Political Reviews

The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2013 nic maclellan

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2013 david chappell, jon fraenkel, gordon leua nanau, howard van trease, muridan s widjojo

The Contemporary Pacic, Volume 26, Number 2, 459–552 © 2014 by University of Hawai‘i Press

459 Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2013

Papua New Guinea is not reviewed in mission chair, Professor Yash Ghai this issue. (see Fraenkel 2013). Although the six hundred copies were impounded, the document was soon leaked and freely Fiji available on the Internet (fcc 2012). The adoption of a new constitu- In January, President Ratu Epeli tion figured centrally in 2013, as Fiji Nailatikau denounced the fcc draft as geared up for elections scheduled threatening “financial and economic before the end of September 2014. catastrophe and ruin” (Nailatikau Seven years on from the December 2013). The commission, he said, had 2006 coup, many in Fiji had become “succumbed to the whims of the few habituated to life under the military who have an interest in perpetuating commander Voreqe Frank Bainima- divisions within our society.” These rama. Formerly prominent politicians were bizarre claims, inspired by the hoped to make a comeback at the regime’s discomfort with the ground- 2014 polls and often prepared for this swell of popular political engagement by reviving old alignments. There was occasioned by the fcc’s deliberations. no sign throughout the year of the The fcc had accommodated all coup leader’s own much-anticipated of Bainimarama’s “nonnegotiable” political party. Economic recovery demands, even endorsing—at least for continued, but many investors held those swearing an oath of allegiance— off, awaiting the outcome of the elec- the far-reaching immunity provisions tion. Bainimarama’s anti-Australian in its enabling decrees not only for Pacific diplomacy figured promi- perpetrators of the 2006 coup but also nently, but the stomach for continued for those responsible for the 1987 and squabbles with Fiji’s government was 2000 coups (fcc 2012, schedule 6, steadily waning in Canberra. In Sep- section 27; Fiji Government 2012a, tember, an election in Australia ended 2012b; Fiji Government 1990, chap- the Rudd-Gillard Labor Government ter 14). Its core fault was that it had and brought to office the Liberal- offered a political settlement that was National Coalition under Tony Abbott palatable to those still, more or less with Julie Bishop as foreign minister publicly, opposed to the regime. This committed to “normalizing” relations was an affront to a government that with Fiji. was depicting its origins as a glorious The year commenced with the social revolution rather than as a mili- ditching and attempted suppression tary coup aimed at ousting Bainima- of the interim government’s own Fiji rama’s archenemy, the former Prime Constitutional Commission (fcc) Minister Laisenia Qarase. The military report, the shredded proofs of which commander’s close ally, Land Force were burned by police officers in the Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoi- presence of a visibly distraught com- toga, accused Ghai of “falling in with

476 political reviews • melanesia 477 the wrong crowd,” claimed that the Despite this major disruption to law professor’s attempts to distribute the Fiji government’s own roadmap the fcc draft were illegal, and said toward an election, there were signs that the Ghai constitution would have of an approaching accommoda- entailed a catastrophic return to the tion between Canberra and Suva. pre-coup order (Fiji Sun, 5 Jan 2013). Echoing Fiji’s president, Australian For Tikoitoga, who was to become Foreign Minister Bob Carr caused Fiji’s new military commander in some consternation within his own early 2014, it was the army’s nation- ministry and across the Tasman when saving experience on United Nations he expressed sympathy for the Fiji (UN) peacekeeping missions that was government’s ditching of plans for a the inspiration for what he saw as its “largely unelected national people’s heroic role within Fiji (The Australian, assembly” and for the “re-creation of 2 April 2013), and nothing could be an unelected Great Council of Chiefs” allowed to turn back the clock. (abc, 14 Jan 2013). In fact, both bod- One of the locally based constitu- ies would have had few powers under tional commissioners, women’s rights the fcc’s proposed arrangements activist Peni Moore—once an enthusi- other than selecting a largely ceremo- ast for the Bainimarama reform proj- nial president. Although accompanied ect (see McGeough 2009)—expressed by much rhetoric about doing away bewilderment at the rejection of the with ethno-nationalist traditional fcc report (Fiji Times, 22 Jan 2013). rulers, Bainimarama’s disbanding of Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khai- the Great Council of Chiefs was better yum said that “it would be highly identified as just one among many discourteous for anyone to comment postcoup steps to remove or assume on or preempt the statement made by control over organs of popular or his excellency to the people of Fiji” communal representation, including (Fiji Times, 22 Jan 2013). President also the municipal authorities, the Nailatikau had reserved particular provincial councils, and the Sugar opprobrium for Ghai’s plans for a Cane Growers’ Council. In any case, 144-member National People’s Assem- both provisions might easily have been bly (including civil society appointees amended by the scheduled constituent and representatives from the Great assembly. Council of Chiefs and tasked with ini- In contrast, New Zealand Foreign tiating a national dialogue and electing Minister Murray McCully reacted in the head of state), which he described horror at the wastage of his country’s as “anathema to democratic represen- aid money entailed by the ditching of tation.” He also disliked provisions the fcc report (abc, 11 Jan 2013). for a “transitional cabinet,” which he According to one of the Fiji-focused claimed would empower “corrupt” Weblogs, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ and often “incompetent” civil servants audited accounts indicated that, of the (Nailatikau 2013). Like his predeces- f$1.6 million used by the fcc, New sor Ratu Josefa Iloilo, the president Zealand had provided f$582,510 was obviously dancing to a heavily (36.4 percent), Australia f$601,772 scripted tune. (37.6 percent), and the European 478 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

Union f$248,054 (15.5 percent), 2013a). Yet the weeks rolled by, and with the remainder coming from the self-imposed deadlines slipped. In British High Commission (f$108,330) the meantime, the government issued and the American Bar Association a decree requiring Fiji’s established (f$59,648) (Coup Four Point Five, political parties to register within 18 Dec 2013; f$1.00 is equivalent to twenty-eight days, with party names us$0.54). No funding had come from to be in English and each party to the Fiji government, although Yash collect 5,000 signatures (2,000 in the Ghai’s team had been allowed to use Central Division, 1,750 in the Western the otherwise empty parliamentary Division, 1,000 in the Northern Divi- complex at Veiuto. sion, and 250 in the Eastern Division) There were also other reasons for (Fiji Government 2013f). In a Febru- weak Fiji government commitment ary amendment, trade unionists were to the fcc process. The Ghai draft disqualified from holding office, par- created the possibility of revival of ties were forbidden from complying by court proceedings to seek redress for changing names but retaining the same past injustices (fcc 2012, schedule acronym, and media organizations 6, section 24), potentially opening were threatened with f$50,000 fines the door to action by disgruntled or five-year prison terms for depict- pensioners angered by reforms to the ing non-registered groups as “parties” Fiji National Provident Fund. Criti- (Fiji Government 2013e). cally, the “transitional arrangements” The new rules drew protest from would have entailed Bainimarama and both the politicians and overseas his cabinet colleagues relinquishing lawyers about breaches of human power ahead of the 2014 elections to rights and International Labour Orga- a “caretaker cabinet” comprising a nization Convention rules (rnzi, 22 maximum of fifteen “former senior Feb 2013). In the Australian Senate, public officers” recommended by a Foreign Minister Carr rejected sugges- “Transitional Advisory Council” (fcc tions that his government had “gone 2012, schedule 6, section 10 [5], sec- soft” on Fiji and justified continu- tion 17 [3]). This the government was ing travel bans on military officers manifestly unwilling to do. Indeed, as and interim government ministers by the year elapsed, it became ever clearer referring to Fiji’s draconian political that the scheduled election was not party regulations (Carr 2013b). Fiji’s intended to permit the ouster of the established political organizations Bainimarama/Sayed-Khaiyum govern- eventually complied with the new ment but rather to supply it with the decrees, but the interim government oxygen of popular legitimacy. suggested that they had collected In a January address to the nation, fraudulent signatures. The new rules Bainimarama promised a new draft most obviously targeted the deposed constitution by the end of the month Prime Minister Qarase’s Soqosoqo and said that the scheduled Con- Duavata ni Lewenivanua (sdl), which stituent Assembly would gather in in response initially changed its name February, with the constitution to to the Social Democratic Liberal Party be finalized in April (Bainimarama so as to conform with the requirement political reviews • melanesia 479 for an English rather than Fijian name On 21 March, a new deadline of while retaining the publicly well- 5 April was announced for public known acronym sdl (rnzi, 28 Jan submissions, only two weeks away. 2013). After the second decree forbid- After protests, the deadline was ding continued use of earlier initials, extended. By this time the enthusiasm the party modified its acronym to stimulated by the 2012 constitutional sodelpa (SOcial DEmocratic Liberal review process had given way to a PArty), a shift that generated such wave of despondency and disengage- hilarity as to give the new title rather ment, at least among the political elite unexpectedly wide currency. and civil society groups. In total, the Only in March did the govern- government claimed to receive 1,093 ment release its draft constitution (Fiji fresh submissions, well below the Government 2013c), together with 7,000 obtained by the fcc throughout a new decree that dropped plans for 2012. The new submissions were not its deliberation and finalization by a publicly released, unlike those received regime-selected Constituent Assembly. by the fcc. The 2012 submissions This was yet another breach with the had initially all been publicly avail- regime’s own road map as set out in able on the fcc website, although the decrees 57 and 58 of 2012 (Fiji Gov- links were soon broken, and by the ernment 2012a, 2012b). The explana- end of the year the website itself had tion Bainimarama gave was that this vanished. was “forced upon us because of the The deliberations of Attorney Gen- lack of commitment by the political eral Sayed-Khaiyum and his legal team parties to register under the require- were held mostly behind closed doors. ments of the law.” He announced to Once the draft was released, Sayed- the nation, “Instead of presenting the Khaiyum toured the country explain- draft to the Constituent Assembly ing and extolling the virtues of its new under the previous arrangement, we provisions (Ministry of Information will be presenting it directly to you. 2013; Fiji Sun, 30 April 2013). When My fellow Fijians, you will be the new a former education minister, Rewa Constituent Assembly” (Bainimarama chief Ro Teimumu Kepa, led a delega- 2013b). The real reason for the cancel- tion to the attorney general’s office lation was, at least in part, simply a to present a submission criticizing the matter of timing, that is, because of draft constitution in April, neither delays occasioned by the rewriting of Sayed-Khaiyum nor his solicitor gen- the constitution. But this was not the eral made himself available to receive first indication of government discom- it (Fiji tv News, 3 April 2013). A few fort with public dialogue, even of a days later, Bainimarama told villagers type involving handpicked support- in Naitasiri that Fiji’s people weren’t ers: planned consultations on the fcc interested in politics; they “were report had been canceled in October more concerned on developments like 2012, and in 2009, dialogue sessions electricity, water and education” (Fiji with political parties and plans for a tv News, 6 April 2013). For the urban President’s Political Dialogue Forum and overseas audiences, the govern- had been dropped. ment’s Washington-based public rela- 480 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) tions firm, Qorvis, produced carefully “not designed to establish a stable designed propaganda footage about constitutional democracy in Fiji.” the new draft constitution for pub- Insofar as the draft addressed “the lic consumption. One of the Qorvis deep divisions in Fijian society that speechwriters privately admitted that have contributed to the instability of those few people presently in com- Fiji for the past century,” it did so mand of the government knew very by “ignoring them—by insisting on well that their position was unsustain- ethnically blind constitutional arrange- able (Hooper 2013, 54). ments” (islp 2013, 4). In the fcc The government’s March draft draft, the Republic of Fiji Military envisaged Bainimarama’s cabinet Forces (rfmf) had been primarily remaining in office not only after the responsible for “defence and protec- serving of writs for election but also tion of the sovereignty and territorial up to the first sitting of Parliament. integrity of the Republic” but could As with the fcc draft, communal be deployed domestically only under constituencies—in which Fiji’s ethnic the control of the police commissioner communities have since colonial days and with the “prior approval of the voted separately for candidates of Minister responsible for defence” (fcc their own ethnicity—were to be abol- 2012, section 176). The new draft ished. There was to be a forty-five- reverted to the controversial 1990 member Parliament serving a four-year constitution’s provision granting the term, but no upper house. Gone were rfmf broad-ranging responsibility the fcc’s plans for a National People’s “to ensure at all times the security, Assembly and for a closed-list pro- defence and well-being of Fiji and all portional representation (pr) system its residents” (Fiji Government 2013c, together with a New Caledonia–style section 130 [2]). It was to be excep- law on parity designed to increase tionally difficult to amend the consti- women’s representation. Instead, tution. After approval by a superma- there was to be an open-list pr system jority in Parliament (75 percent), a under which voters would choose not constitutional amendment would also only their favored political party but require a 75 percent majority in a also their preferred candidates within referendum—a threshold far higher political parties. This echoed the rec- than that usually adopted for demo- ommendations of the 2008 National cratic constitutions. The “coup to end Council for Building a Better Fiji and all coups” had found for itself a new of Catholic priest Father David Arms, legal framework that was only ever a locally resident electoral specialist likely to be changed by illegal action. who soon found himself appointed to In March, a survey was released by the new electoral commission. the Pacific Theological College’s Insti- The new draft constitution entailed tute of Research and Social Analysis a considerable concentration of power (Boege and others 2013). It entailed in the hands of the prime minister and discussions with focus groups involv- his attorney general (see ccf 2013b). ing 330 people and in-depth inter- The International Senior Lawyers views with 82 people over 2011–2012. Project (islp) concluded that it was The interlocutors found that “the vast political reviews • melanesia 481 majority” of respondents wanted a was nevertheless rampant. The threat reform of the electoral system, thought of punitive actions for overly critical the military should be reduced in size, comments was also clear: in August, rejected coups as a method of bring- a local nongovernmental organiza- ing about change, and wanted “the tion, the Citizens’ Constitutional military to return power to the people Forum (ccf), was fined f$27,000, and as soon as possible” (Boege and others ccf Chief Executive Officer Akuila 2013, 42, xv). However, there was Yabaki was sentenced to three months also “virtually unanimous criticism in prison (suspended) for publishing of political parties and politicians”; a excerpts of a 2011 UK Law Society majority indicated distaste for “defi- Charity report titled “Fiji: The Rule ciencies of the leaderships of previous of Law Lost” (High Court of Fiji democratically elected governments,” 2013). The Fiji Sun was particularly and most did “not want a return to sycophantic. When the prime minis- the pre-2006 state of affairs” (Boege ter publicly denounced former civil and others 2013, 37, xvi). These were servants’ protests about provisions in the sentiments Bainimarama tapped the new constitution draft that alleg- into in his regular attacks on “dirty edly threatened indigenous land rights, politicians” (Australia Network tv, the Fiji Sun published his comments 24 April 2013; fbc, 21 Jan 2013). The under the headline “Stop Lies. pm to Pacific Theological College’s survey Former Civil Servants: End Playing on found a stark division between sup- Old Fears” (Fiji Sun, 30 April 2013). porters and opponents of the current Appearing on a panel at the University government, with the former “slightly of the South Pacific, former Vice Presi- outnumbering those expressing criti- dent Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi contrasted cism,” support tending to be stronger the 2006 coup with previous coups in urban and semi-urban areas than when the military had swiftly handed in rural areas, and backing for the power back to civilian leaders. Before military particularly strong among publishing a story on Madraiwiwi’s young people (Boege and others 2013, comment, the Fiji Sun contacted Baini- 39). Another 2013 survey, by Minor- marama in France for a response, and ity Rights Group International, found the resultant story focused centrally that “a clear majority of indigenous on the prime minister’s denunciation Fijians (iTaukei) expressed disquiet of “critics” and “past leaders” under about what they perceived as the the headline “Not Swayed. pm Tells government’s anti-Fijian policies,” Critics: Change Mindset” (Fiji Sun, while “non iTaukei respondents were 17 May 2013). predominantly supportive of govern- In August, the government released ment policies and generally felt that the finalized constitution, although inter-ethnic relations had improved changes by the cabinet were still to since 2006” (Naidu 2013, 31). be allowed before the end of the year. By 2013, the media inside Fiji were The new draft showed some signs of carrying a little more criticism of gov- responsiveness to domestic criticism, ernment policies and initiatives than particularly regarding protection of during 2009–2012, but self-censorship indigenous land rights and the concen- 482 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) tration of powers. Outrageous restric- votes and a separate tallying of which tions on the right to life in the March candidates within each party have the draft—“Deprivation of life shall not largest number of votes. In a single be regarded as inflicted in contraven- constituency model, such systems ben- tion of this section when it results efit parties that have candidates with from the use of force which is no more nationwide appeal who can stack up than absolutely necessary” (Fiji Gov- party votes that enable other, lesser- ernment 2013c, section 8 [2])—had known candidates to get elected. With been criticized by the ccf (ccf 2013b, a 5 percent threshold, Fiji’s new elec- 9) and were deleted from the August toral system will penalize the smaller version. As in the earlier draft, there parties (and independents), who are was an extensive bill of rights, includ- likely to require a minimum of around ing significant new socioeconomic twenty thousand votes to get a single rights, but the government would still candidate elected. be allowed to override freedoms of Sayed-Khaiyum compared Fiji’s expression, association, and assembly new electoral model with those of “in the interests of national security, Israel and Holland (fbc, Aug 22 public safety, public order, public 2013), but this was inaccurate. Israel morality, public health, or the orderly may have a single nationwide con- conduct of elections” (Fiji Govern- stituency, but it uses a closed-list pr ment 2013b, sections 18 [2] [a], 19 [2] system, which is easier to manage in [a]; see also section 17 [3]). Parliament large constituencies. The Netherlands was to be slightly enlarged to 50 mem- uses a so-called semi-open or flexible bers, still considerably below the 71 list and has eighteen multimember who sat in the pre-coup Parliament. constituencies. Real-world examples An open-list pr system was retained, of open-list pr systems with large or but in place of the four-constituency nationwide constituencies are Colom- model, there was now to be a single bia’s Senate, with a hundred members, national constituency with a 5 percent and Brazil, which has some districts threshold. Inevitably, the result was and state legislatures that use open-list likely to be a complex and confusing pr systems and are around the size of ballot paper. or larger than Fiji’s fifty-member Par- That districting change may have liament. Aside from the complexity of been triggered by the difficulty of fit- the ballot paper, and the potential for ting the smaller Eastern Division into vacancies to generate by-elections that a four-constituency model without dis- entail costly nationwide general elec- turbing proportionality between party tions, the new electoral arrangements vote and seat shares, but it also made will eliminate the connection between sense politically from Bainimarama’s members of Parliament and specific standpoint. The smaller constituency areas within Fiji. The attorney general model would have played out better said this would help address the sense for the established political parties, of neglect felt by people in remote who were more likely to draw on parts of the country, although most localized bases of support. Open-list would conclude the exact opposite. pr systems entail a counting of party Large constituencies are sometimes political reviews • melanesia 483 chosen to create a close proportional- Cottrell explained the fcc’s rejection ity between party seat and vote shares, of an open-list pr system as sensible but some electoral specialists argue because “research shows that all open that smaller multimember districts are list systems tend to encourage voting able to achieve reasonable proportion- on ethnic lines” (Cottrell 2013)—a ality while retaining close ties between claim that was hard to reconcile with members of Parliament and their con- the evidence from open list–using stituents (Carey and Hix 2011). countries like Finland, Brazil, or Indo- Bainimarama’s 2012 “nonnego- nesia. After the government released tiable” provisions for the new consti- its new constitution in September, a tution had included “the elimination common protest was that an open-list of ethnic voting” (see Fraenkel 2013, pr system would be inconsistent with 373), triggering a protracted but the government’s “nonnegotiable” confused debate (for the background, objectives. “Nothing in the Fiji Gov- see Fraenkel 2009). Ending the use ernment Constitution restricts ethnic of ethnically reserved seats was, by voting,” protested the Citizen’s Con- this time, widely supported within stitutional Forum. “When voters can Fiji (see Boege and others 2013), but choose who to vote for on open party this could not, in itself, halt voting lists, especially given Fiji’s history, they along racial lines, nor would any of are likely to vote along the usual eth- the various proposed voting systems nic lines” (ccf 2013a, 26; Fiji Times, prevent communal attachments from 23 Sept 2013). influencing electoral allegiances. To This implied that if a closed-list prohibit this kind of voting would be pr system had been selected, as the impossible under any form of democ- fcc had proposed, party elites would racy, although bans on allegedly ethnic have been more likely to select politi- parties have been a frequent resort of cians on a nonethnic basis—a claim military regimes claiming to transcend that might equally be doubted on the tribal divisions in Africa. Yet such basis of Fiji’s troubled political history. was the political climate that many After all, Fiji’s use of “above-the- of the submissions to the fcc review line” or “ticket voting” at the 1999, and during the government’s 2013 2001, and 2006 polls granted con- deliberations extolled the virtues of siderable control to political parties this or that electoral system as ideally over which candidates were elected, suited to eliminating “ethnic voting.” without thereby encouraging selection For similar reasons, a New Zealand– of members of Parliament particularly (or German-) style mixed-member disposed to bridging the ethnic divide. pr system was often unfairly rejected Fiji’s ticket voting provision borrowed because it might entail two votes (one an institution from the Australian at the constituency level and another Senate, where it is sometimes seen for the party)—a provision deemed to as transforming preferential voting run counter to the “nonnegotiable” into something similar to a closed provision for “one person, one vote, list pr system (Sawer 2005, 286). one value.” The main scholarly debate among In February, Ghai’s partner Jill political scientists has been between 484 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) those who believe that all pr systems looked likely to boycott the 2014 elec- foster ethnicized voting (Horowitz tions. On the day of the presidential 1985) and those who contest this (see assent, a small crowd of protestors Lijphart 2004; Huber 2012). Much gathered to denounce the new consti- less research has focused on the dif- tution, and fourteen were temporarily ference between open- and closed-list taken into custody. systems, in part because the border Some within Fiji praised the new is often hazy (many countries have legal framework. Tui Tavua Ratu Jale “semi-open” or “flexible” lists, as Waisele Kuwe Ratu was particularly in the case of the Netherlands or, in supportive, as were 1987 coup leader 2004, Indonesia). Sitiveni Rabuka (Fiji Sun, 25 Aug The first line of the new constitu- 2013) and Fiji’s high commissioner tion reads, “We, the people of Fiji, . . . in London, Solo Mara (Mara 2013). hereby establish this constitution for One of the FCC commissioners, Saten- the Republic of Fiji.” Such phrasing dra Nandan, inelegantly applauded is more usually reserved for settings Bainimarama’s achievement through in which there has been considerable the “subtle force of arms” of an end public engagement in the process of to “communal constituencies, racial constitutional design. As Randall categorisation, colonial hierarchies, Powell (one of the judges on the Fiji feudal patriarchy, discrimination and Court of Appeal, which in April 2009 dispossession of many kinds, coupled declared the Bainimarama government with inventions of traditions and insti- unconstitutional) pointed out, “The tutions to rule rather than to serve” draft Constitution has not been put (Nandan 2013). to a referendum. It’s been imposed on More eloquently, those at the apex the people” (abc Pacific Beat, 23 Aug of the now formally disbanded chiefly 2013). Amnesty International said that order expressed the pervasive sense the constitution fell “far short of inter- of victimization among Fiji’s once- national standards of human rights powerful traditional rulers. Rewa chief law” (Amnesty International 2013), Ro Teimumu Kepa and Cakaudrove’s while Human Rights Watch said that Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu issued a it represented “a major step back- statement denouncing the “interim wards” (hrw 2013). Ghai doubted military government” for “failure to whether Bainimarama had actually protect the group rights of indigenous read the constitution and claimed Fijians,” for usurping control over that he usually “just repeats what “native Fijians semi autonomous gov- his attorney-general tells him to say” ernment (Matanitu Taukei),” and for (Australia Network tv, 23 Oct 2013). trashing the Ghai draft constitution Within Fiji, the sdl, or sodelpa, as (Naiqama and Kepa 2013). Among well as the Fiji Labour Party and the those chiefs, there were some signs of National Federation Party opposed the preparedness to make necessary politi- new constitution. Under the auspices cal adjustments in order to confront of the United Front for a Democratic the imposed new order. At the first Fiji (ufdf), these parties wrote a letter gathering of the freshly rebranded of protest to the president, but none sodelpa in June, party president Ro political reviews • melanesia 485

Teimumu saluted all three of Fiji’s (fbc 9 June 2013). Many landown- deposed prime ministers, including Dr ers who do hold bank accounts are Timoci Bavadra (deposed in 1987), chiefs, and the effort to eliminate the Mahendra Chaudhry (deposed in role of traditional leaders thus always 2000), and Laisenia Qarase (deposed potentially simply empowered some in 2006) (Coup Four Point Five, 23 alternative middlemen. In November, June 2013). Bainimarama implicitly acknowledged Chiefly institutions have been problems when he publicly criticized greatly weakened since the coup. The tltb “lethargy” and said that “equal Great Council of Chiefs had not been distribution will be fully implemented allowed to meet since 2007, and it and automated by the beginning of was formally disestablished in 2012. next year” (Fiji Sun, 6 Nov 2013). In 2010, the government changed the The underlying dilemma may not be formula governing disbursal of rents susceptible to a narrowly technologi- obtained by the Taukei (formerly cal solution. Native) Land Trust Board (tltb). Whatever the truth about broader After deductions of 15 percent for rent disbursals, indigenous chiefs from administration, income had formerly Western Viti Levu and the Macuata been distributed to Fijian chiefs at region of Vanua Levu, who were for- various levels (15 percent to the turaga merly recipients of substantial incomes ni mataqali, 10 percent to the turaga from sugarcane farm leases, have lost ni yavusa, and 5 percent to the turaga major sources of income, and some of ni taukei), with the remaining 70 per- these chiefs are now being forced to cent going to ordinary members of the earn a living by other means. Ironi- mataqali (lineage or clan). New regu- cally, the eastern chiefly elite—Baini- lations in December 2010 provided marama’s main focus of attack—are instead that rents “shall be distributed less affected because rental incomes by the Board to all the living members have never been vast in these parts of the proprietary unit, in equal pro- of the country. More broadly, there portion” (Fiji Government 2010). is nowadays less incentive to speed- Three years on, the practical impact ily resolve title disputes. Of the 1,305 of that ostensibly egalitarian reform turaga ni yavusa (heads of clans) titles was difficult to accurately gauge, but in Fiji, the Taukei Lands and Fisheries a requirement from 2012 that rents be Commission revealed in October that paid electronically into bank accounts 544 (42 percent) remain vacant. Of slowed down disbursals. tltb General the 4,348 turaga ni mataqali (heads Manager Alipate Qetaki admitted of lineages) titles in Fiji, 2,189 (50 in June 2013 that there were thirty percent) were not filled (Fiji Sun, 27 thousand landowners without bank Oct 2013; translation follows Toren accounts, that the board was finding it 1999, 183). The prevalence of vacant difficult to establish how many living titles should not necessarily be seen and deceased members of the mataqali as signifying an erosion of the chiefly should actually receive payments, and order. Often, those functioning in that unpaid rents were accumulat- traditional roles—albeit uninstalled— ing at a rate of f$5 million a month assume positions that entail de facto 486 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) recognition of the customary frame- United States, as well as other regional work, even if the formal succession is players, were critical of their South- contested. ern Hemisphere allies’ policy stances Chiefs such as Ro Teimumu Kepa toward Fiji, although the credibility and Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu were of British foreign policy was rather angered not only by government besmirched when a sting operation reforms to rent disbursal but also conducted by the Daily Telegraph by efforts to acquire native lands for and the bbc program Panorama Bainimarama’s “land bank.” Hark- exposed Tory mp Patrick Mercer ing back to the 1874 Deed of Cession for accepting £4,000 to press in the to the British Crown, they reminded British Parliament for Fiji’s readmis- Fiji’s citizens of “the government’s sion to the Commonwealth (The treaty obligation to our ancestors Times, 1 June 2013; £1 is equivalent and to our chiefs in exchange for . . . to us$1.66). After 2010, Australian surrendering the sovereign authority think tanks such as the Lowy Institute of these lands.” In retaliation for the and the Australian Strategic Policy imposition of the 2013 constitution, Institute devoted much energy to they suggested that ethnic Fijians in drawing attention to Fiji’s closer ties government should “cut off their con- with China and the associated loss nection with their native groups” and of Australasian regional influence, delete their “names from their respec- with the objective of encouraging an tive vkb [Vola ni Kawa Bula—Reg- accommodation with the Fiji interim ister of Native Births] of Mataqalis, government. Yavusas and tribes” (Naiqama and Ultimately, Australian policy Kepa 2013). realignments were really driven by The reactions to the new constitu- developments within Fiji, even if this tion from the Australian and New was not always obvious to the diplo- Zealand governments reflected a mats themselves or to Australian think wider rapprochement that gathered tanks, which became more vocifer- pace through 2013. Australia Foreign ous in almost exact proportion to the Minister Carr “welcomed” the new quieting of criticism from within Fiji. constitution (Carr 2013a), while New Whereas Fiji had witnessed a succes- Zealand Prime Minister John Key said sion of severe crises in the three years that the immunity provisions were not immediately following the coup— a “deal-breaker” (New Zealand Her- including public sector strikes in 2007, ald, 2 Sept 2013). By this time, both threats of a Methodist uprising and Canberra and Wellington were aware the interim government’s breach with that their travel sanctions were hav- Mahendra Chaudhry’s Fiji Labour ing negligible impact on Fiji’s coup- Party in 2008, the abrogation of the makers, beyond generating hostility constitution in 2009, and schisms in toward Australia and New Zealand. the military senior command in late There was also a palpable sense of 2010—the domestic situation had sta- irritation among many diplomats that bilized since 2011. Meaningful change so much time was being taken up by now looked less likely to come from Fiji-related affairs. Britain and the another crisis or an insurrection and political reviews • melanesia 487 more likely to follow the regime’s own at many levels to assist your efforts at July 2009 road map toward elections nation building,” Bainimarama told in 2014, if these were to be credible. the luncheon gathering in Honiara. Both the Australian and New Zealand “Be assured that Fiji stands willing governments—rightly or wrongly— and ready to take that assistance to anticipated that Bainimarama would another level with more personnel win that election, and they wanted and resources, if that is the wish of to better position themselves for that the Government and people of Solo- eventuality. mon Islands” (Bainimarama 2013e). Forging closer ties with Fiji was not He did not mention that nearly all of straightforward. Following the signing those Fiji citizens working in Solomon of an official “agrément” in December Islands were opponents of the 2006 2012, Carr announced that Margaret Fiji coup, often deposed public ser- Twomey would be Australia’s next vants who had fought with Bainima- high commissioner to Fiji (filling a rama, left Fiji, and found themselves position vacant since the expulsion of senior positions overseas as part of a James Batley in 2009) (Dobell 2013). post-2006 diaspora of dissident Fiji Yet Fiji soon reneged on that arrange- professionals that was evident across ment. When Carr commented that Fiji the Pacific Islands. The barely con- was “diminished” by not accepting the cealed challenge to Australia was that appointment, Sayed-Khaiyum accused Fiji might provide foot soldiers for the Canberra of being “prescriptive and occasionally anticipated Melanesian highhanded” (Sayed-Khaiyum 2013), rapid deployment force, although the and Bainimarama told Radio Tarana big unanswered question was who that “they don’t treat us with consid- would pay for this. eration and respect, and I can assure Speaking at the Australia-Fiji you it’s the same with all the Melane- Business Forum in Brisbane in late sian countries” (Australia Network July, Fiji Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke tv, 27 July 2013). Such criticisms Kubuabola criticized “behaviour on struck a chord among Pacific leaders the part of the Australian Government and earned Bainimarama some popu- that is inconsiderate, prescriptive, larity across the region. highhanded and arrogant” (Kubua- During 2013, Fiji’s prime minister bola 2013). The Australian opposi- seized every opportunity to embarrass tion spokesperson for foreign affairs, Australia and New Zealand, perhaps Julie Bishop, was in the audience. She well advised that to do so would likely spoke later that day acknowledging bring favorable results. One week Kubuabola’s “very powerful speech” after the withdrawal of the decade-old and said it was “refreshing to hear the military component of the Australian- frustration that the Fijian Government led Regional Assistance Mission to feels about Australia’s approach.” At Solomon Islands (ramsi), he took the time, Labor was still in office in more than one hundred military and Canberra, but the Liberal-National police officers to Solomon Islands for coalition was expected to win the the 7 July independence celebrations. September election. As Bishop told the “We also have Fijian civilians present forum, “normalising relations between 488 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

Australia and Fiji is a priority of an sion Ltd moved to relinquish its stake incoming [Coalition] government” in Papua New Guinea’s emtv station (Bishop 2013). after Peter O’Neill’s government said In August, much attention was it was preparing new media owner- focused on the inaugural meeting ship legislation (Islands Business, Oct of the Pacific Islands Development 2013). And the fallout continued. In Forum (pidf), hosted by Bainimarama December, the Fiji government refused in Nadi and attended by East Timorese to accept the appointment of PNG Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the High Commissioner Peter Eafeare as prime minister of Solomon Islands, dean of the Diplomatic Corps, despite and the presidents of Nauru and his being the most senior foreign Kiribati (Tarte 2013). In a thinly veiled representative in Suva (Post-Courier, critique of the Pacific Islands Forum, 9 Dec 2013), and Mr Eafeare departed from which Fiji remained suspended Fiji in early 2014. through 2013, Bainimarama promised Yet this PNG-Fiji feud was neither that the new grouping would be the long lasting nor too disruptive of “antithesis of most bureaucracies” and ongoing business linkages. Despite the would not have an “army of over- diplomatic difficulties, Papua New paid officials” (Bainimarama 2013d). Guinea agreed to deliver f$50 mil- Indeed, Bainimarama said Fiji would lion in assistance for Fiji’s 2014 polls. not rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum In August, PNG investors acquired unless major organizational changes the Pearl Resort and the nearby golf were made to the region’s established course for f$32 million and soon political architecture (rnzi, 13 Sept afterward announced a major refur- 2013). bishment and extension of the Pacific Fiji’s 2013 Pacific diplomacy was Harbour Marina (Fiji Sun, 19 Aug, not always smooth sailing. In his 4 Nov 2013). As funds start to flow speech in Brisbane at the business from its Southern Highlands liquefied forum, Ratu Kubuabola said that his natural gas and other mineral resource government was “decidedly less than developments, Papua New Guinea is happy” with the Australian arrange- increasing its investments across the ments to “dump” asylum seekers on Pacific region. Manus Island in Papua New Guinea Fiji’s economy experienced a third (PNG), and he demanded “thorough year of recovery in 2013. The Interna- regional consultation” (Sydney Morn- tional Monetary Fund (imf) estimated ing Herald, 30 July 2013). Instead of real gdp growth at 3 percent for the traveling to the Pacific Islands Devel- year, and inflation was down to 2.9 opment Forum in Nadi in August, percent after averaging 6 percent per offended PNG Prime Minister Peter annum over the previous five years O’Neill instead undertook a state visit (imf 2013; see also adb 2013a, to New Zealand. Only days later, a 2013b). Sugar output—once the main- deal for Vodafone (Fiji) to take over stay of the Fiji economy—had reached the management of Papua New Guin- a trough below 150,000 tonnes in ea’s Bemobile collapsed (The National, 2010, half the level of a decade ear- 6 Aug 2013). In October, Fiji Televi- lier, but performance stabilized over political reviews • melanesia 489

2011–2013 with a new leadership marama traveled to Beijing and met team at the Fiji Sugar Corporation Chinese President Xi Jinping (Fiji Gov- and technical assistance from the now ernment 2013a). Lieutenant General American-owned company Tate & Wang of the People’s Liberation Army Lyle. That company purchased four of was hosted at the Sofitel resort near Fiji’s five shipments of sugar in 2013 Nadi in August, and three months for its refinery on the banks of the later a reciprocal delegation of senior River Thames in London. military officers accompanied Defence In March, Mauritian Tate & Lyle Minister Joketani Cokanasiga to consultant Dan Boodhna told Tagi- China (Islands Business, 28 Aug 2013; tagi farmers near Navua that “at an abc, 27 Nov 2013). Three hundred average of 40 tonnes per hectare, Fiji of Fiji’s civil servants are scheduled has the lowest production per hectare to travel to China for training over a in the world,” partly due to increas- three-year period. ing acidity in the soils (Fiji Times, Closer diplomatic ties have assisted 13 March 2013). Other problems the expansion of Chinese investment. have also affected the quality of cane In October, the Shandong Province– delivered to the mills. The practice headquartered Zhongrun International of burning cane before harvesting Mining Company moved to acquire a has been increasing in Fiji for many controlling stake in Vatukoula Gold years, particularly since the late 1980s, Mines on northern Viti Levu and partly to ease cane cutting, partly to announced a f$40 million invest- eliminate rodents and hornets, and ment package pending approval from above all, more mischievously, to Chinese foreign exchange authori- jump the queues for supplying cane ties (Fiji Sun, 5 March, 4 Oct 2013). to the mills (Davies 1998, 14–15). The Chinese-owned bauxite mine in In September, Police Commissioner Bua on Vanua Levu exported seven Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua hundred thousand tonnes in twelve and Sugar Ministry Permanent Sec- shipments, earning Fiji approximately retary Lieutenant Colonel Manasa f$28.8 million in 2013 (Fiji Times, 19 Vaniqi announced a new program of Dec, 20 Dec 2013). The long-gestating police deployment on horseback to China Railway First Rawai housing halt fires in the cane fields (Fiji Times, project ran into difficulty early in 5 Sept 2013). A more major threat to 2013 but was resuscitated after inter- the industry is the loss of duty-free vention by the prime minister secured access to European markets. In June, an additional f$9.3 million grant from Bainimarama—in his capacity as chair the government in Beijing to complete of the International Sugar Organiza- the work (FijiLive, 30 Sept 2013). tion—called for the extension from The link with China was potentially 2015 until 2020 of European Union politically sensitive. When Baini- duty-free quotas for the African, marama announced an intention to Caribbean, and Pacific (acp) countries change the Fiji flag so as to remove (Fiji Times, 5 June 2013). the British Union Jack from its top The year saw further strengthening left corner in January, Catholic priest of Fiji’s ties with China. In May, Baini- Kevin Barr—once a vocal supporter 490 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) of Bainimarama’s poverty alleviation he was nevertheless sent to prison in reforms—wrote in jest to the Fiji Sun December 2013 for five years. that it might be replaced with the Chi- In March, Bainimarama casually nese flag. That triggered Bainimarama announced his intention to stand for to hurl a torrent of expletives at the elections from the running track of disenchanted priest over the telephone the new anz Stadium in Suva (Fiji tv and afterward to threaten him with News, 22 March 2013), and he prom- deportation (The Australian, 18 Jan ised to stand down as commander of 2013). The embarrassed Barr soon the Republic of Fiji Military Forces rediscovered his humility and was in early 2014. The prime minister allowed to remain in Fiji. courted conservative indigenous sup- Fiji’s government was more ruthless port by denouncing same-sex marriage in dealing with its longer-standing ene- and promising strong legal protec- mies. Deposed Prime Minister Qarase tions for indigenous land rights (Fiji was released from prison in April, Sun, 27 March 2013; rnzi, 3 May having served seven months for alleged 2013). In September, he authorized corruption. An appeal against his the Public Services Commission to conviction was quashed in May (Fiji agree to substantial pay raises for top Times, 31 May 2013). That barred civil servants. The Fiji Trades Union him from contesting elections and Congress reported a trebling of sala- drove the sdl/sodelpa to seek a new ries from f$75,000 to f$221,894 for leader. Further charges against Qarase the permanent secretaries in the prime brought by the Fiji Independent Com- minister’s office, finance, education, mission against Corruption were in health, and works; an increase from the pipeline (Fiji Sun, 4 June 2013), f$60,000 to f$160,000 for other transparently aimed at destroying his permanent secretaries; and a raise political career. Labour leader Mahen- from f$160,000 to f$221,894 for the dra Chaudhry, who served as finance military commander and the chiefs minister under Bainimarama during of police and prisons (Fiji Times, 24 2007–2008, was also brought before Sept 2013). In November, across-the- the courts in 2013 on charges of board pay raises of between 10 and 23 financial irregularities (rnzi, 16 May percent were announced for the civil 2013; Fiji Sun, 26 Feb 2014). The service (FijiLive, 8 Nov 2013), which Bainimarama government had shown dissident economist Wadan Narsey itself quite prepared to drop such cases described as “a blatant ‘vote-buying’ when rivals relinquished aspirations tactic” (Narsey 2013). The 2014 to hold public office, as in the case of budget included a substantial increase former Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki in government expenditures—with in December 2008. The treatment of large provisions for road building— dissident soldiers was less forgiving. and unlikely plans to finance these Pita Driti, the former Land Force com- through f$475 million in sales of mander who was alleged to have plot- state assets (Fiji Government 2013d). ted against Bainimarama and Sayed- Youths demonstrating on the occasion Khaiyum in 2010, had since sought to of the budget announcement, sport- make his peace with the regime, but ing T-shirts adorned with the slogan political reviews • melanesia 491

“C’mon Fiji—Make Budgets Public legal framework in 2012 and 2013 now,” were briefly taken into custody had brought “hope and expectations,” (abc, 8 Nov 2013). concluded Fiji’s former vice president, The Fiji Sun claimed great public Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, “which may support for Bainimarama, but crit- generate a great deal of momentum ics warned that liu muri (deceitful; that the government may eventually literally, “front-back”) voters might be unable to control” (Madraiwiwi say one thing publicly but do another 2013). Whichever way, more worry- at the polls. Certainly, people in Fiji ingly, the postelection government will seemed keen that there be an election. face a 2013 constitution that can- During 2013, using the new biometric not easily be changed by democratic registration system, over half a million methods. signed up—an estimated 87 percent jon fraenkel of those entitled to do so. With the voting age reduced from 21 to 18 and the new dual nationality provi- References sions enabling many citizens overseas abc, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. to register, the 2014 polls promised www.abc.net.au/ to be very different from Fiji’s earlier elections. In the past, tiny communal abc Pacific Beat. Radio Australia, abc International. www.radioaustralia.net.au/ electorates had their own members of international/radio/program/pacific-beat Parliament, and district design overall favored rural communities. With a adb, Asian Development Bank. 2013a. single nationwide constituency, the Pacific Economic Monitor. Dec. Available historical bias against Fiji’s urban from www.adb.org/publications/series/ pacific-economic-monitor population was at last removed. Some analysts believe that Bainima- ———. 2013b. Statistical Appendix. rama’s party is likely to perform well In Asian Development Outlook 2013 in the rural areas but will “struggle to Update: Governance and Public Service win the support of the urban middle Delivery, 173–178. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: adb. www.adb.org/sites/ class who felt victimised by the coup” default/files/pub/2013/ado2013-update.pdf (Steve Ratuva, quoted in the Fiji Sun, [accessed 25 March 2014] 23 May 2013)—a verdict opposite to that offered by the Pacific Theological Amnesty International. 2013. Fiji: New College’s survey. Others consider that Constitution Fails to Protect Fundamental Human Rights. 4 Sept. www.amnesty.org/ the election itself will be a sham. And en/news/fiji-new-constitution-fails-protect still others pointed to the great dif- -fundamental-human-rights-2013-09-04 ficulty Bainimarama and his govern- [accessed 25 March 2014] ment have experienced with dialogue processes and questioned whether The Australian. Daily. 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Fiji Government. 1990. Constitution of -Government-Online [accessed 28 the Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji March 2014] (Promulgation) Decree 1990. Govern- ment of the Republic of Fiji Decree No 22. ———. 2013d. Fiji Budget Estimates www.paclii.org/fj/promu/promu_dec/ 2014. www.fiji.gov.fj/getattachment/ cotsdrofd1990712.pdf [accessed 25 March a515fdb6-9878-4603-872d-48d27ecfb274/ 2014] 2014-Budget-Estimates-(pdf).aspx [accessed 25 March 2014] ———. 2010. Native Land Trust (Leasing and Licenses) (Amendment) Regulations ———. 2013e. Political Parties (Registra- 2010. Fiji Islands Government Gazette tion, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Supplement No 61, 31 Dec. faolex.fao.org/ (Amendment) Decree 2013 (Decree 11 of docs/pdf/fij110390.pdf [accessed 25 March 2013). Extraordinary Government of Fiji 2014] Gazette 15 (22), 16 Feb. www.fiji.gov.fj/ getattachment/8646abff-7bdd-4ffe-a929 ———. 2012a. Fiji Constitutional Process -74f3bfb9133b/Decree-No-11---Political (Constituent Assembly and Adoption of -Parties-(Registration,-Co.aspx [accessed Constitution) Decree 2012 (Decree 58 of 25 March 2014] 2012). Extraordinary Government of Fiji Gazette 13 (99) 18 July. www.fiji.gov.fj/ ———. 2013f. Political Parties (Registra- getattachment/59cbdc22-78ff-47f4-a409 tion, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) -bfbedc87e25d/Decree-58---Fiji Decree 2013 (Decree 4 of 2013). Extra- -Constitutional-Process-(Constitue.aspx ordinary Government of Fiji Gazette 14 [accessed 25 March 2014] (8), 15 Jan. http://www.electionsfiji.gov .fj/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ ———. 2012b. Fiji Constitutional Process PoliticalPartiesDecree20131.pdf (Constitutional Commission) Decree 2012 (Decree 57 of 2012). Extraordinary Gov- FijiLive. Online news service. fijilive.com/ ernment of Fiji Gazette 13 (98), 18 July. www.fiji.gov.fj/getattachment/36d11d92 Fiji Sun. Daily. Suva. www.sun.com.fj/ -bdb1-4939-86a7-851fbc2b3911/ Fiji Times. Daily. Suva. www.fijitimes.com/ Decree-57---Fiji-Constitutional-Process -(Constitut.aspx [accessed 25 March Fiji tv News. National television service. 2014] Suva. fijione.tv/

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.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/former-ghai -commissioner-says-why-he.html#!/2013/ New Caledonia 08/former-ghai-commissioner-says-why-he .html [accessed 25 March 2014] In a year leading up to the 2014 municipal and provincial elections and Narsey, Wadan. 2013. The 2014 Elections a possible choice to hold a referen- Budget: Selling the Farm Assets. 13 Nov. dum on independence (or another narseyonfiji.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/ negotiated accord), French loyalists 2690/ [accessed 25 March 2014] and Kanak nationalists debated and The National. Daily. Port Moresby. postured, with some crossover on www.thenational.com.pg particular issues, while questions of New Zealand Herald. Daily. Auckland. sustainable development and reduc- www.nzherald.co.nz/ ing inequalities loomed in the back- ground. The most dramatic event of Post-Courier. Daily. Port Moresby. the year was a massive protest against dev.postcourier.com.pg the high cost of living, as autonomy rnzi, Radio New Zealand International. powers continued to devolve from www.radionz.co.nz Paris, which maintained its high levels of financial and technical aid. Defin- Sawer, Marian. 2005. Above-the-line Voting in Australia: How Democratic? ing local citizenship and voting rights Representation 41 (4): 286–290. became contentious, and environmen- tal concerns haunted the expanding Sayed-Khaiyum, Aiyaz. 2013. State- nickel mining and processing industry ment from the Acting Prime Minister and that fuels much of the local economy. Attorney-General—Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. It was also a year of commemorations, 14 May. www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/ Speeches/STATEMENT-FROM-THE reconciliations, and regionalism. -ACTING-PRIME-MINISTER-AND In a survey conducted by the local -ATTOR.aspx [accessed 25 March 2014] government (NC, 27 Feb 2013), only three political leaders garnered public Sydney Morning Herald. Daily. Sydney. confidence ratings of 40 percent or www.smh.com.au higher: Paul Neaoutyine (47 percent), Tarte, Sandra. 2013. A New Regional the pro-independence president of Pacific Voice? An Observer’s Perspective the Kanak-ruled Northern Province; on the Pacific Islands Development Forum Philippe Gomès (44 percent, though (pidf), Inaugural Summit, Denarau, Fiji, 40 percent said they distrusted 5–7 August 2013. Pacific Islands Brief 4, him), deputy to the French National 28 Aug. Honolulu: Pacific Islands Devel- Assembly and leader of the loyalist opment Program, East-West Center. Calédonie Ensemble (ce, Caledonia www.eastwestcenter.org/sites/default/files/ private/pib004.pdf Together) party; and Gaël Yanno (40 percent), who had lost his deputy seat The Times, Daily. London. to Gomès in 2012, became a dissident www.thetimes.co.uk within the loyalist Rassemblement– Toren, Christine. 1999. Mind, Materiality Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and History: Explorations in Fijian Eth- (rump), and finally created his own nography (Material Cultures). Abington: party, the Mouvement Populaire Calé- Routledge. donien (mpc), as well as a new coali-