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Amnesty International Report 2001

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Amnesty International Report 2001 Covering events from January - December 2000 FIJI Republic of the Fiji Islands Head of state: Ratu Josefa Iloilo (replaced Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara in July) Head of government: Laisenia Qarase (replaced Frank Bainimarama in July who replaced Mahendra Chaudhry in May) Capital: Suva Population: 0.77 million Official language: English Death penalty: retentionist A violent coup attempt in May led to widespread human rights abuses and a flagrant disregard for the rule of law. Scores of civilians, police and army officers were injured; some were killed. Thousands of Fijians of Indian ethnic origin were forced to leave their homes as a result of racist or opportunistic attacks and fear of violence. Decrees issued under martial law allowed for racial discrimination but preserved other basic human rights. These rights were, however, frequently violated during operations against suspected rebels. As many as six suspected rebels were reportedly beaten to death by soldiers following an attempted mutiny in November. Investigations into alleged human rights violations were hampered by fears of retaliation; no findings were made public. Political instability On 19 May an indigenous Fijian nationalist movement led anti-government demonstrations in the capital. During the demonstrations, members of the military's elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRWU) led by George Speight, a civilian, stormed parliament, and took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, his son and most government members of parliament hostage; the hostages were held for up to 56 days. The rebels declared the 1997 Constitution abrogated and ''appointed'' a president and government that ensured indigenous supremacy. The 1997 Constitution had removed previous guarantees, imposed after two military coups in 1987, of political dominance by indigenous Fijians. President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara declared a state of emergency after coup supporters rioted, looted and burned down shops and houses, the majority belonging to Indo-Fijians. Police allowed hundreds of coup supporters and the media to freely enter and leave the parliamentary complex. Coup leaders incited racist attacks against Indo-Fijians which masked indigenous power struggles behind the coup. Mobs terrorized towns and villages, took scores of people hostage, killed an unarmed policeman, shot several army officers and a cameraman, and ransacked a television station. Following threats against his life, President Mara dismissed the government and fled the capital on 29 May. The military commander, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, took power, declared martial law and published emergency decrees, drafted by the Chief Justice, to replace the Constitution and abolish the Supreme Court. A decree on fundamental rights and freedoms largely preserved Fiji's Bill of Rights but allowed for racial discrimination. Military leaders and the ethnic Fijian Great Council of Chiefs negotiated with the rebels on the release of the hostages, the conditions for an amnesty and the composition of a new administration. After all hostages were released in July, the military regime arranged the appointment of Laisenia Qarase as interim Prime Minister who formed a civilian, predominantly indigenous Fijian, administration. He appointed a committee to review the 1997 Constitution with the aim of replacing it with one that guarantees political supremacy and economic advancement for indigenous Fijians. Coup supporters welcomed the moves as effectively implementing their objectives. In November, eight soldiers died and dozens were injured during an attempted mutiny by CRWU members suspected of seeking to remove the military commander and to free coup leaders not released on bail. In November the High Court upheld the 1997 Constitution, rejected the dilution of human rights in decrees and declared that Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara remained President and should appoint a Prime Minister. An appeal against the ruling by the interim administration was pending at the end of the year. Hostage crisis Indo-Fijian and indigenous Fijian cabinet members held hostage by the rebels were detained in separate buildings within the parliamentary complex. Coup supporters beat the Prime Minister and his son, and there were reports that hostages were temporarily denied food and medical attention. George Speight publicly threatened to kill the Prime Minister. After the release of all hostages in July, the hostage-takers failed to comply with agreed conditions for an amnesty by not handing in all their weapons. Following further violence by coup supporters, the army and police arrested some 400 of them, a number of whom were ill- treated in custody. A majority were initially charged with minor offences and later released from detention. Many suspected coup leaders were later charged with treason and other serious crimes but most were conditionally released owing to insufficient evidence. Eight remained in detention awaiting trial at the end of the year. At least 1,500 ethnic Fijians were arrested for minor offences, and some reportedly retaliated against their Indo-Fijian victims after being released on bail. Abuses against Indo-Fijians During and after the hostage crisis, hundreds of Indo-Fijian homes and businesses were burned down or looted. In some rural areas, coup supporters terrorized Indo-Fijian farmers and robbed them of crops, cattle and valuables, often in order to feed the hostage-takers. There were reports of police complicity in some attacks and of widespread beatings, rapes and hostage-taking by indigenous Fijians. The authorities subsequently failed to cooperate with the new Fiji Human Rights Commission which investigated more than 120 complaints received following the coup attempt. At least 1,000 Indo-Fijians were internally displaced or made homeless as a result of the violence and thousands were forced to leave leased properties. Up to 350 found shelter in the town of Lautoka, where the non-governmental Fiji Human Rights Group organized a refuge. Members of the group and other human rights activists became the target of political intimidation and criminal investigations by police on suspicion of threatening national security. By November, all indigenous Fijians arrested for violence against Indo-Fijians had been released. By the end of the year, no one was known to have been convicted of any coup-related human rights violations. Torture/ill-treatment by the security forces There were reports that many of those arrested during operations against suspected rebels were severely beaten and bore visible injuries when they appeared in court. The interim Minister of Home Affairs stated that alleged brutality by members of the security forces against coup supporters would be investigated and disciplinary action taken. No such investigation was known to have taken place by the end of the year. In November, soldiers beat up to 39 CRWU members during arrest for their suspected involvement in an attempted mutiny and denied them visits by family members for at least a week. They faced military tribunals in 2001 on charges which carry the death penalty. Possible extrajudicial executions During an attempted mutiny at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in the capital in November, members of the CRWU who had recently been released from military custody took other soldiers hostage and reportedly killed three soldiers. Armed forces loyal to the government launched a counter-attack to free hostages and regained control of the barracks. Up to five CRWU soldiers arrested after the mutiny were reportedly beaten to death by members of the armed forces. On the night of their arrest, two of the dead CRWU officers were seen uninjured in custody at a police station before they were driven away by regular troops. The findings of autopsies on the two soldiers were not made public. An escaped convict who had engaged in rebel activities was killed by members of the army in November. Freedom of expression Felix Anthony, Secretary of the Fiji Trade Unions Congress, and other trade unionists were reportedly subjected to repeated short-term arrests and harassment. Fiji Broadcasting Commission staff were detained by the military and questioned for several hours about the source of a news item they had broadcast. AI country reports ● Fiji: Human rights under the Interim Military Government (AI Index: ASA 18/004/2000) ● Fiji: Human rights at risk (AI Index: ASA 18/009/2000).
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