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. Sydney. www.theaustralian.news.com.au/ military leaders and their acolytes can easily or effectively make the transi- Australia Network tv. tion to civilian politics, build a politi- australianetwork.com cal party, and venture onto the cam- Bainimarama, Voreqe. 2013a. Address to paign trail. Deliberations over the new the Nation on Fiji’s Constitution. 10 Jan. 492 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Center/Speeches/ Affairs, 24 Aug. www.foreignminister. PM-BAINIMARAMA---ADDRESS gov.au/releases/2013/bc_mr_130824.html -TO-THE-NATION-ON-FIJI-S-C.aspx [accessed 25 March 2014] [accessed 26 March 2014] ———. 2013b. Fiji’s Efforts to Return ———. 2013b. Address to the Nation to Democracy: Question Time—Senate. on Fiji’s Draft Constitution. 21 March. 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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- 496 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) tion against independence, the Union in Paris created a new structure to pour la Calédonie dans la France “accompany” New Caledonia as new (ucf). Taken together, these leaders administrative authority was being represent the three largest politi- granted to the country, such as control cal groupings in the country today, over secondary and higher education, though Neaoutyine’s Parti de Libéra- commercial and civil law, accident tion Kanak (Palika) is rivaled in the insurance, audiovisual communica- independence movement by leaders tions, maritime and domestic aviation such as Rock Wamytan of the Union security, and civil defense (including Calédonienne (uc), who is president fire departments). Because some trans- of the Congress of New Caledonia, fers have been controversial or have and Yanno is challenging his former languished for lack of preparation, a rump boss, Senator Pierre Frogier. The special delegate of the ministry will pro-independence Front de Libéra- supervise and facilitate administrative tion Nationale Kanak et Socialiste reorganization and personnel training (flnks), of which the UC and Palika (NC, 19 April 2013). Commission- are the largest of five member parties, ers sent by the French Parliament to has been trying to act together, but the examine the local situation expressed loyalist factions of Gomès, Yanno, and regrets that so little groundwork had Frogier have been waging bitter inter- been done since 1998 to enable such necine politics for some time now. The devolutions, which they had hoped ce has accused the rump of working would help the country to reduce in ad hoc coalition with the uc-flnks socioeconomic inequalities. They (that combination brought down the concluded that local political quarrels Gomès presidency of the executive over the country’s future status had cabinet in 2011), while Yanno’s mpc/ become an impediment to address- ucf has accused Gomès of agreeing ing problems of high living costs and too often with Palika on socioeco- unemployment, so Paris needed to nomic issues. In September 2013, take a more active role in pursuing a cabinet president Harold Martin of “decolonization” that offered better the Avenir Ensemble party (ae, Future wealth distribution (NC, 9 Sept 2013). Together, an ally of the rump) closed The French Parliament passed a spe- the doors of Congress temporarily cial law that enables New Caledonia after political disputes over whether to create “independent” institutions to finance moderate rental housing, as needed, such as a local antitrust leading the local paper to ask, “Is the authority to promote more competi- country ungovernable?” (NC, 11 Sept tion. Deputy Gomès in the National 2013). In view of the 2014 elections, it Assembly saluted this reform, passed may become a challenge to elect a new unanimously in both houses of Parlia- cabinet president. ment, which allows for such a local Yet the delegation of govern- “gendarme” to combat monopolism ing powers from Paris to Noumea among importers who keep prices too continues, in compliance with the high. The modified law also allows 1998 Noumea Accord. The Overseas new government-subsidized businesses Ministry of the Socialist government and associations to grow at the coun- political reviews • melanesia 497 try, provincial, and municipal levels suggested the options of independence, and empowers local governments free association, or integration, but to regulate expansion in the mining France has preferred to invent its own industry (NC, 3 Oct 2013). “internal” categories. In comparing The question of future status in the two approaches, they basically the currently “autonomous” (a vague resemble each other, though the three term) but sui generis (unique) coun- French alternatives to full sovereignty try (for which no term adequately appear to be variations on association describes its place in the overseas (a negotiated arrangement in any case, French political system) continued to as demonstrated by the five countries be discussed by an advisory French in Oceania that are freely associated “pilotage” (steering) committee of with either the United States or New experts, at the annual follow-up meet- Zealand), all of which imply more ing of the committee of signers of self-government than integration (eg, the Noumea Accord, and in political Hawai‘i’s statehood). In a sense, the and legal debates over definitions of three alternative options are designed a local citizenship in terms of voting to allow loyalists some wiggle room, rights and job hiring priorities. The since most of them prefer self-rule that 2010 signers’ committee meeting in is close to but still short of sovereignty Paris had called for expert advice and because of security concerns. information to enable local leaders In October, the annual signers’ to decide what options were avail- committee meeting was collegial, in able to fulfill the provisions of the anticipation of the May 2014 pro- Noumea Accord. After three years of vincial elections that will also choose research into issues such as what is a new Congress, which can decide sovereign independence in a globalized whether to hold a referendum on world and can citizenship differ from independence (if 60 percent of mem- nationality, two metropolitan experts bers want one) or to negotiate a last- offered a report that included four ing accord on future status. Loyalists possibilities: (1) full sovereignty after touted the degree of consensus reached a referendum that would devolve to in the talks, which focused mainly on the country the so-called “reserved” educational, administrative, finan- powers of defense, public order, cial, and economic issues, including foreign relations and trade, and cur- ongoing French aid. Pro-independence rency; (2) full sovereignty in partner- leaders such as Wamytan agreed to ship, as in France’s relationship with examine the four options the experts Monaco (a sovereign city-state and had proposed, but they also stressed United Nations member, but defended the need to re-verify voting rights by France); (3) expanded autonomy (only long-term residents can now in a federal arrangement (which is vote in provincial elections, the results what is already happening); or (4) of which proportionally determine permanent autonomy, ie, the status Congress members) and to accelerate quo engraved in marble, as the local the rate of transfers of authority to the newspaper put it (NC, 26 Sept, 9 Dec country from Paris that the Noumea 2013). In 1960, the United Nations Accord specified (some of which the 498 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) loyalists consider optional). Neaou- the Noumea Accord, was something tyine urged more coordination in the flnks long struggled for ever since the mining industry, since nickel will the massive nickel boom in the late someday run out and three processing 1960s and early 1970s when govern- plants were now competing during a ment immigration policies deliberately world nickel price slump. (One idea skewed the electorate against local floated was not to export any more autonomists despite explicit UN reso- raw ore in order to keep the value lutions against such tactics. A local added via processing.) The French citizenship identity card is in prepara- government also empowered its high tion, to fulfill a neglected Noumea commissioner in Noumea to monitor Accord provision, and favoring locals bank charges and if necessary reduce in hiring (depending on job skills them to moderate the cost of living. A needed) is now a country law (NC, 6 commission of the local congress was April 2013; NCla1ere, 4 April 2013). said to be making progress in coming Pro-independence parties, like their up with a common flag for the coun- opponents, began to campaign in this try (both the French and Kanaky flags lead-up year to the 2014 elections. At now fly in tandem over public build- the Palika party congress, Neaoutyine ings), and an exposition of Kanak raised the issue of whether all flnks art had opened at the Quai Branly members were still pursuing full sover- museum in Paris (NC, 14 Oct 2013). eignty or some were content to remain Citizenship was a contentious sub- within the confines of expanded ject as a possible referendum loomed, autonomy. Palika had been founded and Wamytan wanted more Kanak in the mid-1970s by leftists, unlike the qualified for and some non-Kanak dis- uc, which had been founded in the qualified from the voter rolls. He took 1950s by churches and chiefs. Neaou- his case to the French court of appeals, tyine wanted full sovereignty, and his the European Court of Human Rights, question during the party congress was and the United Nations, so a team of likely referring to the uc’s quasi-coop- judges arrived to certify the electorate eration with the rump since 2011, (NC, 4 March 2013). New Caledonia which itself might be due to an older has three voter categories: those who generation’s becoming satisfied with can vote in local municipal, French well-paid government positions (in legislative, and French presidential replacing some colonial settlers) and a elections; a smaller group who could relative independence at the mercy of vote in 1998 (or their resident off- global financial institutions and multi- spring) and are thus eligible to vote in national corporations, without making provincial elections; and a still smaller significant structural changes in the group who can vote on “exiting the country (NC, 29 Jan 2013). Naku Press accord” (ie, choosing future status), said that Kanak had become a minor- for whom the qualifying date is 1994 ity due to nickel boom immigration, (another small group can vote in which led to 1980s violence and then European Union elections). Restricting to the softening process of dialogue the electorate on important matters, as while France continued its “cornuco- eventually approved and enshrined in pia” policy of financial largesse, which political reviews • melanesia 499 institutionalized economic dependency remittances from its mostly working- and diverted politics into a struggle class diaspora in New Caledonia. The for self-interest and incomes among flnks held a series of “citizen meet- local leaders on both sides. Leaders ings” to urge independence supporters should serve the people, it said, not to vote (NC, 15 July 2013). the reverse, and that requires deliv- In August, Wamytan was elected ering more concrete actions: “The president of the Congress for the slogan no longer suffices, the indepen- third time, after one year in which a dence advocate must now go farther ce Kanak held the post. This year, to defend his socio-economic project” the loyalists did not combine their (mnp, 8 Feb 2013). thirty-one votes on the third round of For its part, the UC wanted to get balloting, suggesting the unwilling- out the vote better, considering the ness of the ce and the rump to work lingering apathy among some alien- together anymore and, in effect, the ated Kanak, notably in the outer rump’s tacit willingness to share some islands, and to promote unity in the top posts with the uc-flnks, despite form of a “nationalist bloc” to take the consequent defeat of its own advantage of disunity among loyal- loyalist Kanak candidate. The mostly ists and perhaps even gain a majority settler loyalists still control all four in the Congress (where 43 percent New Caledonian seats in the French of seats are currently held by pro- Parliament in Paris as well as the independence parties, who need presidencies of the executive cabinet nine more votes in order to hold a and the populous Southern Province. referendum). Concrete projects were The ce Kanak incumbent, Gerard needed to rally popular support and to Poadja, was seen as too partisan in persuade opponents of self-rule what his management of the dossiers in its real benefits would be for everyone. the Congress and in his opposition to Revealingly, a former UC president was allowing the chair of the Melanesian suspended for a year for supporting a Spearhead Group (msg) to head the ce (Gomès) motion of censure against meeting of that regional organization the current cabinet president, Martin, in New Caledonia because the chair who is an ally of the rump (NC, 11 was Commodore Voreqe Bainima- Feb 2013). Aloisio Sako, president rama of Fiji, who had come to power of the Rassemblement Démocratique in a military coup in 2006. Poadja Oceanien (rdo), which is a full mem- criticized the rump for even fielding ber of the flnks, hopes to convert a candidate (former Senator Simon more resident Polynesians to the Loueckhote) and thus helping the independence cause by emphasizing flnks, whereas Loueckhote blamed the need to obtain New Caledonian the ce for his not being elected. Palika citizenship, since they have often voted backed Wamytan’s election, obtained loyalist in the past for fear of losing the post of first vice president of the their right to work there (NCla1ere, Congress (out of eight vice presidents 17 June 2013). Wallis and Futuna, his who make up a kind of congres- homeland, is almost totally economi- sional mini-cabinet that examines cally dependent on France and on proposed bills), and touted the success 500 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) of pro-independence unity with 2014 and not mock their colleagues. But the in mind. The final vote was 23 for ce accused Martin’s cabinet of asking Wamytan, 17 for Loueckhote, and 13 the high commissioner to intervene for Poadja. Wamytan, a Kanak high instead of signing the protocol with chief and former president of the uc, the unions, so Martin traded angry flnks, and msg, gave a conciliatory insults with the ce. Jacques Lalié speech but emphasized the need to of the flnks finally volunteered to move forward in fulfilling the Noumea prepare the law (NC, 20 Aug 2013). Accord’s goal of a consensual “com- Gomès’s ce had earlier splintered mon destiny” while recognizing the from Martin’s ae party, which had country’s diversity, decolonization then allied with the rump, against with economic rebalancing, and the whose domination the ae had first integration of the country into the arisen in 2004! Now, Yanno’s fac- Pacific region: “Each of you is here tion had split from the rump, which by the will of the Caledonian people. Yanno felt was not taking a strong It’s you who make the laws. It’s you enough stand against independence, who fashion the look of Caledonia of yet he also promised, like Gomès, to tomorrow” (NC, 6 Aug, 9 Aug 2013). unite the loyalists. At first, Yanno Daniel Goa, president of the uc, allied with a splinter group of the proposed the creation of a constitu- Gaullist metropolitan Union pour un ent assembly after the flnks wins Mouvement Populaire (ump) in Paris the 2014 elections in order to hold a that arose when Nicolas Sarkozy lost referendum, create a constitution, and his reelection bid in 2012 to Social- clarify New Caledonia’s relationship ist François Hollande. Frogier of the with France. That idea drew criticism rump had then suspended Yanno and from both Palika and loyalists as a bit Sonia Backes for party disloyalty, so premature, but Goa still asserted that in March they had formed their own “independence is inevitable” (NC, 9 party, the mpc. When Yanno decided Aug 2013; NCla1ere, 4 Nov 2013). to run against the rump as candidate In August, the Congress voted for mayor of Noumea, the capital, the unanimously to respect the UN Dec- metropolitan ump conducted a poll laration on the Rights of Indigenous among its local followers to choose Peoples, which France had supported which candidate to endorse, and in 2007. But despite that encouraging Yanno won, thus reentering the ump consensus, loyalists still showed bitter fold—but not that of the local rump divisions. When the Congress had to (NCla1ere, 21 Nov, 19 Dec 2013). choose someone to prepare a country The conflict appears to be among law that froze prices on necessities, the strong personal egos and settler rump and ce traded jibes, passing the “clans.” task to each other sarcastically and Centrist Didier Leroux, formerly of evoking laughter from others. Cabinet the original ae/ce, warned loyalists President Martin reminded them that that patronage politics and electoral the May 2013 strike against the high maneuvering risked “gangrenizing” cost of living had disrupted the coun- local society without addressing try, so they should take responsibility pressing issues such as socioeconomic political reviews • melanesia 501 inequalities and stable future status 16 April 2013). Loueckhote claimed (NC, 5 April 2013). Frogier, a part- he could unite the loyalists, but the Tahitian descendant of a deported ce was not interested. Instead, Gomès convict, argued that the old blocs of announced his plan for a “clarified” independence versus loyalism were referendum choice, not just yes or obsolete and that the majority could no, so that people would understand not impose itself on the minority. exactly what their real options were. Instead, leaders of vision needed to His party had been rather centrist achieve an enduring solution. He said and social democratic in its policies independence was not feasible, but he when he held the cabinet presidency was unclear as to what would replace before Martin, but after the uc-rump that goal other than the ill-defined tandem ended the Gomès reign in status quo. He wanted a new accord, 2011, he gathered up some remnants perhaps even a form of independence of other small loyalist groups, includ- in association with France, though ing the right-wing Front National he hotly denied actually using that (fn), which had lost its congressional specific term, as the ce asserted (NC, seats in 2009, partly due to a more 10 April, 22 April 2013). He also restricted electorate of long-term resi- proposed opening up citizenship and dents. At his party congress in June, voting rights to make the country Gomès said he had supported the “generous and attractive”; chang- reconciliation ceremonies this year and ing the division of revenues so the wanted peace for the country through populous, multiethnic, mostly loyalist a consensual solution like the accords South would benefit more (since 1988, of 1988 and 1998, not a “guillotine” to promote economic rebalancing, the referendum that would produce win- two Kanak-ruled regions receive 75 ners and losers and lingering tensions. percent of nickel income); and imple- He noted that pro-independence menting a form of self-government groups, most notably the Parti Tra- that did not mean separation from vailliste (pt, Labor Party), which was France (NCla1ere, 19 Sept 2013). affiliated with radical labor unions, Meanwhile, the sale of firearms expected to win the 2014 elections, has increased so much that perhaps while Frogier was colluding with the 100,000 are owned in a country of UC for a status somewhere between 250,000 inhabitants, partly because of becoming independent and remain- a possible independence referendum ing French. Gomès warned that New (and the growing problem of juvenile Caledonia did not have the resources delinquency). Gomès, the high com- for defending itself, maintaining public missioner, and Overseas Minister order, and running the courts or higher Victorin Lurel called for tighter restric- education system—hence the ongoing tions on guns (NCla1ere, 8 Nov, 16 need for financial aid from France. Dec 2013; pir, 15 Nov, 23 Dec 2013). He warned of foreign threats from To acknowledge the success of the instability in neighboring Melanesian ce in winning both deputy seats from countries as well as rising Chinese the rump in 2012, Martin agreed to power (even at the United Nations). reshuffle some cabinet portfolios (NC, He wanted the two choices of becom- 502 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) ing independent or remaining part of in the form of tax code revisions France to be clearly spelled out, but lowering income taxes on the middle so far he has failed to do so himself class and taxes on the construction of (NCla1ere, 20 June 2013). Nor have middle-income rental housing, while the situations of the five “associated” also seeking fuel from Singapore, countries in Oceania been seriously extending the Paris-funded “jobs for studied for what might bear on New the future” program for youth, and Caledonia’s case. subsidizing workers with incomes The most dramatic grassroots below the minimum wage (NC, 13 protest of the year was the twelve- May 2013). The protocol signed by day union strike in May against the the unions and government lowered high cost of living (one-third higher prices by 10 percent on 300 food and than in France), which people often hygiene products, as well as 200 non- blame on importer monopolism and food products such as fuel; created the doubled salaries and benefits paid a streamlined, new general tax on to metropolitan contract workers and commercial activity that reduces mul- retirees. Didier Guénant-Jeanson of tiple markups and taxes on products; the largest labor federation, the Union and enacted other measures such as Syndicale des Ouvriers et Employés de reduced bank charges and better deals la Nouvelle-Calédonie (usoenc), in on bus, air, and sea transport tickets alliance with three other unions and and telephone cards, to be enforced, with encouragement from Gomès’s ironically, by the French high commis- ce, mobilized marches in Noumea sioner (NC, 27 May 2013). and elsewhere involving 20,000 Critics from both ends of the politi- protesters, demonstrations in front of cal spectrum argued that such Band- supermarket chains, and barricades Aid measures would not really address at intersections and the port, among deeper structural problems, such as other actions that were reminiscent the lack of an equitable mining royalty of a similar effort in 2011. In pushing fund (which French law actually the government to act on accumu- prohibits), tax reforms that benefit the lated studies and recommendations middle class more than workers, insuf- over the years, the usoenc leader ficient state regulation of private enter- vowed not to give up the quest for a prises, and needed reforms such as the fair share of business profits through construction of affordable housing. lower prices, after two years of failed The second largest-labor coalition, negotiations. Experts agreed that the Union Syndicaliste des Travailleurs importers and distributors needed to Kanak et Employés (ustke), which lower their markups, especially on is affiliated with the pt and supports essentials like foods and fuel. Gué- independence, called it an “agree- nant-Jeanson said he wanted “a new ment for nothing” because it failed equilibrium, a different sharing of the to address wage increases, limiting wealth . . . to build our country” (NC, hiring to locals whenever possible, and 16 May 2013). Because the strike was inter-provincial rebalancing (NC, 31 announced in advance, the cabinet May 2013). The local Socialists, led by passed two measures just beforehand, Michel Jorda, praised the organization political reviews • melanesia 503 of the strike but said the superficial it doesn’t apply to New Caledonians outcome that neglected affordable who move to France), but he said that housing, renters’ rights, higher taxes France would enforce the agreed-to on the rich and on luxury homes, and reforms and continue to maintain aid other progressive social measures was levels for affordable housing and edu- “a great ridiculous moment of the cation. The struggle to reduce inequal- whole political class” because it relied ities was important, he said, because on the high commissioner to enforce it metropolitan salaries overseas were instead of local leaders: “We walk on twice as high in New Caledonia as in our heads” (NC, 31 May 2013). Fro- France, and the political campaigning gier of the rump said the agreement for 2014 should not mask the coun- could have been reached two years try’s socioeconomic challenges. When earlier, while Pierre Bretegnier of the asked if the state ownership of the same party said it might even increase Société le Nickel (sln) via its multi- unemployment. Gomès of the ce national holding company, Eramet, denounced the cabinet’s middle-class would hinder New Caledonia’s ability tax reforms as “dishonest and scandal- to increase its own share of control ous,” in effect agreeing with Caroline from 34 to 51 percent, the premier Machoro of the flnks that they did said vaguely that Eramet’s inter- not address the work of the special national scale also needed to be con- congressional commission on broader sidered (NC, 27 July 2013). The world fiscal reforms (NCla1ere, 29 May nickel industry was suffering from 2013). As economist Gaël Lagadec of a glut and lower prices, due mainly the local university put it, every sub- to the economic crisis in Europe and sidy produces new costs: “The horizon a consequent decline in the demand of a politician is almost always that of for stainless steel, while China was the next election, thus it’s short-term.” becoming a major consumer and also Even in France, incurring new debts producer by processing imported ore instead of making structural changes from Indonesia and the Philippines. leaves it to future generations to solve New Caledonia has one-fourth of the the problem (NC, 21 May 2013). The world’s nickel reserves, and, in addi- visiting head of the Bank of France tion to the sln’s Doniambo process- recommended gradual elimination of ing plant outside Noumea, two new the “indexing” (doubling) of metro- plants were starting production, at politan civil servant salaries in New Koniambo in the North and Goro in Caledonia (NCla1ere, 12 June 2013), the South, creating more local compe- which Wamytan had also called for. tition and environmental concerns (eg, Before the end of the year, the usoenc Goro’s repeated crises). Local leaders was again calling for deeper reforms and outside experts have called for (NCla1ere, 4 Nov 2013). “synergy” in nickel mining and pro- Visiting French Premier Jean-Marc cessing in New Caledonia as well as Ayrault did not favor ending “index- more planning for a future when the ation” for metropolitan salaries over- nickel supply will inevitably run out, seas (even though it suggests neocolo- but such a vision still awaits concrete nial “hardship pay” in colonies, since actions (mnp, 28 June 2013; pir, 1 504 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

July 2013; NCla1ere, 2 July 2013). Department of Peacekeeping Opera- Meanwhile, the overall economy of tions within the msg secretariat (pir, the country is stagnant, as new jobs 24 June 2013; NC, 19 July 2013). A and household expenditures are both delegation of the Pacific Islands Forum in decline. Squatter camps continue also visited New Caledonia, where to grow around Noumea while the ce Cabinet President Martin repeated his argues with the rump in the Congress request that the country could become and in the courts about whether to a full, not just associate, member (he build more affordable housing or also wants the country, not the flnks to renovate the existing camps. The alone, to belong to the msg), to no Congress finally resumed the con- avail. Both the Forum and msg await struction of affordable housing, with more progress in fulfilling the Noumea French aid and ce and flnks votes, Accord (NCla1ere, 18 July 2013). The after the rump (which runs the South) flnks continues to report to the UN had stopped construction. The Islands Decolonization Committee, on whose Province, however, lacks nickel and list New Caledonia was reinscribed remains less developed, so it exports in 1986, and French Polynesia joined young people to the main island, it this year, despite objections from where some unemployed Kanak resort France and its notoriously corrupt to delinquency (NCla1ere, 10 July client leader in Tahiti, Gaston Flosse 2013; NC, 25 Feb 2013). (NCla1ere, 17 May 2013; TPM, June– Independence supporters continue July 2013). Kanaky and Vanuatu to try to reorient the country toward continue to nurture close ties apart Oceania instead of Europe. The Mela- from Martin’s dollar diplomacy, and nesian Spearhead Group had formed the flnks and the Customary Sen- in the 1980s to support the Kanak ate of New Caledonia are trying to decolonization struggle, and the flnks help Vanuatu resolve a maritime is a member. Kanak play roles in the border dispute with France. The New msg staff, and the Kanaky flag flies Caledonia Museum also returned over all MSG offices, alongside the flags some traditional red feather money of the other four members, which to Solomon Islands (pir, 20 Dec, 24 are, however, independent countries Dec 2013). But France still regards (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia as a strategic asset, for Vanuatu, and Fiji). Wamytan is a intelligence listening stations; geopo- past chair of the msg, and this year litical, military, and trade cooperation Victor Tutugoro of the flnks became in the Asia-Pacific region; and a poten- chair (NC, 5 April 2013; pir, 5 April tially profitable exclusive economic 2013). In a leaders’ meeting in New maritime zone. As the French defense Caledonia, despite objections by the minister said, “France is a power of ce that the outgoing msg chair, Prime the Indian and Pacific Oceans. She has Minister Bainimarama of Fiji, was territories where certain inhabitants allowed to participate, the organi- have recently expressed their desire to zation signed various juridical and live within the national community economic cooperation agreements . . . which necessitates security and and endorsed the establishment of a protection” (NC, 2 June 2013). political reviews • melanesia 505

The year 2013 was also one of us to build the country together” (NC, commemorations of past tragedies 22 April 2013). Robert Kapoeri, an and peace accords, as many people of attacker on the police station twenty- goodwill tried to nudge the country five years ago, felt sorrow that they along the path of decolonization and had underestimated the risks that reconciliation in quest of a “common led to so many deaths on both sides: destiny,” as the Noumea Accord pre- “What a waste!” (NCla1ere, 2 May scribed. In 2012, a film by Matthieu 2013). But Jacqueline Deteix said to Kassovitz had stirred up local emo- New Caledonian loyalists, “It’s time tions with its depiction of the bloody to decolonize your heads and under- Ouvea conflict of 1988 (in the Islands stand that we cannot NOT demand Province) between Kanak national- the independence of our country” (NC, ists and French troops, and this year 6 May 2013). Premier Ayrault, visit- Kassovitz said the conflict could have ing Ouvea, vowed to see the Noumea been avoided if France had respected Accord through to self-determination Kanak traditions more than a century on behalf of all local citizens (NC, 27 earlier, instead of marginalizing and July 2013). In Koné in the Northern dispossessing the indigenous people: Province, where local Kanak had also “France must make honorable amends attacked a police station in 1988 (and to close the wounds. . . . Respect had revolted in 1917), people draped a opens every door” (Caledosphere.com, statue of a French soldier in the world 1 Feb 2013). Annually, for twenty-five wars and a statue of a Kanak warrior years, a French priest and support- with their respective flags, the tricolor ers have relit a flame at the Arc de and that of Kanaky (NC, 3 May 2013). Triomphe in Paris, hoping for a monu- In July, the local TV news reminded ment to the dead on Ouvea: “The people of the Nainville-les-Roches politicians should not have sent in the round table of 1983, thirty years army” (NC, 20 April 2013). There are earlier, when Paris, Kanak, and settler multiple monuments on Ouvea and leaders had almost reached a peace elsewhere to the French and Kanak agreement, only to have the settler dead from that conflict, and this year Rassemblement refuse to sign the doc- a visual exposition was displayed in ument, which led to five more years of the local Gossanah church. It featured violence before the Matignon Accord Djubelly Wea, who killed Jean-Marie (NCla1ere, 8 July 2013). In another Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene in reconciliation effort, the French 1989 for compromising in signing the Museum of Natural History said that Accord of Matignon after the trag- in 2014 it would finally return home edy and was then himself killed. His the skulls of Chief Atai and his priest, relatives now said, “Young people both leaders of the 1878 Kanak revolt must absorb this history”; “They (NC, 21 Nov 2013). A colloquium shout Kanaky and sometimes insult was held in Paris to commemorate whites, but they don’t really know the quarter century of peace since the what happened”; “We must remember Matignon-Oudinot Accords of 1988. for the children, never forget. Whites, Among the speakers, legal scholar Kanak, we’re all brothers. It’s up to Mathias Chauchat reminded listeners, 506 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

“Only the reduction of inequalities read aloud the names of the 1980s and the agreed to project of a com- dead and said the peace accords were mon society will enable an exit from written with “the ink of their lives” communitarianism” (NC, 27 June (Barbançon 2013). Fellow convict 2013). Pro-independence Naku Press descendant Bernard Berger is writing said that most of the French dignitar- a three-volume history of the country ies present were leftists because all to educate young citizens; it is entitled, the peace accords had been negoti- “We Cannot Remake History.” Two ated by the Socialists, but even so, the new local TV stations have started up, discourse had evolved considerably and the one in the North is run by since the 1980s talk of “terrorism.” trained Kanak, who are promoting The Noumea Accord is not a simple “the best of common destinies” (NC, decentralization, it said, but is explic- 24 Jan 2013). itly a decolonization, and Neaoutyine david chappell and Machoro had reminded the audience that much work remained to do (mnp, 1 Nov 2013). Wamy- References tan suggested that when the current Barbançon, Louis-José. 2013. Des power transfers are complete, the Accords de Matignon à l’Accord de legal difference between expanded Noumea, 1988–1998. Presentation at autonomy and full sovereignty will be the Colloquium on the Accords, Paris, no thicker than “a cigarette paper.” 11 October. Michel Rocard, who negotiated the Caledosphere.com. New Caledonia Matignon Accord with Tjibaou and Loyalist blog site. Jacques Lafleur in 1988, agreed that the path had mostly been completed mnp, Madoy–Naku Press. Pro–Kanaky New Caledonia commentary website. (NC, 11 Oct 2013). Local historian http://madoy-nakupress.blogspot.com Louis-José Barbançon, a convict descendant whose centrist party had NC, Les Nouvelles-Calédoniennes. Daily. worked with Tjibaou’s independence Noumea. http://www.lnc.nc coalition in the early 1980s, calculated NCla1ere: France tv 1 in New Caledonia. that the violence during that decade http://nouvellecaledonie.la1ere.fr had taken seventy-three lives and cre- pir, Pacific Islands Report. East-West ated 1,200 refugees and was thus a Center, Honolulu. http://pireport.org war, which could have been avoided. Over half the loyalists had rejected TPM, Tahiti Pacifique Magazine. Monthly. Tahiti. http://www.tahiti-pacifique.com even the Matignon Accord, similar to the failed Nainville talks, but overall a majority of the country prevailed, and the Noumea Accord ten years later Papua was approved by 72 percent of voters. The country had therefore changed, as In 2013, the Indonesian govern- socioeconomic conflicts had replaced ment faced the increasingly complex communal ones, and an educated political challenges of separatism in Kanak middle class had arisen. He Papua as well as the internationaliza- political reviews • melanesia 507 tion of Papuan issues. The govern- civilized and honest dialogue approach ment’s approach of trying to promote is adopted. But no matter how exem- the welfare of the people of Papua plary the substance of Otsus Plus may along with security concerns has not be—or that of any other proposi- made any headway. The political and tions to solve the Papuan problem, security situation in Papua worsened for that matter—unless the process as the government grew increasingly truly involves various stakeholders, repressive and less transparent. The particularly those in the opposition, deteriorating human rights situation no resolution is likely to succeed. Such was also reflected in the rising number involvement is essential for any result of political prisoners and detainees. to be acknowledged as legitimate. Amid the conflicts, the lack of trust The year 2013 should also be seen among various strategic stakehold- as a special one for the eradication of ers and the political opportunism in corruption in Papua and West Papua. Jakarta and in Papua have fostered Compared to the previous period, over manipulative exercises in a prolifera- the course of this year the government tion of administrative regions as well made a serious effort to eradicate as fraudulent and disruptive regional corruption through the hard work of elections. These current practices Police Chief of Papua Tito Karnavian, have plunged the local government who established an Anticorruption into administrative and public service Force, and Chief Prosecutor of Papua crises, resulting in the neglect of the E S Maruly Hutagalung, who made people’s welfare. a breakthrough by prosecuting many During the year, a bold attempt was officials involved in corruption. All made by Governor of Papua Lukas the legislative and executive officials Enembe to resolve the Papuan prob- involved, from the highest to the lem by introducing for the first time lowest ranks, were put on trial. This the idea of the Otonomi Khusus Plus also shows that corruption in the two (Special Autonomy Plus, also known provinces has been very prevalent, as Otsus Plus), which was to be from the village to the provincial level. derived from a revision of the Auton- This year, law enforcement efforts as omy Law of 2001. Detailed later in well as findings of corruption have this review, the new bill was supposed increased significantly. to offer comprehensive answers for The government believes that the the fundamental problems in Papua, essence of the problem lies in the though the broad participation of welfare of the Papuan people. Their Papuan people and full support from view is that if they can manage to Jakarta would always be required for improve the people’s welfare, then it to succeed. Papuan aspirations for independence One can learn from the experiences will fade. Therefore, the government of the Papua Peace Network (ppn) in has been fully exploiting resources creating public consultation and in for “accelerated development,” for building support from various parties programs categorized as “quick wins,” in Papua and Jakarta. Lukas Enembe and for projects with high political might succeed with Otsus Plus if a value. Their intentions were revealed 508 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) in the incredible amount of “auton- demonstrations) for any demonstra- omy funds” (totaling nearly 40 trillion tions that were deemed separatist. A idr by 2013) and other disbursements large group of policemen, sometimes flowing from the central govern- combined with the army, was always ment to Papua and West Papua. present in order to control the rallies. (One US dollar is approximately The police prohibited mass mobiliza- 11,338 Indonesian rupiah [idr].) tion of citizens and even watched over The establishment of the Unit for meeting points on the nights prior to Acceleration of Development in Papua demonstrations. They also dispersed and West Papua (up4b) and some those who joined the demonstrations, breakthroughs in the coordination of arrested and interrogated the activists, socioeconomic development further and prosecuted the leaders. Only a affirmed the government’s vision. few rallies were carried out without Concerning the freedom of expres- being dismissed. The police even sion, the government is of the opinion raided “prayer sessions” organized that, even if carried out in a peaceful by groups that were considered and orderly manner, rallies voicing separatist. aspirations for Papuan independence Throughout the year, the police should be categorized as acts of arrested or interrogated more than treason under articles 106, 110, and 500 people. In 2012, the number 116 of the Criminal Code (kuhp). In of political prisoners and detainees Papua, Regional Chief of Police Tito had reached about 26 people, and in Karnavian also applied Law 9/1998 2013 the police arrested at least 49 and Law 12/1951. The police chief new political prisoners and detainees, confirmed that demonstrations rais- bringing the total to approximately 75 ing the issue of Papuan independence people. During the processes of deten- are prohibited because they do not tion and investigation, some allega- support national unity. This policy is tions about persecution, torture, and believed to be in line with the govern- even murder of activists emerged. No ment’s vision for combating separat- allegations of human rights violations ism and preserving the integrity of have yet been proven because there is the Unitary State of the Republic no institution that is able to conduct of Indonesia in Papua (nkri). The an investigation impartially. All infor- government does not consider such mation is monopolized by the police, demonstrations part of civil rights and and the allegations of human rights political freedoms of expression as activists and campaigners have been guaranteed by article 28 of the 1945 ignored by the state. Constitution and article 19 of the Confronting the armed group of the International Covenant on Civil and National Liberation Army/Free Papua Political Rights. Movement (tpn/opm) who launched Dealing with the civil political several attacks, killing Indonesian movement, in 2013 the police grew National Armed Forces (tni) soldiers more repressive and issued no notifica- and then seizing their weapons, the tion receipts (sttps, which are used government has not substantially by police as de facto permits to hold increased its military operations political reviews • melanesia 509 or developed any new strategies to referendum for Papuan independence. immobilize the organization. In 2013, It was noted in 2012 that the demon- the government made an assessment strations conducted by knpb were not that the civil political movements in always orderly and peaceful. Some the urban areas of Papua and their of their rallies disrupted traffic, with networks overseas are far more knpb supporters attacking settlements dangerous and require special han- and civilians, terrorizing journalists dling. Apparently this was the reason and members of the Parliament of why the Papuan police reacted more Papua, and persecuting those who did strongly to the demonstrations of the not support their cause. The knpb’s National Committee for West Papua rallies always liaised with the overseas (knpb) than to the occasional shoot- Free Papua Movement (opm), particu- ings in Puncak Jaya. larly with Benny Wenda, who is based Recognizing that the security in Oxford, England. approaches from the end of 2010 to In 2013, realizing the fact that the early 2012 were not effective, Indone- police force has grown increasingly sian President Susilo Bambang Yud- repressive and intending to garner hoyono has started using a dialogue public sympathy, the knpb continually approach to resolve the Papuan prob- emphasized that it would conduct its lem. At the end of 2010, he appointed rallies in an orderly and peaceful man- Farid Husain to explore prospects ner. Despite being subjected to harsher with the tpn/opm and other political repression, throughout the year the leaders. In late 2011 and early 2012, knpb held ten demonstrations in vari- the president openly declared that ous cities in Papua and West Papua. he was ready for a dialogue with the On one hand, the knpb stressed the leader of the Papuan people. Unfortu- point that peaceful demonstrations are nately, the suspicion of Papuan leaders part of the freedom of expression and was still very palpable. In 2013, the democracy that must be respected, and circle of powerful people around they accordingly criticized the oppres- President Yudhoyono considered sive measures of the police. On the that, behind the support for a dia- other hand, the knpb took advantage logue agenda, there was an agenda of of the alleged oppression and violence referendum and “internationalization” that infringed on its members’ human of Papua. The president’s elite circle rights to support the campaign for was not capable of distinguishing Papuan independence in international hardliners demanding a referendum forums. from moderate groups truly interested Since mid-2012, the armed groups in dialogue. As a result, Yudhoyono’s of tpn/opm have chosen “General” efforts have stalled. Goliath Tabuni, whose base is in Since 2009, the civil and political Puncak Jaya, as their supreme com- activities in urban areas of Papua and mander. Other leaders in Timika, Biak, West Papua have been dominated by Paniai, and elsewhere acknowledged the knpb. The network of the orga- the appointment. The number of nization has grown rapidly in key weapons controlled by the group has cities in Papua and supports having a gradually increased, as has the number 510 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) of members. Furthermore, the tpn/ sador to Indonesia for clarification. opm collaborated with the well-estab- Second, on 1 December 2013, Wenda lished knpb, which possesses broader managed to open a representative political knowledge and experience. office of fwpc in Port Moresby, Papua The Indonesian police and national New Guinea (PNG), with the gover- army have not managed to capture nor of Port Moresby, Powes Parkop, and uncover the groups residing in the in attendance. Even more unsettling forest, resulting in a greater potential was the hoisting of West Papua’s for security disturbances. While it is Morning Star flag (used as a pro- increasingly difficult for the security independence symbol) alongside the forces to suppress these armed groups, PNG flag in a government office. PNG the latter are still not likely able to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who has incapacitate local governments. been friendly with the Indonesian gov- In 2013, the armed groups of tpn/ ernment, tried to prevent the incident, opm were less aggressive than in but failed. 2012. The Puncak Jaya Group perpe- In 2013, the Free Papua factions trated six fatal violent actions against based in Vanuatu and Australia, a total of 27 victims. Nine tni mem- collectively represented by the West bers were killed and two others were Papua National Coalition for Libera- injured. There were also four civilians tion (wpncl) led by Vice Chairman killed and ten wounded, while two Dr John Ondowame and Secretary members of the tpn/opm were killed. General Rex Rumakiek, also managed In one attack by the tpn/opm, seven to secure the support of the Mela- members of the military were killed at nesian Spearhead Group (msg). The once. Quite unusually, the tni did not decision about wpncl membership carry out any military operations in in the msg was postponed, however, retaliation, fearing a further excess of despite the fact that both Vanuatu and human rights violations. They decided Solomon Islands believe that there instead to transfer the cases to the are human rights violations in Papua police. and support the struggle for Papuan In 2013, the Free West Papua Cam- independence. Such backing for the paign (fwpc) led by Benny Wenda in opposition has forced the Indonesian Oxford successfully attracted inter- government to step up its efforts, for national attention and agitated the example, by lobbying the msg lead- Indonesian government. First, on 28 ers to postpone wpncl membership, April 2013, Wenda held the official sending Coordinating Minister for opening of the fwpc office in Oxford, Legal Political and Security Affairs which was attended by Lord Mayor of (Menkopolhukam) Djoko Suyanto to Oxford Mohammad Niaz Abbasi and Fiji, and inviting PNG Prime Minister other prominent British figures. The O’Neill to Jakarta for economic coop- Indonesian government reacted quite eration talks. strongly to this. Indonesian Minister International criticism of the Indo- of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa nesian government increased during criticized the opening of the office and 2013, along with growing sympathy immediately asked the British ambas- for the people of Papua due to the political reviews • melanesia 511 hampered implementation of the Spe- Government Bill. With approval from cial Autonomy Law and the problems President Yudhoyono in April 2013, of human rights violations, particu- as well as the support of a number larly the lack of freedom of expres- of leaders of the Papuan Legislative sion for Papuans. Serious attention by Council (dprp), Enembe engaged the various nongovernmental organiza- assistance of a team from Cendrawa- tions such as Amnesty International, sih University in June 2013 to edit the Human Rights Watch, Asian Human draft. In order to broaden political Rights Watch, and others has become support, the Papuan People’s Assem- routine. Recently there have also been bly (mrp) was also involved in the increasingly critical appraisals of vari- completion of the writing of the bill. ous government representatives in the Enembe also consulted the governor Universal Periodic Review forums, of West Papua, Abraham Octavianus the debates in the British Parliament, Atururi. and the official and open support While preparing the new bill, Gov- expressed by certain member countries ernor Enembe charged the mrp with of the msg for Papua’s struggle for evaluating special autonomy status independence. by organizing a Public Consultation The opm factions in various Meeting (Rapat Dengar Pendapat countries (Australia, Vanuatu, the [rdp]) with indigenous Papuans. Prior Netherlands, the United Kingdom, to the rdp, which took place 25–27 and the United States) have been July 2013, the mrp had organized a increasingly synergistic in enhancing survey to collect opinions from indig- the Free Papua campaign in interna- enous Papuans on the implementation tional forums. The fwpc in Oxford of special autonomy since 2001. The coordinates rigorously with the knpb results of the survey were brought to in Indonesia and supports overseas the rdp, at which at least 318 indig- activities by rallying protests in Papua enous Papuans were present. and in other areas of Indonesia. Previ- In general, the rdp concluded that ously, opm’s struggle was only sup- special autonomy has failed, especially ported by nongovernmental organiza- in sectors of health, education, econ- tions, universities, and a small circle omy and infrastructure. Therefore, the in the Parliament. In 2013, however, chairman of the mrp concluded, “99 official and open support also came percent [of the participants] recom- from government officials and state mended quickly resuming the Jakarta- institutions. As a movement with few Papua dialogue, to be mediated by a resources, the achievements of these neutral third party in a neutral venue” groups are very significant. (mrp 2013). Moreover, the partici- During the year, the recently pants reminded Governor Enembe not inaugurated governor of Papua, to use the rdp as justification for the Lukas Enembe, attempted to revise idea of Otsus Plus. The rdp empha- Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy sized that revision of special autonomy (Otsus) to become Special Autonomy would only be possible after dialogue Plus (Otsus Plus), which was to be between Jakarta and Papua (Tabloid embodied in a new bill, the Papuan Jubi, 28 July 2013). 512 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

The results of the rdp were also elite provincial government, the dprp, reported to the president and the and the mrp. The process was deemed National House. In Jakarta, the rdp closed-door since it was quite difficult results created uneasiness and, as for others to get hold of the initial usual, the government chose not to draft. Religious, nongovernmental, offer an official response. In Jaya- and other civil society organizations pura, as if nothing had obstructed his were not consulted, nor were hard- plans, Governor Enembe delivered the liners. Groups of students who are draft of Otsus Plus to the mrp on 21 members of the Youth, Student and October 2013 for discussion in light People’s Movement of Papua (Gem- of the results of the rdp. Interestingly, par) rallied against the Otsus Plus. the chairman of the mrp did discuss The bottom line is that since public the draft and suggested some changes consultation was not carried out, there without referring to the recommen- was no public support and no political dations for dialogue from the rdp. legitimacy. Worse still, many Papuans Governor Enembe brought the final already believed that the Otsus Plus draft to Jakarta at the end of January was manipulated by Jakarta. 2014. The biggest challenge of the Otsus In terms of its substance, the West Plus is indeed coming from Jakarta. Papuan version of the Papuan Gov- First, the regime of President Yudho- ernment Bill is more concrete and yono is nearing its end. His power is comprehensive than Law 21/2001. becoming less effective, and his party The most important issues of Papua is more concerned with the upcoming and West Papua are covered in a presidential election in 2014. Support more detailed manner. The subjects for the bill from the Indonesian House of natural resource management, of Representatives (dpr-ri) has yet restrictions on migration to Papua, to be secured. Second, the substance local political parties, the court of of the bill, particularly those parts human rights and reconciliation, concerning the court of human rights, central and local authorities, educa- local political parties, and restric- tion and health, the proliferation of tions on migration to Papua, might administrative regions, international raise suspicion among conservatives cooperation, sports, and commu- in Jakarta about a “separatist” hid- nal land are clearly formulated for den agenda. Based on the experience the maximum benefit of indigenous with Law 21/2001, some resistance is Papuans. If both versions were to be expected. Unless consultations with carefully combined, the bill could Jakarta are conducted intensively with essentially become the new road full support provided by the president map for the resolution of the Papuan and various political parties, the bill problem. will likely not be passed. However, the revision of the Special In 1999, the province of Irian Jaya Autonomy Law is still problematic in (transformed to “Papua” in 2000) terms of its process. From the begin- had only nine regencies (kabupaten) ning, it gave a strong impression of or municipalities (kota). In line with being elitist, for it merely involved the the regional autonomy and decen- political reviews • melanesia 513 tralization process in Indonesia, the ties would be elected. There would proliferation of administrative regions also be a thousand local government also affected this province. Until 2012, officials and tens of thousands of new the land of Papua had two provinces: civil servants. Local government bud- Papua, consisting of one municipal- gets would likely be devoted primarily ity and 28 regencies; and West Papua, to paying the salaries of those officials comprising one municipality and 12 and civil servants and covering costs regencies. At the end of 2013, the of other government facilities and dpr-ri approved a bill authoriz- operational expenditures. The overly ing administrative regions consisting rapid administrative expansion, whose of 30 new regencies and three new process was full of manipulation, provinces. With the government’s was conducted without any strategic approval, Papua will have 72 regencies planning for inclusive development in and municipalities, with a popula- Papua. tion of only 3.6 million people (2010 The administrative proliferation census). also has expanded the incidence of The administrative proliferation corruption. In 2013, West Papua was process has resulted in new govern- named by the government as the most ment buildings, hospitals, and schools. corrupt province in Indonesia, while However, the new buildings are largely Nduga, in Papua Province, was identi- empty and do not function optimally. fied as the most corrupt regency. The Civil servants are often absent from Indonesian Forum for Budget Trans- work, school, or puskesmas (district parency noted that the Nduga Regency health centers) where they are suppos- was the most corrupt nationally in edly working, and yet such behavior terms of capital expenditures for results in no penalties. Based on vari- public facilities. The regency recorded ous analyses, administrative prolifera- eight cases of corruption, involving tion has lowered the performance of 89,452,480,000 idr in total. local governments, particularly in the In January 2013, John Ibo, the public service. In 2011 the Indonesian incumbent chairman of the dprp, was Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemdagri) sentenced to twenty months in jail ranked West Papua Province as the for a fictitious residential construc- worst in performance, and seven of tion project worth 5.2 billion idr. ten regencies identified nationally as Not long after, the Supreme Audit worst in performance were in Papua Agency (bpk) also found that a large and West Papua. number of members of the dprp were The proliferation has also trig- implicated in the abuse of the social gered the creation of bogus data from aid fund of 2012, ranging from tens fictitious populations, villages, and to hundreds of millions of rupiah per districts for the allotment of legislative person. Of note, President Yudho- seats and increased civil service posi- yono’s special staff Velix Wanggai also tions. With the proliferation of admin- allegedly enjoyed a share of 200 mil- istrative regions, approximately 1,800 lion idr siphoned from the fund. The members of Parliament (dprd) and police chief promised to investigate the 144 regents or mayors and their depu- case. 514 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

The chairman of the dpr of West Financial Transaction Reports and Papua (dprpb), Joseph Auri, was also Analysis Center found transactions put on trial in November 2013 for during 2007–2012 in the account of allegedly misappropriating 22 billion Sitorus that reached 1.5 trillion idr. idr from the state-owned enterprise In order to protect his illegal business, pt Padoma. The case also involved Sitorus confessed that from 2012 to other members of the dprpb. Most of 2013 he had transferred as much as the funds have been returned, but the 10 billion idr to high-ranking police dprpb members who were involved officers. Another fellow law enforce- are still awaiting trial. It is unlikely ment officer, former Kajari (Head of that all members of the dprpb are State Attorney) of Sorong Djasman going to be jailed, and corruption Sumardi, was also a defendant in the appears to affect lower levels of Corruption Court of West Papua for government as well. The leaders and allegedly disbursing the proceeds of members of the Legislative Council of the auction of illegally logged tim- Sorong City (dprd Kota Sorong) were ber from state-owned land into his also allegedly involved in the misap- personal account in four separate propriation of funds amounting to 5.4 incidents. billion idr for the inauguration of the The Papua Peace Network (ppn or mayor of Sorong in 2012. jdp), a civil society group formed in Not only were legislative offi- Papua and Jakarta, has been active cials involved in corruption but also since 2010 as a facilitator that con- many provincial government offi- nects the government to a variety of cials, such as West Papuan Regional groups, including the government Secretary Marthen Rumadas, Head opposition in Papua and overseas. of Finance of Papua Province Edi The jdp has been campaigning and Sirait, and Head of Treasury Marthen advocating for a dialogue approach to Erari. Other cases of corruption kept the resolution of the Papua conflict. surfacing, with regents and chiefs The network has also been working of departments as well as officials to build the foundation of a peaceful of lower rank under suspicion, such process of conflict resolution in Papua as former Regent of Merauke John so that the results will be seen as legiti- Gluba Gebze and his subordinates. mate and acceptable to the conflicting Many tribal and village chiefs were parties, particularly by Papuan leaders also implicated for corrupt practices and the government. in creating fictitious villages in order In Papua, Jakarta, and overseas, to secure community development numerous consultations, discussions, block grant (respek) funds. and personal meetings with civil Corrupt practices were also society groups have been carried out found within the higher ranks of to build constituencies and active law enforcement. National Police networks to support the dialogue. of Papua Adjutant First Inspector Campaigns were conducted through (Aiptu) Labora Sitorus was arrested mass media, various social media, and for his involvement in a case involving the publication of numerous books. illegal fuel smuggling and logging. The By 2013, support had been garnered political reviews • melanesia 515 from Papuan traditional leaders, with the jdp, will strive to continue local nongovernmental organizations, facilitating any future exploratory churches, and students, as well as meetings. from civil society organizations at the MURIDAN S WIDJOJO national level. At the international level, groups concerned with human Appreciation to Maretta Kartika rights and justice issues also showed Sari, who helped with translation for their support. Moderate pro-inde- this review. pendence factions have also noticed the constructive possibilities of the Editor’s Note: Muridan S Widjojo dialogue process. passed away on 7 March 2014 after The jdp also established communi- a long illness. We are grateful for his cation with many private figures and political reviews of Papua since 2009. key government agencies to promote the dialogue approach as an option. In early 2013, some communications and exploratory meetings were conducted References to find common ground among the Antaranews.com. http://www.antaranews conflicting parties. The main objective .com/ was to build trust by providing space and opportunities to speak, hear, and Bintang Papua. Daily. Jayapura. Online at talk to each other openly and equally. http://bintangpapua.com/ Exploratory meetings were also car- Cenderawasih Pos. Daily. Jayapura. Online ried out to establish common ground at http://www.cenderawasihpos.com/ in order to build a peaceful Papua in Detikcom. Indonesian online news portal. security, sociopolitical, and socioeco- http://news.detik.com/ nomic domains as well as in sociocul- tural ones. Governor of Papua, Letter of Decision By the end of 2013, the Indonesian No 123 Year 2013 on the Establishment government had grown more cautious of Assistance Team of the Revision of the Law 21 Year 2001 on Special Autonomy in responding to the issues of Papua for Papua Province, 17 June 2013. due to the increasingly complicated development of various civil political The Independent Commission of Police movements in Papua, the activities Research (Komisi Kepolisian Indonesia). of civil armed groups, the interna- Online at http://komisikepolisianindonesia tionalization of the Papuan conflict, .com/ as well as the forthcoming legislative The Jakarta Globe. Daily. Online at and presidential elections in 2014. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/ As a result, Papuan advocacy seems The Jakarta Post. Daily. Online at to be temporarily at an impasse. To http://www.thejakartapost.com/ reduce the communication gap that has resulted in the decline of mutual jpnn, Jawa Pos National Network. trust between the government and http://www.jpnn.com/ Papuan society, the Indonesian Insti- kbr68h. Radio news agency. Online at tute of Sciences (lipi), in cooperation http://www.kbr68h.com/ 516 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) knpb, Komite Nasional Papua Barat. Sekretariat Nasional Forum Indonesia Organisasi pergerakan http://knpbnews untuk Transparansi Anggaran (Seknas .com/ and http://knpbsentanidotorg Fitra/National Secretariat Forum for .wordpress.com/ Budget Transparency). Online at http://seknasfitra.org/ Kompas. Daily. Jakarta. Online at http://www.kompas.com/ Suara Papua. http://suarapapua.com/ Koran Tempo. Daily. Jakarta. Online at Suara Pembaruan (Voice of Renewal). http://www.tempo.co/ Daily. Jakarta. Online at http://www .suarapembaruan.com/ Laporan Hasil Investigasi: Koalisi Masyarakat Sipil untuk Penegakan Hukum Tabloid Jubi Online: An Alternative Media dan ham di Papua, 2012 (Report of Inves- in Tanah Papua. http://tabloidjubi.com/ tigation: Coalition of Civil Society for the Tribunnews.com. http://www.tribunnews Rule of Law and Human Rights in Papua, .com/ 2012). Unpublished nongovernmental organization report. Umaginews. http://www.umaginews.com/ Majalah Selangkah.com. vivanews.com. http://www.vivanews.com/ http://majalahselangkah.com/ Voice of Human Rights. Online at http://www.vhrmedia.com/ Makassar tv. KompasTV local network. http://www.makassartv.co.id/ Zonadamai.com. http://zonadamai .wordpress.com MediaIndonesia.com. http://www .mediaindonesia.com/ mrp, Papuan People’s Assembly. Letter of Decision No 6, Year 2013. Solomon Islands Pacific Institute of Public Policy. 2008. The year 2013 was another trying msg: Trading on Political Capital and one for Solomon Islands, with some Melanesian Solidarity. Briefing Paper, promising developments and also 2 July. problematic hangovers from 2012. In Pacific Institute of Public Policy. Online at the region, national leaders partici- http://www.pacificpolicy.org/ pated in the discussions and activities Papua Pos Nabire. Papua Pos Lokal of the Pacific Islands Forum, the South Network. http://papuaposnabire.com/ Pacific Community, and the Melane- sian Spearhead Group (msg). Nation- Pasific Post. Daily. Jayapura. Online at ally, the ruling government reiterated http://www.pasificpost.com/ its areas of policy emphasis, formally Polimer Bank Notes of the World. established a national university, http://www.polymernotes.org/biographies/ commenced the formal transition of PNG_bio_somare.htm the Regional Assistance Mission to Portal kbr. http://www.portalkbr.com/ Solomon Islands (ramsi), and initi- ated reconciliation efforts in parts of Radar Timika. Daily. Online at the country, albeit amidst criticism and http://www.radartimika.com a range of controversial decisions. Radio New Zealand International. Online One of the memorable and posi- at http://www.rnzi.com/ tive events of 2013 was the country’s political reviews • melanesia 517 hosting of the South Pacific Pageant, South West Pacific, a stronger region which brought in ten contestants from with more economic clout and a neighboring Pacific Islands to vie for louder voice in global affairs” (Fiji the South Pacific Queen crown. The Government 2013). There were con- contestants brought to the forefront cerns locally about the cost of host- issues facing contemporary Pacific ing Bainimarama and his delegation societies. Notably, they all highlighted on his trip. Just the vehicle that was the widespread concern for domestic purchased for Bainimarama’s use cost violence and its impacts on women, taxpayers approximately us$41,340 children, and society in general; as (SS, 9 July 2013). (One US dollar is the Fijian contestant declared, it “is approximately si$7.27.) Nevertheless, not acceptable” (SS, 15 Dec 2012). this invitation and visit by Fiji’s prime Solomon Islands was honored to host minister demonstrated the genuineness such an important regional event, and of the two countries’ relationship. To Deputy Prime Minister and Minister some extent, such visits boost Solo- of Home Affairs Manasseh Maelanga mon Islands’ image. As Dorothy Wick- reiterated this in his speech welcoming ham told Radio New Zealand (10 July the contestants by stating that “events 2013), Bainimarama noted that some like this bring together people from ordinary, rural Solomon Islanders have the Pacific to the Solomon Islands and expressed admiration for some of his reinforce our image as the Hapi Isles” policies. (SS, 2 Dec 2013). Another noteworthy visit was that Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Baini- of King Tupou vi of Tonga in his marama was the guest of honor during capacity as chancellor of the Uni- the country’s thirty-fifth anniversary versity of the South Pacific (usp) to of independence on 7 July 2013. award certificates, diplomas, and This gesture showed the closeness of degrees to 146 graduates at the usp Solomon Islands and Fiji as Mela- Solomon Islands Centre in Septem- nesian neighbors; moreover, it was ber. It was an important event, as the a statement of their solidarity in the king represented both his country Melanesian Spearhead Group, where and the Pacific’s regional university. Solomon Islands and Fiji have stood As with Bainimarama’s visit, people by each other’s side during times of were happy that another neighbor- trouble. The message behind Baini- ing Pacific Island leader visited the marama’s selection might have been country and that King Tupou vi took directed at the bigger countries in the time to share the experiences of Tonga region and those outside of the msg and the university community with his family who were not very happy with subjects living in the country as well the Fijian prime minister and his path as with various government dignitar- to power. Prime Minister Bainimarama ies, including Deputy Prime Minister boldly affirmed the countries’ close Maelanga (USP Beat, 11 Oct 2013). relationship by saying, “We are now The significance of this visit is that working with our Melanesian part- Solomon Islands continues to benefit ners—including Solomon Islands—to from regional cooperation arrange- build a new and better region in the ments and is working closely with 518 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) other Pacific Island states on what ments. In late 2012, the landowners matters to its people. shared dividends to the tune of SI$15 The year 2013 also celebrated hid- million from their investments—the den successes achieved by local and first return of investment of its kind ordinary Solomon Islands businesses. by landowning groups in the country Although these were not very well (SS, 14 Dec 2012). In 2013, the gpla covered by the local media, there were ventured into the tourism industry certain positive changes throughout by purchasing their first motel/hotel the country that are worth acknowl- to run, providing a positive model edging. These are achievements in for other groups in Solomon Islands communities, spearheaded not by to emulate in order to ensure that political leaders but by visionary Solo- services and sustainable revenues are mon Islanders and community groups offered to their own people. in their own ways. One such success The year closed with the nomina- that stood out was the purchase and tion and knighting of Paul Tovua in commissioning of a third interisland recognition of his service to the nation cargo and passenger vessel by the Isa- (SS, 6 Jan 2014). Sir Paul Tovua was bel Development Corporation (idc) to recommended for knighthood in 2013 service the local population and other and was appointed Knight Com- remote provinces (idc, 11 March mander of the Order of St Michael 2014; sibc Online, 12 Feb 2014). and St George during the 2014 New The Isabel Province–based shipping Year’s awards, a fitting award for a company has grown steadily since its leader and statesman who struggled establishment by visionary leaders to bring peace back to the country. forty years ago. Sir Paul was a former member and Another commendable success Speaker of Parliament and chair of celebrated in 2013 was the move by the Peace Council, among other posi- the Guadalcanal Plains Landowners tions in which he served the welfare of Association (gpla) to venture into citizens. tourism development. It has long been On the political front, the age-old noted that landowning groups in the game of finger pointing and accusa- country do not always invest money tions of corruption and unethical from their resources for sustainable decision making continued to feature revenue. Indeed, since the establish- prominently in both provincial and ment of Solomon Islands Plantations national politics. In Malaita Province, Ltd in the late 1960s, landowning Premier Edwin Suibaea was accused groups rarely invested their money in of weak leadership and poor financial profitable businesses but rather shared management, leading to the resigna- it among themselves for consumption. tion of two ministers in March (SS, 4 This changed with the emergence of March 2013). Suibaea managed to visionary leaders in the group after the defer a motion of no confidence at civil strife of 1998–2003. The estab- the time, giving him the opportunity lishment of the gpla in 2005 saw the to secure enough support to continue diversion of shares by landowners into ruling (SS, 29 April 2013). Guadal- worthwhile undertakings and invest- canal Province has struggled with political reviews • melanesia 519 an unstable government since 2012. and that the national government is In September 2013, eight executive obliged to pay. The ruling government members resigned from the Stephen sent current Attorney General Billy Panga–led provincial government (SS, Titiulu to negotiate directly with Moti 25 Sept 2013). With some delaying on how to settle the claims (sibc, 24 tactics and persuasion, three members Dec 2013). Opposition leader Derek joined Panga’s camp in early 2014, Sikua, however, disagreed with the although Panga’s deputy also resigned out-of-court settlement, saying that (SS, 10 Jan 2014). “any claim for compensation in rela- Political wrangling also occurred tion to Mr Moti’s 2007 deportation at the national level. Throughout the should be made through the courts” year, the opposition group in Parlia- (sibc, 28 Jan 2014). Meanwhile ment and civil society organizations Andrew Muaki, a lawyer and for- accused the government of making mer government advisor, pointed out unethical decisions on certain issues, that no Solomon Islands court has including the diversion of landowner declared Moti’s deportation illegal royalty funds by various government and therefore the government is not ministries as well as compensation obliged to compensate him (SS, 17 Jan claims from former Attorney General 2014). The government could have Julian Moti. From the royalty funds, a settled the issue out of court, but with total of “[si]$3,704,602.53 was paid criticism from the wider community, to the Guadalcanal provincial govern- the issue is being sidelined, at least for ment, in cash, between 13th February the time being. This will likely return 2013 to 3rd May 2013” (SS, 11 July as an issue during the 2014 national 2013). The question was why such election. funds were paid outside of the provi- The Solomon Islands government sions of the Mines and Minerals (Roy- was able to realize its long-term alties) Regulations 2011 (sig 2011). dream of having its own university Prime Minister Lilo stepped in and in 2013. The Ministry of Education vowed to pursue the culprits, appoint- and Human Resource Development ing a task force to investigate the issue introduced a bill in Parliament (sig (SS, 26 Sept 2013). To date, little has 2012) that changed the name of the been done to catch those responsible. Solomon Islands College of Higher A decision made in 2007 by the Education (siche) to Solomon Islands governments of two former prime National University (sinu), amend- ministers, Manasseh Sogavare and ing the siche Act of 1984 (sig 1984). Derek Sikua, also returned to haunt The move was met with both criti- the Solomon Islands government in cism and praise. Some congratulated 2013: the Moti affair. The current the government on this achievement, Lilo-led government was reportedly though critics mostly pointed to the making contact with deported former lack of trained manpower, financial Attorney General Julian Moti to settle resources, and will to complete the his claims out of court. The govern- transition from siche to sinu. ment, together with Sogavare, strongly Barely a year after sinu’s founding, felt that Moti should be compensated critics’ fears began to be seen as well 520 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) founded. The government was report- the Ministry of Education promising edly faced with financial difficulties, teachers that their past-due increases which resulted in its failure to meet would be paid through a si$38 mil- its obligations toward sinu in 2013. lion fund approved by government The university management was left to (SS, 5 Feb 2013). But the government deal with student demonstrations over failed to meet the stated deadline, late payment of their allowances and and throughout 2013 the relation- was even forced to ban students from ship between the state and teachers the dormitories if they didn’t pay their continued to be a thorny one. The fees (sibc, 7 Feb 2014). It should be education sector faced a lot of difficul- stressed that over the years, successive ties with its administration and came governments have made it a practice under much criticism for failing to live to provide full scholarships to students up to agreements with the teachers’ doing teacher training and nursing association. All national examinations health studies at siche as well as to were delayed until November 2013, other students in regional universities which ultimately delayed the start of in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and the 2014 school year, progression of even those in Cuba. Otherwise, they students to high classes, and the selec- face tremendous difficulty in paying tion and sending of new students to tuition and fees and supporting them- regional universities (SS, 5 Nov 2013). selves and their families on the student The law-and-order situation allowances. The move to ask students in Solomon Islands continued to to pay a certain percentage of their be fragile, although it has greatly tuition and fees was met with mixed improved compared to the tense feelings. This year, sinu students were period of 1998–2003. In 2013, ramsi still calling on the Ministry of Educa- announced its transition away from tion and Human Resources Develop- playing a leading role in the three ment and their respective members of pillars of its intervention: law and Parliament to pay their fees and other order, governance, and development. essential education costs (SS, 7 Feb These functions are now slowly being 2014). Indeed, the recent decisions by returned to the Solomon Islands the government to award education government and its institutions. fees to members of Parliament exacer- ramsi’s transition was initiated ten bated the “waiting for a free handout” years after the intervention began in mentality on the part of the students. 2003. Speaking at the official com- At the primary and secondary mencement of the transition phase, school levels, teachers and the govern- Secretary-General of the Pacific ment were at loggerheads throughout Islands Forum Tuiloma Slade stated: 2013. The teachers staged a sit-in pro- “Solomon Islands is now a secure and test to force the government to look stable country, open for business and at an overdue pay increase following its people free from intimidation” a salary adjustment (ie, a re-leveling (ramsi 2013, 1). exercise) that had been agreed to in There are mixed feelings in Solo- 2011 (sto, 7 Dec 2011). The strike mon Islands about the transition, but was resolved with the intervention of there is nothing much that the people political reviews • melanesia 521 or their government can do to halt it, governor general for appointment. as the decision to proceed was made Unfortunately, the person appointed by Australia and New Zealand, the was disqualified because of an age main sponsors of the intervention limit. This did not sit well with some project. Part of local skepticism is groups in Solomon Islands, especially attributable to the uncertainty over the Malaita Maasina Forum (mmf), the Royal Solomon Islands Police which alleged that Prime Minister Force’s readiness to take on the role of Lilo already had a person in mind, policing. However, the police did some resulting in the disqualification of the things well in 2013. For instance, with recommended candidate. Although the help of the people of the Weather not substantiated, the mmf continues Coast of Guadalcanal, the police to accuse the Prime Minister’s Office recaptured three prison escapees who during the latest round of the search were closely associated with the war- for a new police commissioner (sibc, lord Harold Keke at the height of the 26 Feb 2014), despite the urgent need tensions (SS, 8 Nov 2013). The escap- for a commissioner to enhance the ees were apprehended after months of people’s trust in police leadership and terrorizing their own people of South the force. Guadalcanal. Police also attended to The failure of the government to many other crimes around Honiara officially release the 2012 report by and throughout the other nine prov- the Truth and Reconciliation Commis- inces. Unfortunately, Edmund Sae, a sion on the roots of the ethnic tensions fugitive who has been on the run since continued to confuse people in 2013. the arrival of ramsi, has yet to be A version of the report was leaked and captured on Malaita. Malaitan com- there is no indication when the report munities did not cooperate with the will be officially made public. Mean- police for fear of their own lives. In his while, the reconciliation between the New Year’s speech, Solomon Islands people of the Weather Coast and the Governor General Frank Kabui called government was criticized as selective on Mr Sae to do the right thing and and insensitive (sibc, 17 Dec 2013). give himself up to police (SS, 6 Jan Hardy Kona, a critic of the govern- 2014). It should be pointed out that ment in this particular effort of recon- the possibility of another amnesty ciliation, stated that “reconciliation recently proposed by Prime Minister must be fair and inclusive otherwise Lilo might just serve to encourage it would only be disadvantageous and wanted criminals like Sae to keep discriminatory” (sibc, 17 Dec 2013). holding on to their guns. In Honiara, the basic demands of There is also public concern over city living continue to be problematic. the delay in appointing a new police City dwellers continue to experience commissioner. In late 2013, five indi- water and electricity shortages and viduals were shortlisted for the post. traffic congestion. In 2013, a Parlia- One name was selected and forwarded mentary Task Force was set up to look by the Police and Prison Service Com- into the ever-increasing transport con- mission to the Prime Minister’s Office gestion in Honiara and the subsequent in a formal recommendation to the “short bus routes” taken by buses. 522 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

Because of short routes, some passen- somebody within Indonesia, although gers are forced to take more than one whether the source of the refund was bus to get to their destination, and a actually the government of Indonesia trip that used to cost si$3 may now could not be determined (SS, 22 Aug cost as much as si$15. The task force 2013). Earlier in the year, Solomon consisted of all members of Parlia- Islands was again accused of blindly ment, and a report was produced after following the interests of Fiji during several consultation meetings. The the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s task force recommended various strat- trip to Indonesia. The trip resulted in egies to address the short bus routes much criticism of the msg, and a pro- that adversely affect the Honiara posed meeting to decide on the msg’s traveling public (National Parliament position on West Papuan membership of Solomon Islands 2013). Although in the organization was delayed. Vanu- the cabinet has yet to deliberate on atu withdrew from the msg delega- the recommendations, the continuous tion, indicating where it stands on the insistence by bus owners to exploit issue (Radio New Zealand, 13 Jan the general public of Honiara must be 2014). West Papua will likely continue addressed, and government interven- to be featured in MSG discussions in tion is needed. Whatever the outcome, 2014. this issue will continue to be a matter Issues related to land and economic for deliberation in 2014. development continued to be featured On the regional, subregional, and throughout 2013. The tensions over international fronts, one of the critical environmental threats and pollution issues for Solomon Islands was its lack by the Gold Ridge mine on down- of a clear position on the indepen- stream and surrounding communities dence movement for West Papua. The appeared sporadically throughout the country was accused of having a dou- year. Media statements, roadblocks, ble standard when it came to discuss- and strikes indicate that there are dif- ing the issue in various forums. Unlike ferences to be sorted out between the Vanuatu, the position of Solomon company, the state, and affected com- Islands was not obvious at the United munities on these various concerns. Nations General Assembly. Prime Similar incidents and disruptions to Minister Lilo was also accused of fol- logging companies occurred in other lowing the wishes of the Indonesian parts of the country. Disagreements government when a Solomon Islands with extractive industries continue to delegation allegedly used Solomon trigger conflicts among community Islands government funds to pay for a members and companies. In Temotu, trip to Indonesia, despite Lilo’s claim- a church leader and his followers ing that the trip was fully funded by destroyed a logging company camp Indonesia. After protests by the public after all their attempts to ask the and in the media about the value of company to stop logging failed to bear spending taxpayer dollars on the trip, fruit throughout the year (SS, 8 Jan the Indonesian government reportedly 2014). The destruction was estimated refunded the monies. Reports con- at si$1.1 million, and the perpetra- firmed that funds were received from tors were arrested and charged (SS, 8 political reviews • melanesia 523

Jan 2014). Similar incidents happened ard Burrell), another world-renowned in Malaita and Isabel provinces in artist from Jamaica, visited Solomon 2013. The increased incidence of such Islands. The show had no incidents actions by community groups should of bad behavior, in contrast to the serve as a warning that landowner Marley performance (sto, 4 Feb concerns must be attended to when 2014). Both of these stars sang songs there are initial signs that the com- about love, oppression, politics, and munity and company disagree. Land people. One was a very peaceful show issues also frustrate the government’s while the other resulted in casualties. development efforts: the govern- These disparate outcomes may be ment’s program on economic growth an indication of the uncertainty and centers was stymied by land disputes mixed reactions of Solomon Islanders and disagreements. In order for such as they await the results of the 2014 and similar undertakings to proceed, general elections and the ramsi transi- landownership and disputed area tion. Whatever happens, time will issues must be addressed. tell the status of the country’s social, The year 2013 saw the government economic, and political situations in rearticulate its priorities and what it 2014. hopes to achieve during the remain- gordon leua nanau der of its term. Toward the end of the year, Prime Minister Lilo put out a list of priorities that his government will References pursue in 2014 (sibc, 22 Jan 2014), ranging from the forthcoming general Fiji Government. 2013. Prime Minis- elections to multilateral cooperation ter Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s Solomon Islands Independence Luncheon (opmc, 21 Jan 2014). The irony is Speech. 8 July. http://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media that the national general election will -Center/Speeches/PRIME-MINISTER be held in late 2014; why the govern- -COMMODORE-VOREQE ment only came out with its priorities -BAINIMARAMA-S-SOLO.aspx toward the end of its tenure leaves [accessed 31 March 2014] much to be desired, and one only idc, Isabel Development Company Ltd. hopes that at least one of its priorities 2014. Official website: www.idc.com.sb is achieved before the national elections. National Parliament of Solomon Islands. At the close of 2013 and the begin- 2013. Report by the Special Select Com- mittee on the Honiara Short Bus Routes. ning of 2014, international reggae Honiara: National Parliament. bands and artists visited Solomon Islands. Julian Marley, the son of reg- opmc, Office of the Prime Minister and gae king Bob Marley, visited the coun- Cabinet. 2014. Official website: try and put on a show. Unfortunately, www.pmc.gov.sb it was marred by stone-throwing fans Radio New Zealand. 2014. Official web- who were unable to make it into the site: www.radionz.co.nz concert area, resulting in police and ramsi, Regional Assistance to Solomon youth casualties (sto, 23 Dec 2013). Islands. 2013. Rebuilding a Nation: Ten In early 2014, Shaggy (Orville Rich- Years of the Solomon Islands-RAMSI Part- 524 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) nership. Canberra: ramsi. http://www tions of corruption within the govern- .ramsi.org/Media/docs/Rebuilding-a ment increased to unprecedented levels -Nation-RAMSI-EBook-185ca1c0-4b11 related to misuse of funds, shady land -4ea0-86ac-eb0110e15b66-0.pdf [accessed deals, questionable dismissals of public 31 March 2014] service officials, and the unexplained sibc, Solomon Islands Broadcasting death of the minister of infrastruc- Corporation. Daily Internet news service, ture and public utilities, Harry Iauko, Honiara. www.sibconline.com.sb rumored to be related to the arrival sig, Solomon Islands Government. 1984. in Port Vila harbor of a mysterious The College of Higher Education Act, super-luxury yacht, the Phocea, and 1984. No. 2 of 1984. Honiara: National its detention by the government due to Parliament of Solomon Islands. fraudulent ownership documentation. ———. 2011. The Mines and Minerals One of the hottest issues dur- (Royalties) Regulations 2011. Honiara: ing 2011, which was not completely National Parliament of Solomon Islands. resolved by the end of that year, was ———. 2012. Solomon Islands National ratification of Vanuatu’s bid to join University Bill 2012. No. 6 of 2012. the World Trade Organization (wto). Honiara: National Parliament of Solomon The government introduced a bill in Islands. Parliament in December and, despite opposition by most of the major non- SS, Solomon Star. Daily newspaper, Honi- ara. Online at www.solomonstarnews.com governmental organizations such as the Malvatumauri (National Council sto, Solomon Times Online. Daily of Chiefs), Chamber of Commerce, Internet news service, Honiara. Vanuatu Christian Council, and Vanu- www.solomontimes.com atu National Workers Union, it passed USP Beat. University of the South Pacific by a vote of 25 in favor, 20 against news magazine. Monthly. Suva. (including that of Minister of Justice Ralph Regenvanu), and one abstention (Van Trease 2012). The bill, however, remained unsigned by the president, Vanuatu His Excellency Iolu Johnson Abbil, This analysis covers a two-year who had gone overseas for health period—2012 and 2013—that encom- reasons as the year ended. The act- passes national elections in late 2012 ing president (the deputy speaker of and the eventual change of govern- Parliament) explained that he could ment the following year. As 2012 not sign the bill, as the president had began, however, moves by the Opposi- left instructions that he would not tion, led by Edward Natapei, to bring assent to wto ratification if it was down the Kilman-led government had unconstitutional, which had yet to be all but ceased, while rivalry within and determined (VDP, 17 Jan 2012). between political parties increased as According to the Vanuatu Constitu- individual politicians sought to posi- tion, “when a bill has been passed by tion themselves in anticipation of the Parliament it shall be presented to the national election, which was expected President of the Republic who shall in October. At the same time, allega- assent to it within 2 weeks.” Other- political reviews • melanesia 525 wise, if the president considers that the While it took until June 2012 for bill may be unconstitutional, “he shall the issue of Vanuatu’s membership in refer it to the Supreme Court for its the World Trade Organization to be opinion. The bill shall not be promul- completely resolved, there had been a gated if the Supreme Court considers significant political casualty in Janu- it inconsistent with a provision of the ary following the vote in Parliament Constitution” (chapter 4, article 16 the previous December. Having voted [3] and [4]). On his return to Vanuatu against the bill, Ralph Regenvanu in mid-January, however, the presi- was terminated as minister for jus- dent did not act on the bill, and the tice by Prime Minister Kilman and government was forced to bring a replaced by Charlot Salwai, member constitutional case against him. In of a new breakaway group from the his judgment, Chief Justice Vincent Union of Moderate Parties (ump) who Lunabek noted that the president had called themselves the ump for Change not assented to the bill, nor had he (umpc). In his termination letter, referred a case to the Supreme Court Kilman criticized Regenvanu for his in accordance with article 16 (3) and “continued actions and support for (4) of the constitution. In response to issues that have been contradictory the government’s case, the president to the collective policy decisions of expressed his concern about what he the Council of Ministers . . . [which] viewed as the “considerable lack of raised serious questions of loyalty consultation, as expressed by the pub- within the Council and members of lic before the bill was passed by Parlia- the government coalition” (VDP, 17 ment.” The president was expressing Jan, 18 Jan 2012). his disapproval of the bill rather than Regenvanu expressed disappoint- seeking a judgment on its constitution- ment at his termination in a long ality—in effect, posing the question interview reported in the Vanuatu of “whether or not the president can Daily Post, describing how he had refuse to assent to a bill.” The chief supported Kilman continually since justice, however, made it clear in his the 2008 election and by joining judgment that under the constitution the coalition in December 2010. He the president did not have the power agreed that he had not supported to refuse to sign a bill—only to refer the wto bill, nor the controversial a constitutional question about the appointment of Thi Tam Goiset, bill to the Supreme Court within two member of the well-known Dinh weeks of the bill having been pre- family, the previous December as sented to him. The president’s inaction roving ambassador to Russia (VDP, 3 constituted a “failure of omission” on Jan 2013). Likewise, he pointed out his part under the constitution, and he that he had opposed and was the only was, therefore, “invited to assent to member of Parliament (mp) to vote the Bill for the Protocol on the Acces- against the government bill to increase sion of Vanuatu (Ratification) Act No. salaries and benefits of politicians and 19 of 2011 by signing the copies of the had publicly expressed his opposition Bill” (Supreme Court 2012; VDP, 23 to the purchase of new vehicles for June 2012). several ministers. At the same time, 526 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

Regenvanu described the significant must not interfere in each other’s results he had achieved while heading internal affairs. Natapei declared three different ministries during the in February 2012 that any future previous year (Ni-Vanuatu business government of which the VP was a development, lands, and justice). On part would review the agreement (VDP, the positive side, Regenvanu noted 3 Feb 2012). that he was now free to practice the Despite strong protest from various policy that he had espoused while elements of the community, Kilman campaigning in the 2008 election: “to pressed on with his new strategy to provide a role model for good leader- engage with Indonesia. In May, he met ship as an mp and a national leader” the Indonesian ambassador to Vanu- and to focus on preparing the candi- atu in Port Vila to discuss possible dates of his Graon mo Jastis Pati (gjp, police and paramilitary training, and land and justice party) to contest the the next day an Indonesian military national elections at the end of 2012 plane arrived loaded with promised (VDP, 19 Jan 2012). aid, including computers, tractors, While Vanuatu’s membership in and other vehicles. That afternoon, a the World Trade Organization was peaceful demonstration at the airport finally resolved and did not feature by pro–West Papuan youths resulted prominently in the coming election in police arrests, to the dismay of debate, several other issues from the many Ni-Vanuatu, who viewed sup- past spilled over into 2012. The status port for West Papuan independence of West Papua continued to concern as an established policy of the govern- many Ni-Vanuatu—representatives of ment. A spokesman for the Kilman the Free West Papua movement have government responded by saying that had an office in Vanuatu since the after thirty years of failing to change early 1980s. Prime Minister Kilman’s the situation it was time for Vanuatu decision in April 2011 to side with to try a new strategy of engagement Fiji’s strongman, Frank Bainimarama, with Indonesia (VDP, 15–19 May to support granting observer status to 2013). As the election approached, Indonesia in the Melanesian Spear- there were suspicions that Indonesia head Group (msg) was very contro- was funneling money into Vanuatu to versial and elicited numerous articles support particular politicians (VDP, 28 and letters to the editor condemning Sept 2012). the move as a betrayal of Vanuatu’s The politics of land in Vanuatu is Melanesian brothers and sisters in another issue that never seems to be West Papua (Van Trease 2012, 428). resolved. Numerous land disputes The Kilman government had also were reported in the daily press during negotiated a Development Coopera- 2012, usually about custom ownership tion Agreement with Indonesia that related to proposed leasing to foreign concerned the leader of the Vanua‘aku investors. The ongoing problem is Pati (vp), Edward Natapei, because that, under Vanuatu law, the minister it recognized Indonesian sovereignty of lands had been given the right to over West Papua and stated specifi- grant a lease in any cases in which cally that the two signatory countries land was disputed, the proceeds to be political reviews • melanesia 527 held in trust until the rightful custom persisted, reaching a new level during owner(s) could be determined. It is not the last few weeks before the election uncommon for disputes to be invented when Minister of Lands Steven Kal- when an investor is unable to persuade sakau instructed the director of lands Ni-Vanuatu landowners to grant a to allocate state land in Luganville and lease (VDP, 11 Jan, 24 Feb, 4 July Port Vila to staff in the Department of 2012). Calls to take away the minis- Lands at grossly reduced values (VDP, ter’s power to grant leases under such 12 Sept, 21 Sept 2012). The Land circumstances have been made for a Management and Planning Commit- number of years—this was one of the tee announced in early October that it twenty-one resolutions of the Vanuatu had approved forty urban land leases Lands Summit, held in 2006—but no for Lands officers in Luganville, many government since that time has had of which involved existing leases that the courage or inclination to act, and, the Department of Lands had canceled as a result, widespread dissatisfaction due to the failure of lessees to pay continues among Ni-Vanuatu land- their land taxes (VDP, 17 Oct, 19 Oct owners and chiefly authorities (Malva- 2012). With the election only a few tumauri 2006). days away and the outcome uncertain, Of even greater concern during the minister of lands urged the acting 2012 was the increasing practice of the director of lands to “organize this as minister of lands to approve the sale a priority and forward all certificates of state land under value and without and leases to me for approval” (VDP, tender (VDP, 31 March, 4 April 2012). 24 Oct 2012). The usual sequence of events was for Relations between Vanuatu and the land to be sold to a Ni-Vanuatu Australia took a surprising turn for friend or associate at a low price, who the worse in late April 2012, when then sold it on to a waiting buyer at Australian Federal Police (afp) a much increased price, pocketing the arrested Clarence Marae, the private profit and, it is commonly believed, secretary in the Prime Minister’s sharing it with the minister concerned Office, at Sydney Airport as he tran- (VDP, 2 April 2012). This practice has sited with the prime ministerial delega- been occurring for years and led to tion, who were on a trip to Israel. a Council of Ministers’ decision in According to Australian authorities, 2010, when Natapei was prime min- he was arrested over a matter that had ister, declaring “that there will be no occurred ten years earlier in which he, more sale of state owned land assets,” along with Australian nationals oper- but the practice continued unabated ating in Vanuatu, was alleged to have under the Kilman government and is been involved in activities to defraud illustrative of the increase in the level the Commonwealth and for which of corruption experienced in Vanuatu a warrant of arrest had been issued. (VDP, 13 April 2012). Marae was subsequently transferred to Although the Prime Minister’s Brisbane, charged with one count of Office also announced in June 2012 conspiracy to defraud the Common- that it would no longer tolerate wealth, and confined to jail without the sale of state assets, the practice bail. 528 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

On his return to Vanuatu, Prime “highly suspicious of being involved in Minister Kilman protested at the way smuggling high powered arms, money in which the incident had occurred laundering and breaching related laws and demanded an apology from of maritime borders” (VDP, 25 July Australia. The prime minister’s party 2012). A court warrant was issued had been shuffled into the immigra- and a search of the yacht discov- tion hall instead of the vip lounge, as ered numerous documents related to is the normal procedure, and at that bilateral arrangements and others with moment, the afp arrested Marae. forged signatures, which were confis- Reactions in Vanuatu were mixed. cated. “A substance in a plastic bag Some people saw the incident as that may be opium” was also discov- showing disrespect for Vanuatu’s ered (VDP, 28 July 2012). prime minister, while others were less On board the yacht were sixteen critical. The Nagriamel Movement crew members, including a Samoan demanded that the government expel and a Tongan who in March 2012 afp personnel working in Vanuatu as had been involved in a case related to part of the Australian Government’s their obtaining Vanuatu citizenship by Police Force Strengthening Project. In false and misleading statements. Both contrast, Edward Natapei (president men were arrested and subsequently of the vp and leader of the Opposi- appeared in court. Tongan police also tion) noted that the afp had merely became involved in the investigation been executing a court-sanctioned when it was revealed that the Phocea warrant of arrest, and he criticized the had stopped over in Tonga on its prime minister for engaging someone way to Vanuatu from Europe via the who had, indeed, previously been Panama Canal and that cabinet mem- convicted for misconduct by Vanu- bers had been entertained on board. atu courts. However, with no official Internet investigations also found sus- apology forthcoming, on 9 May 2012, picious changes in the yacht’s registra- Kilman ordered the afp to leave Vanu- tion and discovered that the yacht had atu within twenty-four hours (VDP, been registered in Vanuatu in 2005 as 1–11 May 2012). a diplomatic yacht of Vanuatu owned As it turned out, the decision to by Anh Quan Saken, who became expel the afp worked to Vanuatu’s a citizen in 2012 and was alleged significant disadvantage by depriv- to have been appointed as Vanuatu ing local police authorities of vital consul to Vietnam (VDP, 24, 25, 26, 30 support in dealing with a criminal July 2012). incident involving suspicious inter- It came as a surprise when the national players. On 22 July 2012, police investigation revealed that the twenty police officers took part in a Phocea had actually been moored for joint operation with Customs, Immi- several days outside the harbor near a gration, and Quarantine officers to small resort without clearing customs board the Phocea, a mega yacht that and immigration and that at least two had recently arrived in Vila harbor. government ministers and possibly After checking Internet sources, police three other members of Parliament officials reported that the yacht was had been on board. Photographs of political reviews • melanesia 529 the ministers found on board—Min- to appear in court to face charges with ister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Carlot the captain, but he did not return to and Minister of Education Marcel- Vanuatu to do so. Indeed, there were lino Pipite—confirmed this (VDP, 27 many questions regarding Saken’s true July 2012). They were subsequently identity and his relationship with Min- charged with and pleaded not guilty ister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Carlot. to the offence of “boarding before a In December 2011, Carlot had customs officer—contrary to section appointed longtime resident of ques- 16 (1) cap257” (VDP, 24 Oct 2012). tionable character, Thi Tam Goiset, as The case had not been heard even by Vanuatu’s roving ambassador to Rus- the end of 2013. sia and other eastern European coun- The police investigation had begun tries (VDP, 3 Dec 2011). She has been to make significant progress in raising involved in politics for decades and questions, if not finding out concrete has a reputation for shady activities, answers, about the circumstances having been arrested in New Cale- surrounding the Phocea when it was donia several years ago while using a reported that Minister of Internal diplomatic passport with no official Affairs George Wells had decided to status and in possession of a number suspend the head of the Fraud Unit, of unexplained passports and vt5 mil- Andrew Kalman, who was investi- lion (One US dollar is approximately gating the Phocea affair. Initially, no 93.5 Vanuatu vatu [vt]). Under her reasons were given for the suspension, contract, Goiset was not entitled to except that Kalman was “jeopardiz- any remuneration for services rendered ing the case,” but subsequently he but would be entitled to 15 percent of was accused of causing delays in the any money granted to the government investigation and selling information. of Vanuatu as a result of her represen- Kalman denied all the allegations and tations to other foreign government was preparing to challenge them in agencies. The Daily Post noted that it court (VDP, 1 Aug, 8 Aug 2012). was ironic that Goiset’s contract came Over the next two months, the to light physically (a copy was printed captain and crew of the Phocea were on the front page of the newspaper) prevented from leaving Vanuatu while after Prime Minister Kilman “reiter- cases were prepared against them ated his government’s stand against for breaching customs and immigra- corruption”; the newspaper also noted tion regulations related to their delay that Goiset was linked to the deci- in seeking clearance when they first sion of Carlot and Kilman in 2011 to arrived in Port Vila. Most were given recognize the pro-Russian, breakaway relatively modest fines and eventually republic of Abkhazia (VDP, 3 Jan allowed to depart the country. The cir- 2012). cumstances remain unclear, however, The prime minister’s first secre- how the yacht’s owner, Anh Quan tary, Richard Kaltongga, produced Saken, was able to board a plane documents alleging that the minister within three days of the arrival of the of foreign affairs had also appointed Phocea. Clearly, someone in authority Saken as ambassador-at-large to Peru, facilitated his departure. He was called Colombia, and the United States as 530 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) well as Vanuatu commissioner of a deed of release payment with the trade, business development, and director of a local stationery store, for culture for Central America and which he had cabinet approval, for Panama. Carlot denied the accusa- the payment of vt17 million, despite tions, claiming that the documents the fact that the State Law Office had were forged, but he did confirm that advised that there was nothing to pay, Saken had made significant financial as the store’s claim had been struck contributions to the running of the down by the Supreme Court several Vanuatu embassy in Brussels. He also years earlier. The money was report- recommended that Goiset be removed edly drawn out of funds earmarked as Vanuatu’s roving ambassador under the Teaching Services Com- to Russia, but the Prime Minister’s mission for outstanding payments Office insisted she remain (VDP, 29 to teachers (VDP, 8 June 2012). By Sept 2012). Goiset’s involvement October, the Daily Post reported in with Saken and the Phocea remained front-page headlines that the Ministry mysterious at this point, as did the of Education had run out of money, true nature of her relationship with attributing the situation to the non- members of the Kilman government. budgeted vt17 million that had been By October, the Phocea had become a taken out of operating funds, result- permanent feature in the harbor, and ing in teachers not being paid and the affair began to fade somewhat overseas students on scholarships not from public view as attention shifted getting their stipends (VDP, 18 Oct to the national elections scheduled 2012). for the end of the month. The yacht Another concern among some had been impounded by the Vanuatu members of the public, which was government and would remain so well attributed to policies of the govern- into 2013. ment, was the increasing number The Kilman government was of Chinese workers being allowed significantly damaged by the way into the country. They were mostly it handled the Phocea affair and by employed on construction sites, an its involvement in what seemed to area of employment that is reserved be potentially criminal activities. for local people, and thus appeared to Indeed, the government had devel- be taking jobs away from Ni-Vanuatu. oped the reputation of being soft The government seemed to ignore on corruption, whether through the the problem, and there was suspicion actions of certain of its own ministers that special favors were being given or through its lackluster approach to certain local contractors to allow to dealing with embedded corrup- them to recruit foreign workers (VDP, tion and incompetence in the public 7 Jan, 28 Jan 2012). Likewise, worries service—a problem, in fact, that has surfaced in the country when the been neglected for years by previ- government reported that it had estab- ous Vanuatu governments. The land lished a scheme in Hong Kong to sell issue has already been mentioned, but permanent resident visas to wealthy there were others. In June, Minister Chinese as a source of government of Education Marcellino Pipite signed revenue and potential investment, with political reviews • melanesia 531 nearly seven hundred having already some dating back months or years. In been sold by the end of the year (VDP, January 2012, tensions that had been 27 Oct 2012). This is clearly a difficult building within the ump since the issue for the government to deal with, previous December between longtime as Chinese-Vanuatu relations go back leader Serge Vohor from Santo and to independence, and the People’s a younger rival, Charlot Salwai from Republic of China is a generous aid Pentecost, began to take form. Sal- donor. wai announced that a group within Of particular concern has been the party who supported him would the government’s practice of using be called UMP for Change (umpc). its power to dismiss officials for no Evidence of the split became obvious apparent reason, rather than using in the following months as individuals established Public Service procedures. declared which group they identified In addition to the dismissal of the with, culminating in February with head of the Fraud Unit investigating two party congresses competing for the Phocea, a series of senior police participants and the Vohor-led faction officers were dismissed without clear officially expelling the rebels (VDP, 17 reasons being given. For example, Feb, 29 Feb 2012). Following a court there has never been an adequate case by the Vohor faction, which was explanation why Police Commis- subsequently appealed and disallowed, sioner Joshua Bong was “told” to take the Supreme Court ruled that Salwai’s leave in May and was replaced by group could not use the ump or umpc Acting Police Commissioner Arthur name to identify themselves in the Coulton (VDP, 22 May 2012). The coming election (VDP, 28 Aug 2012). same applies to the suspension of the As a result, Salwai renamed the umpc senior commander south the following as the Reunification of Movement for month—the minister of internal affairs Change (rmc). gave no explanation in response to The Vanuatu Republican Party had inquiries (VDP, 27 June 2012). Even also experienced a power struggle in more confusing was the imprisonment 2011, with Alfred Carlot leading a of several senior police officers in breakaway group from his uncle, the late May for “suspicion of inciting a party’s founder, Maxime Carlot Kor- mutiny”—no explanation given—and man. Differences continued between Bong’s reinstatement as police com- Marcellino Pipite and Korman, who missioner pending a court challenge attempted to expel Pipite from the (VDP, 2 Oct 2012). Within a few days, party, but this was ruled null and void the Supreme Court struck down the in a ruling by the appeals court (VDP, mutiny charges, ten other senior police 12 May 2012). Pipite was subse- officers were suspended, and Bong quently elected president of the Vanu- was again terminated as chief of police atu Republican Party (vrp), which (VDP, 8 Oct 2012). was confirmed after a court challenge Several major political parties (VDP, 30 June, 21 Sept 2012). The faced severe problems in the months effect of this was to sideline Korman, leading up to the election, mostly who responded by establishing his related to individual power struggles, own Vanuatu Democratic Party (VDP, 532 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

24 Sept 2012)—the second time in his headed by Moana Carcasses, and political career that he had been forced the National United Party headed by to take this action. He also made Ham Lini—had been negotiating for the decision to run as a candidate in support throughout the country, each the Efate Rural constituency rather claiming to have convinced groups than continue to challenge for one of from different islands to switch alle- the six Port Vila seats, which he had giance in their favor. Ralph Regenvanu held since he first entered Parliament traveled around the country hold- in 1979. One positive development ing awareness sessions in an attempt for Korman was the decision by the to broaden recognition of the gjp. Kilman government to seek his rein- He was its only elected member of statement in Parliament. He had been Parliament, representing the Port Vila stripped of his parliamentary privi- constituency. Two former political leges eleven months earlier after being strongmen who had been defeated in found in contempt of Parliament in earlier elections also decided to run 2011 due to unconstitutional rulings again: Barak Sope continued to lead he had made as Speaker (VDP, 28 Aug his own Melanesian Progressive Party 2012). (mpp), and Willie Jimmy founded a One of the most significant dis- new party, the Liberal Democratic putes—the attempt by Tanna mp Party. The Nagriamel Movement, Harry Iauko to replace Edward which dates back to independence, Natapei as leader of the Vanua‘aku also expected to field more candidates. Pati—was resolved barely two weeks An interesting addition to the before the election. The dispute political alignment was a new party focused on recognition of two com- calling itself the Presidential Party. Its peting party congresses held in 2010 founders, who included several former on the island of Tongoa—the Iauko presidents of the Republic of Vanu- faction at Lumbukuti village and the atu—Ati George Sokomanu, Kalkot Natapei faction at Panita village— Matas Kelekele, Jean Marie Léyé, both of which elected executives. and Father John Bani—believed that Following several last-minute appeals, the way for Vanuatu to overcome the the court ruled in favor of the Panita political instability that it had been congress and Edward Natapei. This experiencing since the early 1990s was meant that Iauko would have to find to replace the Westminster model with another name for his group by the a presidential system patterned on that time of the election, if he chose to of the United States. They and their contest separately (VDP, 10 Oct 2012). supporters attracted a lot of publicity Iauko appealed but was turned down over the four years since the previous at the last minute. As a result, he went election in 2008, and in 2012 they into the election under the name “the established the Presidential Party as Iauko Group.” a means of promoting their ideas and During 2012, most of the other bringing about change (VDP, 3 May, major parties—eg, the Peoples Pro- 21 Aug 2012). While the problem of gressive Party headed by Prime Minis- political instability is indeed very real, ter Kilman, the Green Confederation the idea of changing the voting system political reviews • melanesia 533 did not seem to win over many voters. Office, Kilman owed Value Added Tax Most people understood their propos- and rents amounting to vt13 million als and would have seen changing (VDP, 12 Oct 2012). The following the voting system as far too radical a day, the prime minister’s first political solution. The Presidential Party got advisor, Richard Kaltongga, denied slightly fewer than three thousand the existence of the debt and threat- votes in the national election—a mere ened the media with “stringent legal 2 percent of the total (Vanuatu Gov- controls” to ensure ethical reporting ernment 2012). (VDP, 13 Oct, 16 Oct 2012). Within The election was scheduled for 30 a few days, the Council of Minis- October 2012, with the campaign set ters decided to remove the principal to run from 10 to 27 October, but due electoral officer, Lawson Samuel, and to the high interest nationally, cam- replaced him with the commissioner paigning and recruiting of supporters of labor because of alleged “complica- had been going on unofficially for tions faced by candidates who submit- months. Preparations by the Electoral ted their names,” which included the Office began earlier in the year with prime minister (VDP, 19 Oct 2012). a voter-awareness program, while the Kilman was allowed to contest the task of updating the electoral roll had election and won, but newly elected been going on regularly at designated mp Willie Jimmy instituted an appeal times throughout the year. in the Supreme Court to clarify A major controversy occurred whether the prime minister had in fact in mid-October, when the Electoral cleared the debt (VDP, 9 Nov 2012). Office published its first list of names The court did not make a ruling until of candidates who had qualified to February, quashing the petition (VDP, 9 stand for the election, that is, those Feb 2013). who had met the requirements as There were a few minor incidents specified under the law in the Repre- at polling stations, but the voting sentation of the People Act (Vanuatu and counting went off without major Sessional Legislation 2006): Vanuatu incident. Nevertheless, a number of citizenship, minimum twenty-five political leaders labeled the election years of age, not disqualified from vot- as the “worst in history” due to many ing, not currently imprisoned or under irregularities in voting—in particular, a suspended sentence not yet ended, inaccuracies in the electoral roll (eg, and not in bankruptcy. Among those missing names) and alleged fraud not qualified was the prime minister, relating to proxy voting. In addi- Sato Kilman, who had fallen victim tion, there were alleged widespread to a new requirement, added to the attempts to bribe voters during the act in 2007, that an individual would campaign period and promises of cash be disqualified as a candidate if he to newly elected members of Parlia- or she was “in default of payment of ment during the government forma- any rates, charges or other debts due tion period (VDP, 10 Nov 2012). to the Government or Government The problem with the electoral roll agency” (Vanuatu Sessional Legisla- is that it is very difficult to maintain in tion 2007). According to the Electoral its present form. Updating is done by 534 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) electoral and provincial administrative the 2012 election has led the govern- officers traveling around the islands ment to seek development assistance and through the neighborhoods of to introduce a biometric voting system Port Vila and Luganville, interview- involving photograph and thumb- ing individuals and family members. prints before the next anticipated There is no automatic way to remove election in 2016. the names of people who are deceased The 2012 election continued several or to easily amend the registration of trends of previous elections. Beginning people who have changed residence— in the 1990s, the number of parties an increasing problem, as the move- and candidates contesting elections ment of people in search of employ- has been steadily increasing, splitting ment is on the rise. According to the the vote to the degree that no single 2009 national census, Vanuatu’s total party has been able to win a majority population was 234,023, of which of the seats in Parliament. In 1979, 143,050 were age eighteen years or there were 14 parties and 69 candi- older. At the same time, the official dates, compared to 37 parties and 345 count of total registered voters was candidates in 2012. The Vanua‘aku 192,632—nearly 50,000 more than Pati was able to form majority govern- possible, given the census data (Vanu- ments following the 1979, 1983, and atu National Statistics Office 2009). 1987 elections, but when the party The Daily Post ran a story with these split in 1991, no single party captured figures, which elicited a number of a majority of the votes, leading to the letters from the public in response, formation of a coalition government. expressing outrage at the situation This has been the pattern ever since (VDP, 12 Oct 2012). and is the main factor contributing to The degree of the obvious inac- Vanuatu’s political instability. Like- curacy of the electoral roll cast doubt wise, the increase in vote splitting has over the validity of the final election had a negative effect over the years on results and, in particular, the problems the degree of representation in Par- concerning proxy voting. In Vanuatu, liament. The percentage of the total individuals can designate someone vote won by successful candidates in their home islands to vote on their has declined almost every year since behalf by sending their electoral cards independence—from a high of 76.4 through electoral officials. Given the percent in the 1979 election to a mere present registration system, there is no 35.7 percent in 2012—meaning that way to check to see whether people Vanuatu’s Parliament was elected by have more than one card. It is com- only a minority of the voters (Van mon knowledge that this is the case; Trease 2005). thus double voting is commonplace, To the surprise of many, Sato which can easily tip an election result Kilman’s coalition was returned to one way or the other. Indeed, sev- power, gaining 29 seats versus 23 eral of the electoral challenges dealt for the rival alliance led by Edward with by the court after the election Natapei, the former prime minister involved alleged illegal proxy voting. whom Kilman had replaced in a vote The severity of the problem faced in of no confidence in December 2010 political reviews • melanesia 535

(VDP, 19 Nov, 20 Nov 2012). Of Melanesian to be elected to Parliament special significance was the gain made was, of course, Prime Minister Moana by Graon mo Jastis Pati—an increase Carcasses (Republic of Vanuatu 2012). of three rural seats in addition to The issue of corruption in govern- that held by the party’s leader, Ralph ment, which had received ongoing Regenvanu in Port Vila. The 2012 coverage in the media throughout election also marked the end of long much of 2012 and before, was a major political careers for two senior politi- issue in the campaign, as well as the cians—Maxime Carlot Korman (vrp), Kilman debt issue and his reversal of who was elected to the country’s first Vanuatu’s long-standing support for Parliament in 1979, representing Port West Papuan independence by allow- Vila, and Sela Molisa (vp), represent- ing Indonesia observer status in the ing Santo, who was first elected in the Melanesian Spearhead Group and by early 1980s (Vanuatu Electoral Com- signing the Development Cooperation mission 2013). Agreement. Indeed, there had been The resulting coalition govern- a strong feeling that Kilman and his ment included Kilman’s own People’s coalition partners would be defeated, Progressive Party (6); Green Confed- but the optimism turned out to be eration (3); Iauko Group (3); Nagri- a reflection of the political bubble amel (3); rmc (3); National United that isolates Port Vila from the rest Party (3); Natatok (2); Peoples Service of the country. Social media played Party (1); Vanuatu National Party an important role in raising political (1); Vanuatu Republican Party (1); awareness for the first time, but the Vanuatu Development Progressive outer islands would have been much Party (1); Independents (1); and one less connected compared to the two member of the Union of Moderate urban centers. The historical differ- Parties (1)—Tanna mp Silas Iatan— ence in degree of awareness of politi- who refused to join the rest of his cal issues between urban and rural party in opposition. The Opposition, voters was again borne out in the final led by Edward Natapei, was made up results. While the Opposition did well of his own Vanua‘aku Pati (8); Union in Port Vila, capturing five of the six of Moderate Parties (4); Graon mo seats, the government parties actually Jastis Pati (4); Melanesian Progressive increased their numbers in the coun- Party (2); Liberal Democratic Party try overall. No Port Vila members (1); Independents (3); and National of Parliament were included in the United Party (1)—Tanna mp Mokin new Kilman government (McDonnell Stephen, who refused to join his party 2012). in government. Women did not do As is common in Vanuatu, it took very well; only ten contested and none time for the final election results to were elected. A surprise to many was settle down. In early December, the the election of a waetman (white man) Natapei-led opposition introduced a as member of Parliament from the motion of no confidence in the newly island of Epi—longtime resident and confirmed Kilman government but naturalized citizen from the United lacked the numbers to bring about a States, Robert Bohn. The first non- change (VDP, 1 Dec, 11 Dec 2012). 536 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

There was much dissatisfaction among board—was a jolt to the community, the Opposition parties regarding the given all the rumors surrounding the conduct of the election, with the result Phocea (VDP, 17 Nov 2012). (One US that twenty-four electoral petitions dollar is approximately 1.08 Austra- were registered with the Supreme lian dollars.) Court. Ralph Regenvanu (gjp) was In early December, efforts by the particularly concerned about the large government to release the Phocea number of proxy votes that were cast failed when Director of Ports and and called for the “investigation of Marine Morris Kaloran ruled that a allegations that the Principal Electoral deed of release signed by Infrastruc- Officer Lawson Samuel was trans- ture Minister Harry Iauko was not ferred out of his post on the eve of the in order, that is, it was done without election so that 1000’s of false proxies consulting Ports and Marine and could be issued to be used in favor of thus did not meet the requirements certain caretaker ministers who were for dealing with such a situation as facing defeat in the election” (VDP, 3 required by law (VDP, 8 Dec 2012). Nov 2012). Most electoral petitions Three days later, the minister was were not dealt with until 2013, and found dead in a hotel room in Lugan- none of them were successful. ville—Vanuatu’s second city, located With the election over, attention on the northern island of Santo. The turned once again to the Phocea, doctor in attendance said that the which was still anchored in Port Vila cause of death was unclear, but no harbor. The captain’s case finally autopsy was performed. Iauko had came to judgment in the magistrate flown to Luganville the day before court, which fined him vt310,000 (10 December) following the success- for breaching Vanuatu’s Custom Act. ful defeat by the Kilman government At the same time, the trial date was of the no-confidence vote. Rumors of set for the two ministers who had wrongdoing were flying everywhere, illegally boarded the yacht before it with the suggestion that his death was had cleared immigration and customs, somehow linked to the Phocea and Alfred Carlot and Marcellino Pipite a mysterious Southeast Asian—or (VDP, 15 Nov 2012). As for the yacht South American—looking woman at itself, it was still under detention. the hotel who allegedly boarded the According to the police, it had been next morning’s Air Vanuatu flight to discovered that the members of the Brisbane. There does not appear to crew had forged their qualifications have been any police investigation, and certificates and were not, there- and nothing further about the death fore, qualified to man the vessel in was reported in the media except the Vanuatu waters (VDP, 16 Nov 2012). government’s expressing sympathy to The next day’s front-page story in the the family and lamenting the loss of a Daily Post—which reported the dis- “man of action” (VDP, 12 Dec, 13 Dec covery of a grounded yacht in Vava‘u 2012). At the end of December, Prime in Tonga with more than 200 kilo- Minister Kilman authorized the release grams of cocaine (worth an estimated of the Phocea, claiming that there was a$116 million) and a dead man on no longer any legal basis to retain the political reviews • melanesia 537 yacht. The controversy, however, was ists—particularly those of the Vanuatu far from over. A local lawyer, Less Daily Post and via the Vanuatu Daily Napuati, had filed a damages claim Digest, a daily news blog by longtime against the owner of the Phocea for resident and private journalist Bob forging his signature on official docu- Makin. ments, and the yacht was not allowed In mid-January 2013, information to leave. surfaced raising questions about the The year 2012 came to an end with yacht’s official registration and owner- many questions yet to be answered ship. Documents identifying both about the Phocea affair and, indeed, Luxembourg and Malta were used much uncertainty about the future. on the Phocea’s voyage to Vanuatu, Would the questionable sale of govern- but there was a question regarding ment land be allowed to continue? the true owners. Pascal Anh Quan Would the arbitrary dismissal of Saken’s name appeared on documents public officials by the government for entry into Panama, French Poly- in pursuit of its own questionable nesia, and Tonga (VDP, 12 Jan, 17 Jan agenda continue? Would the blatant 2013). Vanuatu’s Ports and Marine corruption and abuse of office that Department, however, reported that had become so obvious to everyone it had received advice from the Malta through the media, which diligently Shipping Registry that Maltese regis- reported despite some threats from tration had been obtained mid-2012 government officials, continue without “without any proof of ownership and provoking some sort of reaction by other requirements” and had, there- civil society? Would the Kilman gov- fore, been canceled as of 14 January ernment be able to hold onto power? 2013. In the view of Vanuatu officials, As is normal in Vanuatu, it took the Phocea had become “effectively several weeks following the Christ- stateless and remained under detention mas and New Year holiday period at anchor in Port Vila Harbour” (VDP, for anything newsworthy to surface, 19 Jan 2013). except for the continuing revelations The link between the Phocea and about the Phocea. The yacht remained prominent government politicians was at anchor in Port Vila harbor—a again thrust into public view when reminder of the disturbing events of it was reported a few days later that the previous year. The fact as noted Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred in the Daily Post that the Vanuatu Carlot had traveled to Port Moresby government no longer had any link in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where with Interpol (VDP, 8 Jan 2013)—hav- he met a chartered flight carrying Pas- ing expelled the Australian Federal cal Anh Quan Saken and his brother, Police in May 2012 (VDP, 1–11 May Charles Henry Saken. Flight clear- 2012)—deprived authorities of what ance had been requested by Vanuatu’s could have been valuable assistance embassy in Brussels—the official docu- in sorting out the sleazy Phocea saga. ment from the embassy was reprinted What information did become avail- on the front page of the Daily Post able to the public was due mainly to (VDP, 19 Jan 2013)—but the plane the dedicated efforts of local journal- appears to have arrived unannounced, 538 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) raising the concern of PNG officials. Prime Minister Kilman, having A report by the PNG police quoted clearly lost control of his minister of in the Post-Courier in Papua New foreign affairs, responded to questions Guinea on 21 January noted that the from a Daily Post reporter that he two Saken brothers were naturalized “did not know that his Foreign Affairs citizens of Vanuatu and “alleged that Minister, Alfred Carlot, would attend Mr Quan has travelled extensively a meeting in Papua New Guinea with into many hostile and trouble hotspots Phocea fugitive Pascal Saken” (VDP, 21 in the world and thus has been impli- Jan 2013). A few days later, he tried to cated in illegal gun running and drug distance himself further by announc- trafficking activities in the recent past, ing through his first political advisor, especially in the Golden triangle area Richard Kaltongga, that “Alfred Car- in South East Asia and in Central and lot’s trip to Papua New Guinea, which South America. . . . What is more the Prime Minister’s Office was not suspicious is that they did stop over at informed of, was a private trip,” and the tax haven country of Maldives for he denied rumors of Saken’s having re-fuelling purpose as indicated by the provided funds to the prime minister’s pilot” (quoted in Makin 2013b). Peoples Progressive Party. “Maybe he Saken explained that as “Deputy funded some other political parties but Head of Vanuatu’s Embassy in the not ppp,” argued the political advisor European Union headquarters in (VDP, 27 Jan 2013). Belgium, . . . his work as a diplomatic The continued presence of the representative focuses on energy and Phocea was a growing threat to disaster management projects. . . [and] Kilman and his government and he Alfred Carlot was so impressed by was eager to get the yacht out of Port our work that I have done in Belgium Vila. The main stumbling block to that he wanted us to go to the USA to achieving this appears to have been implement the same program. So, that Director of Ports and Marine Mor- is why I came to PNG, because the ris Kaloran, who had refused to only place for a Vanuatu citizen to get release the yacht because it was not a visa for the USA is PNG.” He also in compliance with Vanuatu’s laws. strongly denied that he was a drugs The government’s solution was to or arms smuggler (VDP, 26 Jan 2013). prod the Public Service Commission At the same time, PNG Prime Minis- to suspend Kaloran from his position ter Peter O’Neill issued a statement (VDP, 22 Jan 2013). A leaked e-mail denying “media allegations linking his between Kilman’s first political advi- government to Phocea fugitive wanted sor and Kaloran dated 29 December in Vanuatu, Pascal Anh Quan Saken, 2012 revealed that the director had arriving in a Boeing 737 jetliner which been subjected to significant political made an unexpected illegal landing pressure. He was told, “If you can- at Jackson’s Airport,” and Carlot not comply with the Prime Minister’s announced that his trip to Papua New instructions please advise and forward Guinea was a diplomatic mission and your resignation immediately” (VDP, had nothing to do with the Sakens or 31 Jan 2013). Kaloran, a long- the Phocea (VDP, 22 Jan 2013). standing and highly respected public political reviews • melanesia 539 servant, was finally terminated in late new Kilman government. The land- February (VDP, 26 Feb 2013). owners had worked together to map Despite the government’s efforts to out and register their custom land in silence the uproar, the Phocea and the the name of the community in order to questionable activities of its alleged safeguard it for their own future use, owner, Pascal Anh Quan Saken, would but the minister ignored this develop- not go away. In mid-February, Prime ment and signed a lease recognizing Minister Kilman found it necessary to another individual from Mele village respond to continued media allega- as the landowner, who then sold the tions linking him to Saken with a 2,300-hectare lease to two wealthy statement denying that his political naturalized citizens, Michel Monvoisin election in 2012 or the formation of and Ludovic Bolliet, for a fraction of government had received financial its value (VDP, 9 Jan, 10 Jan 2013). support from Saken (VDP, 16 Feb A stay order issued by the court has 2013). That the prime minister found prevented the final lease from being it necessary to make such a state- issued, but the dispute is still not ment is an indication of the culture of settled (VDP, 11 Jan 2013). corruption that has come to underlie In late February, the Daily Post Vanuatu politics and fuel the political reported that the leader of the instability over the past two decades. Opposition had had a meeting with Seldom does an election or vote of no the prime minister to discuss a num- confidence occur that accusations are ber of problems facing the country, not voiced of money changing hands. including the increasing evidence of Members of the Opposition, some corruption in government (VDP, 20 of whom had emphasized the issue of Feb 2013). Not surprisingly, Nata- corruption in the national election a pei raised the issue of the visit of the few months earlier, expressed their dis- minister of foreign affairs to Papua gust over the stench of corruption that New Guinea and noted his concern continued into the new term of the over Minister Carlot having per- Kilman government. Edward Natapei, formed a customary ceremony of leader of the Opposition, demanded reconciliation with Prime Minister that Kilman terminate the minister of O’Neill on his recent visit to Port Vila foreign affairs or “any other ministers on behalf of the Vanuatu government who involved themselves in similar (VDP, 9 Feb 2013). Natapei noted that situations that could affect Vanuatu’s if Carlot’s trip to Papua New Guinea credibility regionally and internation- was a private matter—as the Prime ally” (VDP, 24 Jan 2013). Minister’s Office had announced— Likewise, the new gjp member for then no reconciliation ceremony the Efate Rural constituency expressed between the two governments was his objection to the decision by new necessary. Minister of Lands James Bule to grant The discussion also focused on a lease to a developer of land in the specific political issues and propos- Lelepa/Mangaliliu area of North Efate als. Natapei expressed his disapproval known as Lelema—which indicated of the appointment of mp Moana that it was business as usual for the Carcasses as parliamentary secretary 540 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) to the prime minister, which had taken be declared. Likewise, as a means to place in January—the first time in the stop the frantic buying of the support history of Vanuatu since independence of members of Parliament to form a that such a position had been created majority after an election, the party (VDP, 12 Jan 2013). Natapei repeated with the highest number of elected his argument at the time that the members should be given the first appointment was unjustified—it was chance to form a new government. at the ministerial level—and accused Despite his weak position, Kilman Kilman of simply “creating a job for apparently was not prepared to work an mp to keep the Government intact” with Natapei and the Opposition. (VDP, 15 Jan 2013). It should be noted Within a few weeks, Vanuatu was in that article 40 (2) of the constitution the midst of another disruptive vote stipulates that only thirteen minis- of no confidence—not surprising, ters are allowed. While Carcasses’s given the government’s chaotic state of Green Confederation formed part of affairs. the Kilman government, he had not If there was to be a challenge to been given a ministry at the time of its Kilman’s leadership, the approach- formation in November 2012. ing budget session of Parliament— Most significant was Natapei’s scheduled for 8–22 March—would offer to work with the government. provide the opportunity for members Natapei proposed that Kilman to take action. The political situation undertake a major reshuffling of was, however, somewhat confused his cabinet—to remove some of his with rumors growing that some ministers—in order to accommodate backbenchers within the government the whole of the Opposition as part were looking for a change of leaders of the government. This move on the from within their own group with the part of the leader of the Opposition expectation that this would attract was quite unusual in Vanuatu politics. Opposition backing. In anticipation of Rather than simply trying to destabi- such a scenario occurring, a number of lize the government to gain power by Opposition members began to change prying loose members of the existing sides in advance of a motion being coalition, Natapei hoped to be able lodged. It was reported that—with the to reason with Kilman—to argue that exception of the party leader, Serge the best way to deal with the country’s Vohor, who remained loyal to Nata- difficult problems would be to com- pei—all ump members of Parliament, bine their efforts in a kind of grand led by Port Vila mp Tony Wright, coalition or government of national broke ranks with the Opposition to unity. join the government (VDP, 8 March, Natapei also shared his ideas about 9 March 2013). new legislation that the Opposition The Daily Post observed that as hoped to introduce to “combat cor- Parliament opened, there appeared to rupt practices in Vanuatu politics.” be three factions among Prime Min- He proposed that legislation be ister Kilman’s supporters in govern- introduced to require that all outside ment, which made the decision of the sources of funding for political parties Opposition to lodge a motion of no political reviews • melanesia 541 confidence on 11 March somewhat resignation just prior to the conven- unusual. The motion was signed by ing of the session and had assumed only 16 of the 51 sitting members (the the position of interim prime minister Speaker is the fifty-second member but until a vote for his replacement could would not have been eligible to sign). take place. Wells then announced It appeared that the Opposition did that since the only item on the not have the numbers needed to pass agenda was to debate a motion of the motion (VDP, 19 March 2013). It no confidence and the prime min- should be noted that because Parlia- ister had resigned, the purpose of ment was already in session, only one- the sitting was defeated. The leader sixth of the members needed to sign of the Opposition, as mover of the in order to table a motion, whereas a motion, immediately pointed out that majority would be required to call an there were, in fact, two parts to the extraordinary session (Constitution of motion—first to remove the prime the Republic of Vanuatu, paragraph minister (which was now unnecessary) 43 [2]). The government responded a and then to elect a new prime minister. few days later by presenting a motion Natapei then moved that Parliament to the Speaker to suspend MP Ralph should proceed immediately to elect Regenvanu, who had introduced the a new prime minister. Speaker Wells, motion. It accused him of attempting however, announced that Parliament to destabilize Parliament by “present- would meet one week later on 29 ing no confidence motions when the March to elect a new prime minister opposition hasn’t got the number in and declared the session closed (VDP, parliament to vote them out” (VDP, 21 March 2013). 15 March 2013). Nevertheless, the Natapei announced to the Daily Speaker, George Wells, confirmed that Post that the Opposition would seek the motion of no confidence in the an immediate court ruling on the government was in order and sched- Speaker’s decision, which, he pointed uled a debate for the following week. out, was in contravention of Parlia- On Tuesday, 19 March 2013, with the ment’s Standing Order 9 (3), which defection from the government of 2 stipulates that “the position of prime government ministers and 6 members minister must be filled immediately of Parliament, the Opposition’s num- when it becomes vacant.” When asked bers had increased to 28—more than whom the Opposition would support enough to bring down the Kilman for prime minister, Natapei answered government (VDP, 20 March 2013). that their candidate would be Port However, as is usual in the lead-up to Vila mp Moana Carcasses, adding that a no-confidence motion in Vanuatu, he knew the choice was controversial the unexpected is always possible. since Carcasses is a “ni-Vanuatu by The Opposition members were in naturalization . . . [but] he has every high spirits when they entered Parlia- constitutional right to become a Prime ment on the afternoon of 20 March, Minister of Vanuatu” (VDP, 22 March but the mood quickly changed when 2013). Speaker Wells announced that Prime The chief justice, Vincent Lunabek, Minister Kilman had handed in his ruled in favor of the Opposition’s 542 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) application, noting that “the Speaker’s (ump), Minister of Youth Develop- decision that the Parliament session ment and Sport. The other seven min- has no other business to discuss due isters included: Bob Loughman (vp) to the prime minister’s resignation from Tanna, Minister of Education; is irrelevant as the resignation is an Esmon Sae (mpp) from Malakula, external matter that can’t be allowed Minister of Infrastructure and Public to interfere with the procedures and Utilities; David Tosul (ppp) from Pen- processes of the parliament as stated tecost, Minister of Agriculture; Mar- in Article 42 of the Constitution.” cellino Pipite (vrp) from Santo, Min- The chief justice, therefore, ordered ister of Tourism and Commerce; Serge the Speaker to reconvene Parliament Vohor (ump) from Santo, Minister on 23 March “to allow the motion of Health; Maki Simelum (vp) from against the Prime Minister to con- Ambrym, Minister for Justice and tinue” (VDP, 23 March 2013). When Social Welfare; and Thomas Laken the vote was taken, Moana Carcasses (independent) from Tanna, Minister of was elected prime minister with 34 Planning and Climate Change. On the votes in favor and 18 against. Ham whole, due to the heavy representa- Lini (nup) from Pentecost became tion of Port Vila, the cabinet was not leader of the Opposition. well balanced regionally—always an In early April, the new govern- important consideration in coalition ment passed a motion to suspend the formation and a fact that would not Speaker from parliamentary sittings go unnoticed in the months that fol- until the end of 2013 in retaliation lowed. for his attempt to stymie the vote of In early April, Prime Minister no confidence against Kilman (8 April Carcasses announced what he called 2013). He was replaced as Speaker the “100 Day List” of priorities to be by Philip Boedoro (vp) from Maewo. achieved during the first one hundred A rumor began to circulate that the days of the government’s term in new Opposition would be tabling a office; it included sixty-eight specific no-confidence motion against the new items (VDP, 11 April 2013; Vanuatu government, but nothing eventuated Government 2013). In addition to and, in the end, Lini admitted that the usual reorganization of minis- they did not have the numbers (VDP, terial portfolios and departments, 8 April 2013). appointment of political advisors and Carcasses’s cabinet included all six directors general, and review of the of Port Vila members of Parliament: membership of all boards to various Moana Carcasses (Green Confedera- statutory bodies and institutions, the tion), Prime Minister; Edward Nata- new government laid out an array of pei (vp), Deputy Prime Minister and specific policy objectives it intended Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; to pursue. There was heavy emphasis Willie Jimmy (Liberal Democratic on dealing with the issue of corruption Party), Minister of Finance; Ralph in government, especially activities Regenvanu (gjp), Minister of Lands; that had attracted regular, prominent Patrick Crowby (ump), Minister of news coverage such as the misuse of Internal Affairs; and Tony Wright government vehicles and overseas political reviews • melanesia 543 travel. Favoritism in the awarding of year, and the new government pro- scholarships for university studies was posed to review its costs and benefits an ongoing problem, and a proposal to Vanuatu. was included to ensure transparency Evidence of corruption in the in selection based on merit rather operation of the Citizenship Commit- than family connection. One of the tee prompted the inclusion in the “100 most important proposals to deal Day List” of a proposal to establish a with corruption was to amend the commission of inquiry “to investigate Ombudsman Act to “re-instate the and audit all Vanuatu citizenships power of the Ombudsman to institute granted and Vanuatu passports issued a civil case against a leader to recover and to cancel all citizenship granted misappropriated funds and to be able which did not meet the requirements to prosecute a leader for breach of the of the Constitution and the law” Leadership Code if the Public Prosecu- (Vanuatu Government 2013). In tor has not commenced proceeding addition, it was proposed that consid- three months after issuing a Report eration should be given to amending alleging breaches.” Unfortunately, this the constitution to provide for dual change had not been acted on by the citizenship. end of 2013. The appointment of a Not listed in the “100 Day List,” new police commissioner and attorney but clearly a high priority, was the general would also help to lay to rest government’s desire to be rid of the these lingering controversies. mega yacht Phocea and all the sus- Foreign affairs received early atten- picious activities and events associ- tion from the new government. There ated with it. In early April the prime was to be a full review of all overseas minister announced that, in his view, appointments—ambassadors, consuls, “the Phocea should leave” (VDP, 12 and trade representatives. Specific April 2013). This finally happened on reference was made to the removal 3 May 2013, when it was reported of the diplomatic status of Thi Tam that Customs was “compelled” to Goiset as ambassador to Russia and provide clearance for the vessel based to the review of the activities she on a certificate of registration alleg- had undertaken. In May, Minister edly provided by the New York office Natapei announced that Vanuatu of the Vanuatu Maritime Services would establish foreign relations with Limited (the institution that manages Georgia and revoke recognition of Vanuatu’s shipping registry). Customs Abkhazia, which became official in officials reportedly expressed disap- August (VDP, 22 May, 5 Aug 2013). pointment at the decision and noted The new government also committed that “Customs has clearly advised itself to support for West Papua’s full the government on what is the cor- membership in the Melanesian Spear- rect procedure according to the law head Group and for termination of and our international obligations, but the Development Cooperation Agree- the pm and State Law Office [SLO] ment with Indonesia that Kilman had have failed to understand our posi- negotiated. The msg Trade Agreement tion. It is therefore with great regret had become an issue in the previous that Customs will have to follow the 544 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) instructions of the pm and slo” (VDP, leases were surrendered (VDP, 8 May 3 May 2013). 2013). Despite a report from police and Land reform was not a new priority Customs officials that no firearms or for Regenvanu—he had been focus- drugs had been found in a search of ing his attention on land issues since the Phocea (VDP, 12 Feb 2013), many his time as director of the Vanuatu unanswered questions remained. Was Cultural Centre and was the driving there a connection between the death force in organizing the National Lands of the infrastructure minister in the Summit in 2006. Indeed, his short Kilman government, Harry Iauko, time as minister of lands and then as in December 2012, just three days minister of justice in the early years of after the director of Ports and Marine the Kilman government had given him had rejected his signed release form? the opportunity to identify specific What exactly were ministers Alfred areas in need of reform and to formu- Carlot and Marcellino Pipite doing on late a strategy to bring about reform. the Phocea prior to the yacht’s being Regenvanu’s strategy was to under- cleared by customs? Both men had take a series of consultations to inform appeared in court, and a trial date had and seek advice from communities been set, but no further hearings have around the country in the formula- taken place. tion of a Land Reform Policy, which Dealing with corruption in the he intended to take before Parliament Ministry of Lands was another high before the end of 2013. The consulta- priority area for the new govern- tions concluded with a National Land ment, but it was the aim of the new Law Summit in which the Malvatu- minister of lands, Ralph Regenvanu, mauri and chiefs from all around the to formulate comprehensive land country joined Minister Regenvanu reform legislation. The minister’s first and other government officials, step was to secure the suspension and including the director of the Vanuatu eventual removal of the sitting direc- Cultural Centre, in a full discussion of tor general of the Lands Department, the proposed land reform legislation. accusing him of allegedly “attempt- The National Land Law Summit and ing to pervert the course of current the Malvatumauri endorsed the new investigation, being undertaken by the legislation. The Efate Vaturisu Council Public Service Commission, concern- of Chiefs, however, was reluctant to ing the leases of state lands issued to commit to the new reform program, public servants” (VDP, 13 April 2013). noting that they needed more time Regarding this issue, the minister to consider the legislation because “requested all staff of the Department it affected their circumstances (VDP, of Lands who had obtained leases over 15–17 Oct 2013). state land from the former Minister of The land reform was, in fact, a Lands Steven Kalsakau to surrender package involving the reforms as well these leases” (VDP, 18 April, 20 April as new legislation and changes to the 2013). The result of meetings between constitution. Revisions to the Land the minister and the lands officers Reform Act of 1980 removed the concerned was, however, negative—no power of the minister of lands to sign political reviews • melanesia 545 off on leases on behalf of disputing the administration of land in Vanuatu custom owners and to create leases since independence. of state land without the approval of Another significant accomplish- the Council of Ministers. The new ment of the Carcasses government was Customary Land Management Act the passage of legislation to amend replaced the existing Customary Land the Municipalities Act to provide Tribunals Act of 2001 and “created reserved seats in the municipal coun- new processes for identifying custom cils of Vanuatu for women. This very owner groups and managing disputes progressive move—the first of its about custom ownership in accor- kind in the Pacific—follows years of dance with the rules of customary law. campaigning by women’s groups and It includes limited rights of appeal nongovernmental organizations to on grounds of improper process, for encourage women to become more example a meeting not being held active in politics. A small number of properly, but requires that final bind- Ni-Vanuatu women have succeeded ing determinations that identify cus- over the years in winning election to tom owner groups can only be made Parliament or municipal councils, but by customary institutions” (McDon- never more than one or two at a time. nell 2014). The amendment was passed unani- The new legislation required mously and guarantees 30 percent of adjustments to the constitution. the municipal council seats for women Article 30 was changed, requir- (VDP, 30 Aug 2013). It came into effect ing Parliament to consult with the in time for the Port Vila municipal Malvatumauri about any changes to election in January 2014. land law. A newly drafted article 78 Despite all the euphoria surround- defines custom ownership in Vanuatu ing the new direction of the Carcasses as associated with groups and guar- government, several controversial antees their right to resolve disputes decisions raised concern that cer- through their own processes rather tain negative aspects of Vanuatu than through formal state courts. politics seemed to be continuing as As Minister Regenvanu explained, usual. To the surprise of many, the “The new laws bring determination prime minister decided to terminate of custom owners back to custom- the highly respected Reserve Bank ary institutions, it removes the power governor, Odo Tevi, whose contract from courts and the government to Kilman had only recently renewed. determine who the custom owners The leader of the Opposition, Ham are and puts it back under rules of Lini, condemned the termination as custom” (McDonnell 2014). The a “critical mistake,” noting that “the legislation and constitutional amend- management of Vanuatu’s stable fiscal ments were passed by Parliament in policy was due very much to Tevi’s December, but the legislation was not strict control” (VDP, 27 April 2013). gazetted as law until early in 2014 The termination was seen by many (VDP, 3 Dec, 17 Dec 2013). Without as opening up a position for one of doubt, this land reform package rep- the prime minister’s friends, and Tevi resents the most important changes to instituted court action against the 546 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) government for breach of contract 767 planes to be able to land in Vanu- (VDP, 7 May 2013). atu, which it was said is not possible On the whole, the Carcasses-led at Bauerfield. The dream is that such government proved to be quite stable planes would be able to fly nonstop and lasted through to the end of from Asia, opening up a huge tour- 2013 without any major challenge. ist market for Vanuatu (VDP, 12 Jan A minor reshuffle did occur early in 2013). the year, when veteran Port Vila mp One definite effect of the termina- Willy Jimmy was replaced as min- tion of Willie Jimmy was that it helped ister of finance by the existing min- to slightly rectify the imbalance in ister of justice, Maki Simelum (vp) the cabinet of Port Vila members, from Ambrym, and MP Silas Yatan though five out of the six still held (ump) from Tanna replaced Sime- ministerial portfolios. The claim by lum as minister of justice. Carcasses the Opposition at this point that it explained only that the changes were had the numbers to table a motion of made because of differences of opin- no confidence quickly faded when it ion within the cabinet (VDP, 11 May became clear that this was not the case 2013). In an interview with the Daily (VDP, 16 May 2013). The rumor seems Post, Willie Jimmy swore that “there to have been true, however, that Willie was no such meeting held with other Jimmy was attempting to organize a MPs to discuss forming a political bloc new bloc to eventually challenge the as claimed in the media”—which sug- Carcasses government (VDP, 27 May gests that he may have been seen as 2013). a threat by Carcasses (VDP, 13 May As part of its strategy to under- 2013). mine Carcasses, the Opposition In due course, it became clear that issued a press release alleging that at the heart of the dispute was Wil- the prime minister was involved in lie Jimmy’s refusal to sign off on the illegal passport sales—a scandal that issue of a promissory note amount- has featured in the media repeatedly ing to us$350 million for a project at different times in the past. The negotiated by the prime minister with Opposition said that it had confirma- a Singapore company to upgrade tion of a website originating in China airports in Vanuatu without consulting “offering Vanuatu passports for sale even the minister of finance, let alone with certificates of citizenship.” The the cabinet as a whole (VDP, 14 May, press release also noted pointedly 15 May 2013). The most significant that if convicted, the prime minister element of the project was funding for could be “stripped of his citizenship constructing a new airport on North and evicted from the country” (VDP, Efate—an idea that had been floated 25 May 2013). The latter point was by Ham Lini as deputy prime minister a not-so-subtle reference to the fact in the Kilman government—rather that Carcasses is not an indigenous than upgrading the existing facility, Melanesian but rather a naturalized Bauerfield, close to Port Vila. The citizen of Tahitian and North African rational behind the project was to origin—a crude way of attacking the make it possible for larger 747 and prime minister that would increas- political reviews • melanesia 547 ingly be used by his opponents in the the previous December. His son, months to come. Pascal Sebastian Iauko, ran and was The government had flagged the claimed by the Opposition parties, investigation of irregularities in the who reminded voters prior to the operation of the citizenship com- election that Kilman had urged Pascal mittee as one of its “100 Day List” to follow in his father’s footsteps and priorities. In October, the Citizen- promised the people of Tanna at the ship Office had evidence that a “well burial that they—the government at established group had been issuing the time, but now the Opposition— false and fake Vanuatu certificates to would elect his replacement. The foreign nationals” and requested that combined support of the Opposition new citizens present their documents parties had been extremely success- for verification (VDP, 2 Oct 2013). It ful and Iauko won by a significant was reported that a number of Ni- majority (VDP, 29 May 2013). Pascal Vanuatu, including two Citizenship Iauko assumed the leadership of the Office officials and some politicians, Iauko Group, which his father had had been arrested and charged with organized to contest the 2012 election, issuing fake citizenship papers (VDP, 4 and indeed did join Kilman, Lini, and Oct 2013). others in the Opposition (VDP, 31 May Unrelated to the issue of fraudulent 2013). passports, the government announced West Papua continued to attract that it would be tabling a bill in Par- political attention when at the msg liament to amend the constitution— leaders summit in Lifou, New Caledo- a repeal of article 13—that would nia, it was decided to defer consider- make way for the recognition of dual ation of the issue of full membership, citizenship in Vanuatu. The move was despite strong backing from Vanuatu seen by many as benefiting Vanuatu by for the discussion to proceed (VDP, attracting remittances from future dual 19 June 2013). Carcasses had taken citizens living abroad, but the real a strong stand in support of West goal appears to be quite different. The Papua, but outspoken President of the creation of the category of dual citizen Oceania Decolonization Committee is part of a plan to introduce what Shem Rarua labeled the decision unac- has come to be known as the Capital ceptable (VDP, 20 June 2013). At inde- Investment Immigration Plan (ciip), pendence, Rarua had been a strong which would be an expansion of the member of the Vanua‘aku Pati, which scheme established in 2012 to sell supported West Papuan independence, permanent resident visas to wealthy and had continued to advocate for Chinese (see above). The ciip would, the cause despite breaking with the vp in effect, create economic citizens who in 1991 to join Father Walter Lini’s meet certain conditions, including the National United Party. Carcasses’s investment of funds in Vanuatu (VDP, response to the criticism on his return 26 Nov 2013). from the New Caledonia meeting was At the end of May, a by-election to again declare his strong support for was conducted on Tanna to replace West Papuan independence and to call Harry Iauko after his untimely death for the Opposition and the govern- 548 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) ment to unite on this important issue Yatan, who stepped down willingly— (VDP, 25 June 2013). he said—because he felt that the Another matter discussed at the “people of the Shepherd Outer Island msg leaders summit in New Caledo- do need an mp in an executive power nia that Carcasses felt strongly about [sic] to ensure that the population of was the msg Trade Agreement. On the Shepherds Outer Islands is not left his return to Port Vila, he issued a out of the important developments of strong statement that “Vanuatu does the country” (VDP, 5 July 2013). The not benefit from this Trade Agreement announcement several days later that and it is time we make our voice heard the Opposition had tabled a motion loudly” (VDP, 26 June 2013). The of no confidence would lead one to Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and suspect that the small reshuffle had Industry Forum in July concluded that something to do with shoring up the the msg Trade Agreement resulted government coalition, though this was in “huge trade imbalance which never confirmed publicly. Likewise, Vanuatu governments have ignored.” Carcasses dismissed Minister of Tour- In the past, Vanuatu used to export ism, Trade and Industry Marcellino large quantities of beef to Papua New Pipite for having signed the motion Guinea, but now Melanesian trade (VDP, 16 July 2013). goes mainly one way; in particular, Fiji The Speaker of Parliament, how- is able to export a significant range ever, ruled that the motion was not in of goods duty-free to Vanuatu (eg, order. He alleged that several signa- ice cream, water, paint, soap, tim- tures on the motion had been forged ber, paper products), while Vanuatu and that two of the members of Parlia- exports little in return (VDP, 4 July ment who signed were not eligible: the 2013). It is clear that Vanuatu is not newly elected member from Tanna, able to take advantage of the Trade Pascal Iauko, had not yet been sworn Agreement because of the limited in, and Luganville mp George Wells size of its manufacturing base—an was still under suspension until the indication that the country’s policy to end of the year (VDP, 12 July 2013). encourage foreign investment is not The leader of the Opposition, Ham working. Foreigners arrive to set up Lini, challenged the Speaker’s decision retail shops, but there is little signifi- in court (VDP, 16 July 2013). The chief cant investment in areas that could be justice, however, upheld the Speaker’s transformed into exports. Neverthe- decision relating to the misuse of the less, it is worth noting that the duty- signatures and agreed that neither free products from Fiji are cheap when Iauko nor Wells was eligible to sign compared to similar imports from the petition. His ruling was, therefore, Australia and New Zealand, which that “the motion of no confidence in is a significant benefit to Vanuatu Prime Minister Moana Carcasses was consumers. invalid and of no effect” (VDP, 19 July, Another minor reshuffle of the 22 July, 26 July 2013). government occurred in July, with It turned out that the plot to topple MP Toara Daniel from the Shepherds Carcasses was far more complex than replacing Minister of Justice Silas appeared on the surface. Following political reviews • melanesia 549 the 2012 election, Attorney General Port Vila, Pekoa Airport in Luganville, Ishmael Kalsakau and several others Santo, and Whitegrass Airport on had submitted an electoral petition Tanna, as well as the construction of against the prime minister, Minister a new airport on North Efate (VDP, 3 Tony Wright, and Minister Patrick Aug 2013). Crowby for allegedly having bribed It was never quite clear who or voters in the Seaside area of Port Vila what other companies or individuals with a bag of rice, money for kava, were actually behind the proposal, and vt1,000 to a family member. The but the business arrangements were expectation was that the electoral shocking. In return for construction petition would succeed and that the of the Efate airport, the Vanuatu gov- government coalition would collapse. ernment would hand over full control The result, however, did not go as the of it to the company concerned for plotters had hoped, with the Supreme fifty years to manage all aspects of its Court deciding that the accusations operation—that is, to set and col- had not been proved and dismissing lect all charges, such as landing fees the electoral petition completely, and and departure taxes, and control and the coalition was preserved (VDP, 31 profit from all associated commercial July 2013). Yet another small reshuffle concessions and real estate. After fifty occurred a few days later with the years, the airport would be handed appointment of mp Jonas James back to Vanuatu, and all of this from Paama as minister of justice. would, in theory, not cost the Republic At the same time, mp Toara Daniel of Vanuatu a single vatu. The us$350 from Shepherds moved from justice million loan guarantee was, in effect, a to tourism, filling the gap left by the means of holding the Vanuatu govern- dismissal of Marcellino Pipite (VDP, ment to ransom—to ensure that it did 3 Aug 2013). not change its mind at some point and Having avoided two disruptive attempt to renege on the deal. This votes of no confidence, the govern- actually happened in the Maldives, ment was suddenly faced with an with the government of the Maldives issue that had the potential to split and the gmr company ending up in the coalition from within. On the court (VDP, 7 Aug 2013). eve of the independence celebra- Not all members of the coalition tions, the prime minister unexpect- were in agreement. The Daily Post edly announced that he had signed a headline read: “gjp, vp May Not Vote concession agreement that “commit- For us$350 Million,” noting that ted the people of Vanuatu to paying “some mps in government are suspi- around vt33 billion for an airports cious of the deal and may not vote infrastructure development project in Parliament that promissory notes with a Singapore company, Vanu- to the value of about vt33 billion be atu Trade Development Private Ltd issued to the Singapore Company.” It (vtdpl),” which was linked in some was reported that the deal had been obscure way to the gmr International negotiated and signed by the prime Airports Pte Ltd. The proposal envis- minister without cabinet approval, aged upgrades to Bauerfield Airport in though Deputy Prime Minister 550 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014)

Edward Natapei gave his support, police announced the discovery of with some reservations (VDP, 8 Aug cocaine with a value of vt32 billion— 2013). the biggest drug bust in the history The idea of airport redevelopment of the South Pacific—concealed in has been around for years, but never a yacht that had been moored in carried out, due mainly to lack of Port Vila harbor for over two years. funding. Indeed, in 2008, specific leg- Originally called the Raj and renamed islation was passed by Parliament that the Scope after coming to Vanuatu laid out detailed procedures for the in 2011, the yacht had been searched use of private funding as an alternative earlier, when slight traces of cocaine to aid or a government loan (Vanuatu had been detected, but no drugs were Sessional Legislation 2008). Likewise, actually found. The cocaine was in January 2012, Ham Lini, the leader eventually uncovered below the steel of the Opposition and minister for floor of the engine under a layer of tourism at the time, announced that concrete—its discovery made possible he had spoken to possible Korean with the assistance of the Australian backers and intended to promote Federal Police (VDP, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, the development of a new airport on 26 Aug, 27 Aug 2013). North Efate, capable of accommodat- This was not the first illicit drug ing larger aircraft than the existing haul discovered with a connection to airport, Bauerfield (VDP, 12 Jan 2013). Vanuatu. In October 2011, Austra- While not opposing the idea of the lian Federal Police uncovered cocaine construction of a new airport, he was worth a$78 million in Bundaberg, strongly opposed to the current gmr Australia, on a yacht—Friday Free- project, labeling it a “scam” (VDP, 21 dom—that had arrived from Vanu- Aug 2013). atu as part of an annual yacht race. Parliament voted to set up an ad Australian Federal Police detected the hoc committee to discuss the conces- yacht when they were investigating a sion agreement further, and the project money-laundering syndicate. Clearly, is still under negotiation (VDP, 28 Aug Vanuatu has become a transit point 2013). With no clear picture about the for drugs, which most likely is part source of funding, it is worrying to of a larger network covering other think about what effect such arrange- islands in the South Pacific (abc News ments might have on Vanuatu. Given 2011). Unfortunately, despite these the country’s tax haven status and recent events—including the suspicious associated potential for the laundering circumstances surrounding the Phocea of dirty money—an activity successive and the unexplained death of Minis- governments have never wanted to ter Harry Iauko—there is very little acknowledge existed, let alone con- discussion among politicians about the trol—Vanuatu’s international standing fact that Vanuatu is becoming a focal could be seriously undermined. point of international criminal activity. Indeed, it is clear that Vanuatu’s There are of course many indi- reputation as a focal point for shady, viduals—politicians and government criminal activity is increasing. At the officials as well as others within civil end of August, the commissioner of society—who are prepared to speak political reviews • melanesia 551 out. Transparency Vanuatu, for for elected members to change party example, publishes a regular hard- membership or to instigate votes of no hitting column in the Vanuatu Daily confidence. Post highlighting issues and problems howard van trease in government, and the Graon mo Jastis Pati was able to increase its numbers in Parliament in the 2012 election by running on a platform that References included anticorruption as a major abc News. 2011. $78m Cocaine Bust at issue. Likewise, gjp leader Ralph Bundaberg Marina. 15 Nov. http://www Regenvanu has been prepared to .abc.net.au/news/2011-11-14/300kg-drug speak out about issues and confront -bust-in-queensland/3664164 [accessed individuals in Parliament in pursuit of 5 April 2014] more honest government. There was a Consolidated Legislation of the Republic sense in 2013, as the weeks passed and of Vanuatu. Available from the Pacific the government began to focus with Islands Legal Information Institute. some success on substantive issues, http://www.paclii.org/ that things might be changing under the new Carcasses-led government. Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu. While there were rumors on several Available from the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. http://www.paclii occasions of possible votes of no .org/ confidence, they never got beyond the talking stage. Makin, Bob. The Vanuatu Daily Digest. However, it is clear that the under- News blog. vanuatudaily.wordpress.com/ lying factor that limits the effective- category/the-news-digested/ ness of such individuals and organiza- ———. 2013a. Carcasses Government tions is Vanuatu’s political instability, Releases “100 Day” List. Vanuatu Daily brought on since 1991 by consecutive Digest, 11 April. vanuatudaily.wordpress coalition governments. History has .com/?s=100+day+list [accessed 2 April shown that it becomes almost impos- 2014] sible for a weak coalition to take a ———. 2013b. Saken Brothers Known strong stand on corruption when for Drugs, Arms Trade: Interpol. Vanuatu everyone knows that some of its own Daily Digest, 22 Jan. vanuatudaily members are tainted and would not .wordpress.com/2013/01/21/saken hesitate to bring the government down -brothers-known-for-drugs-arms-trade if they were exposed. Vanuatu is in -interpol-png-post-courier/ [accessed 2 need of some serious public discussion April 2014] on how best to tackle this problem— Malvatumauri, Vanuatu Cultural Centre be it reform of the electoral system to and Ministry of Lands. 2006. Part D: reduce the negative effect of the exces- Ministerial Powers Where Land Is Under sive number of candidates and politi- Dispute in Vanuatu National Lands cal parties, the imposition of stricter Summit Resolutions. Port Vila. rules on the formation and operation McDonnell, Siobhan. 2012. Social Media of parties, or changes to parliamentary Smokescreen? 21 Nov. Available from procedures to make it more difficult Zoom Info: http://www.zoominfo.com/ 552 the contemporary pacific • 26:2 (2014) p/Siobhan-McDonnell/1762127563 Vanuatu Government. 2013. Carcasses [accessed 5 April 2014] Government Releases 100 Day List. http://vanuatudaily.wordpress.com/2013/ ———. 2014. Better Protection for Cus- 04/11/carcasses-government-releases-100 tom Owners: Key Changes in Vanuatu’s -day-list/#more-1504 [accessed 5 April New Land Legislation. 4 March. Available 2014] from http://pacificinstitute.anu.edu.au/ outrigger/ [accessed 5 April 2014] Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. 2009 National Population and Housing Post-Courier. Daily. Port Moresby. Census. Volume 1: Basic Tables Report. dev.postcourier.com.pg Port Vila: Vanuatu National Statistics Republic of Vanuatu. 2012. Publication Office. http://www.pacificdisaster.net/ of Results and Candidates Elected for the pdnadmin/data/original/VUT_2009 2012 General Election, Notice 94 of 2012. _Census_ReportV1.pdf [accessed 5 April Republic of Vanuatu Official Gazette: 2014] Extraordinary Gazette 17, 6 Nov. Vanuatu Sessional Legislation. 2006. Supreme Court of Vanuatu. 2012. Consti- Representation of the People Act, tutional Case 02 of 2012 (08 June): The Chapter 146. Available from Pacific Government of the Republic of Vanuatu v Islands Legal Information Institute: The President of the Republic of Vanuatu http://www.paclii.org [2012] vusc 109; in the Supreme Court of ———. 2007. Representation of the the Republic of Vanuatu (Constitutional People (Amendment) Act 2007. Available Jurisdiction). Available from the Pacific from Pacific Islands Legal Information Islands Legal Information Institute: Institute: http://www.paclii.org http://www.paclii.org/ ———. 2008. Privately Financed Airport Van Trease, Howard. 2005. The Opera- Infrastructure Projects Act 2008. Available tion of the Single Non-Transferable Vote in from Pacific Islands Legal Information Vanuatu. Commonwealth and Compara- Institute: http://www.paclii.org tive Politics 43 (3): 296–332. VDP, Vanuatu Daily Post. Port Vila. ———. 2012. Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2011: Vanuatu. The Contem- porary Pacific 24:414–431. Vanuatu Electoral Commission. 2013. 9th General Elections Report: 30 October 2012. Port Vila: Vanuatu Electoral Com- mission.