior position to the Indigenous Fijians.
Apparently their excuse is that if the democratically elected Coalition Government is restored there is fear that there will be civil disobedience to the law such that has not happened before. This then begs the question "Who are the people likely to object?

The answer is to the very same people who have caused all the problem from the outset. It is this same group of powerful Indigenous Fijians who claim that it is their right to say who should govern Fiji. The 1997 Fijian Constitution makes their stance illegal. If the Times newspaper is correct, the army are still insisting that they continue to depose the lawful Government of Fiji. Of course it will upset the people who started all this trouble but this is the consequence of installing a Constitution. A bigoted group of Indigenous Fijians now clearly conspirators with the un-named heads of the army to pervert the course of Justice. None of them have any right to contradict the Judgement of a High Court Judge and the Court of Appeal and the provisions of the 1997 Constitution, on the specious ground that it will cause unrest to a minority of troublemaker friends of the army. If the army leaders were truly independent and objective they would have intervened months ago to stop the lawless behaviour of the Indigenous Fijians who attacked innocent Indian Fijians whose only crime was that they were born of second or third generation Indian Fijians.

Public opinion both within Fiji and Internationally has condemned the racist activity of the Fijian army and they can no longer hide their actions under the cloak of protecting the law and order of the country. If they adhere to what is said by the Times newspaper they will stand to be condemned by their latest statements of being part and parcel of the cause of all the rebellious troubles.

I regret to say that if they put these threats into place, it is now clear beyond peradventure that the assistance of forces from Australia and New Zealand and elsewhere under the auspices of the United Nations must be brought in to re-establish the law and order so that the wishes of the whole Fijian people are put into effect. If this means arresting Indigenous Fijians who have been responsible for causing all this mayhem then this must be done as these people were aware of the law, were warned that what they did was illegal and in breach of the Constitution and failed to heed what they were told.

If the army refuses to obey the law then their actions are anarchical and must be punished. My view is that every officer who now carries out orders plainly contrary to the law must be arrested and put on trial for treason. The army must be disbanded and replaced by an army which swears allegiance to the Constitution of Fiji and obedience to the edicts of the Courts and to the democratically elected Parliament of whatever colour or creed the legally elected members of the Government and their freedom to rule must be respected. These purported declarations of the un-named officers of the Fijian army are echoes of their past tyranny and make their role as adjudicators of what is a threat to society not just plainly suspect but now plainly biased by trumpeting their obvious connection with the whole of the recent history of the treasonous deposing of legally elected Governments.

I hope before any hasty and ill-considered moves are made by the army they give careful thought to the effect of what they are doing. If they do attempt yet another army coup, then presentations are likely to follow by the legally elected Government and all others concerned with establishing democracy and freedom, for help from the UN to give assistance to Fiji to enforce the court judgement and restore democracy to Fiji by giving the people of Fiji security and freedom to restore the operation of the 1997 Constitution to the Fijian people.

I hope that what was written in the Fiji Times is untrue and that the army will take on a responsible role in restoring the legally elected Government to power. Even if it is true, it is not too late for them to change their mind and behave like a true limb of the legally elected Government and seek reconciliation so that democracy can return to Fiji. If any sensible and responsible members of the Fijian army read this article and disagrees with what the Fiji Times has reported them as saying, that they will take every opportunity to deny these statements which are inflammatory and if inaccurate seditious and warrant strong criticism.