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H.E. President Jioji Konrote's Address at the Opening Of
HE PRESIDENT JIOJI KONROTE’S ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE 2019-2020 SESSION OF PARLIAMENT Mister Speaker; The Honourable Acting Chief Justice and Honourable MeMbers of the Judiciary; The Honourable PriMe Minister; Honourable Cabinet Ministers and Assistant Ministers; The Honourable Leader of the Opposition; Honourable MeMbers of ParliaMent; Your Excellencies, High CoMMissioners, Ambassadors and MeMbers of the DiploMatic Corps; Distinguished Guests Ladies and GentleMen. Bula Vinaka, Namaste, Asalaam Alaykum, Noaia ‘e Mauri, and a very good morning to you all. 1. We are gathered together this morning, one year through this term of my government, to open the 2019-2020 Session of Parliament. 1 2. Wherever and however Fijians are joining us this morning; on television, streaming live on the Parliament website, Facebook or the Walesi app, or listening over radio, I’d like to welcome you and thank you for your civic interest in these proceedings. 3. Only six short years since the launch of our 2013 Constitution, we are undoubtedly still living some of the most conseQuential chapters of our history. As the journeys of many of the world’s great democracies and economically powerful nations have taught us: The quality of our leadership in these formative years will be defining for our political system. 4. I can recall the patriotic euphoria that gripped our nation following the successful conduct of our 2014 General Election. I have watched with growing pride as that excitement has produced higher public expectations for the rights we enjoy, the opportunities at our disposal, the 2 impact of our voices – at home and overseas – and the conduct of our elected leaders. -
Gender Politics in the Asia-Pacific Region
Gender Politics in the Asia-Pacific Region Amidst the unevenness and unpredictability of change in the Asia-Pacific region, women’s lives are being transformed. This volume takes up the challenge of exploring the ways in which women are active players, collaborators, partici- pants, leaders and resistors in the politics of change in the region. The contributors argue that ‘gender’ matters and continues to make a differ- ence in the midst of change, even as it is intertwined with questions of tradition, generation, ethnicity and nationalism. Drawing on current dialogue among femi- nism, cultural politics and geography, the book focuses on women’s agencies and activisms, insisting on women’s strategic conduct in constructing their own multiple identities and navigation of their life paths. The editors focus attention on the politics of gender as a mobilising centre for identities, and the ways in which individualised identity politics may be linked to larger collective emancipatory projects based on shared interests, practical needs or common threats. Collectively, the chapters illustrate the complexity of women’s strategies, the diversity of sites for action, and the flexibility of their alliances as they carve out niches for themselves in what are still largely patriar- chal worlds. This book will be of vital interest to scholars in a range of subjects, including gender studies, human geography, women’s studies, Asian studies, sociology and anthropology. Brenda S.A. Yeoh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore. Her research foci include the politics of space in colonial and post-colonial cities, and gender, migration and transnational communities. -
And That Its Economic Security Is of Paramount Importance. the Truest
ELECTION PLATFORM/CONSTITUTION and that its Economic Security is of paramount importance. The Constitutional Reform truest measure of a good society is the care it provides for those I am committed to engaging the Government of the day to ensure “Hugag ‘esea, Haihanisiga ma fe’eni most in need and the opportunity it provides them. I believe that all that the interests of our community and our special and unique tae la ut’akia is famor Rotuma se rere” people are created Equal in their entitlement to Dignity and status as an Indigenous ethnic group are protected at all times. In Respect, and should have an equal chance for every person to this regard I am equally committed to ensure that all amendments to This Platform provides the Policy Foundation from which I intend realise his or her full potential I believe that we must be the existing statutes (Rotuma Act, Rotuma Land Act etc) are done to work with the Rotuman Community in my aspiration to be Compassionate and be Committed in Reaching Out, following wide consultations, but more importantly changes are elected as Rotuma’s Parliamentary Representative in Fiji’s forth- Embracing, Protecting and Supporting those who are in need and effected with the full endorsement of the Chiefs and the people. coming General Elections. less fortunate in our community. I consider it my next calling and look forward to serving our people. Hugag’esea ho’am Hairot’akiga I intend to contest the Election as an Independent Candidate who Human Rights Hugag’esea ho’am Haifakte’akiga would be Responsive, and Representative, Accountable and Acces- I am fully committed to a just and tolerant society which fully Hugag’esea ho’am Hai’afaiiga sible, Efficient and Effective in trying to meet our peoples’ hopes supports and protects the Rights and Freedoms of all. -
Fiji's Road to Military Coup, 20061
2. 'Anxiety, uncertainty and fear in our land': Fiji's road to military coup, 20061 Brij V. Lal Introduction If civilization is to survive, one is driven to radical views. I do not mean driven to violence. Violence always compromises or ruins the cause it means to serve: it produces as much wrong as it tries to remedy. The State, for example, is always with us. Overthrow it and it will come back in another form, quite possibly worse. It's a necessary evilÐa monster that continually has to be tamed, so that it serves us rather than devours us. We can't do without it, neither can we ever trust it.2 Fiji experienced the whole gamut of emotions over the course of a fateful 2006. The year ended on an unsettled note, as it had begun. Fiji was yet again caught in a political quagmire of its own making, hobbled by manufactured tensions, refusing to heed the lessons of its recent tumultuous past, and reeling from the effects of the coup. Ironies abound. A Fijian army confronted a Fijian government, fuelling the indigenous community's worst fears about a Fijian army spilling Fijian blood on Fijian soil. The military overthrow took place 19 years to the day after frustrated coup-maker of 1987 Sitiveni Rabuka had handed power back to Fiji's civilian leaders, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, paving the way for the eventual return to parliamentary democracy. The 2006 coup, like the previous ones, deposed a democratically elected government. Perhaps more importantly, it peremptorily sidelined the once powerful cultural and social institutions of the indigenous community, notably the Methodist Church and the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC)3 ± severing with a startling abruptness the overarching influence they had exercised in national life. -
2016 Country Review
Fiji 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 4 Fiji 5 Pacific Islands 6 Chapter 2 8 Political Overview 8 History 9 Political Conditions 10 Political Risk Index 42 Political Stability 57 Freedom Rankings 72 Human Rights 84 Government Functions 87 Government Structure 92 Principal Government Officials 100 Leader Biography 101 Leader Biography 101 Foreign Relations 104 National Security 109 Defense Forces 111 Chapter 3 114 Economic Overview 114 Economic Overview 115 Nominal GDP and Components 117 Population and GDP Per Capita 118 Real GDP and Inflation 119 Government Spending and Taxation 120 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 121 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 122 Data in US Dollars 123 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 124 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 125 World Energy Price Summary 126 CO2 Emissions 127 Agriculture Consumption and Production 128 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 130 Metals Consumption and Production 131 World Metals Pricing Summary 133 Economic Performance Index 134 Chapter 4 146 Investment Overview 146 Foreign Investment Climate 147 Foreign Investment Index 151 Corruption Perceptions Index 164 Competitiveness Ranking 175 Taxation 184 Stock Market 184 Partner Links 185 Chapter 5 186 Social Overview 186 People 187 Human Development Index 188 Life Satisfaction Index 192 Happy Planet Index 203 Status of Women 213 Global Gender Gap Index 215 Culture and Arts 225 Etiquette 227 Travel Information 228 Diseases/Health Data 237 Chapter 6 243 Environmental Overview 243 Environmental Issues 244 Environmental Policy 252 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 253 Global Environmental Snapshot 264 Global Environmental Concepts 275 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 289 Appendices 314 Bibliography 315 Fiji Chapter 1 Country Overview Fiji Review 2016 Page 1 of 327 pages Fiji Country Overview FIJI Fiji became independent in 1970 after nearly a century as a British colony. -
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2000
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2000 Reviews of Papua New Guinea and tion of May 1999, became more overt West Papua are not included in this in the early months of 2000. Fijian issue. political parties, led by the former governing party, Soqosoqo ni Vakavu- Fi j i lewa ni Taukei (sv t), held meetings For the people of Fiji, the year 2000 around the country to discuss ways to was the most turbulent and traumatic oppose if not depose the government in recent memory. The country and thereby return to power. These endured an armed takeover of parlia- meetings helped fuel indigenous Fijian ment and a hostage crisis lasting fifty- unease and animosity toward Chaud- six days, the declaration of martial hry’s leadership. Signaling its move law and abrogation of the 1997 con- toward a more nationalist stance, the stitution, and a bloody mutiny in the sv t terminated its coalition with the armed forces. These events raised the Indo-Fijian–based National Federa- specter of civil war and economic col- tion Party in February, describing the lapse, international ostracism, and a coalition as “self-defeating.” future plagued with uncertainty and In March, the Taukei Movement ha r dship. Comparisons with the coups was revived with the aim, according of 1987 were inevitable, but most to spokesman Apisai Tora, of “rem o v - observers would conclude that the ing the government through various crisis of 2000 left Fiji more adrift legal means as soon as possible” (Sun, and divided than ever before. 3 May 2000, 1). In 1987 the Taukei The month of May has become Movement had spearheaded national- synonymous with coups in Fiji. -
Issues and Events, I992
.1 , • , Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, I992 FIJI Fijians and non-Indo-Fijians, won all The year 1992 may well be remembered the 5 seats allocated to that community. in Fiji as one of unexpected develop In an unexpectedly close contest, the ments in the political arena, dominated National Federation Party won 14 of by the general election in May. The the 27 seats allocated to the Indo-Fijian first half of the year was consumed by community, with the Fiji Labour Party the election campaign and the second securing 13. The Soqosoqo ni Vakavu half by its problematic reverberations. lewa ni Taukei was able to form a gov It ended with a promise to take Fiji ernment after entering into a coalition away from the politics ofracial divi with the General Voters Party and with sion toward a multiracial government the support of the Fijian National ofnational unity. Whether, and if, that United Front. Sitiveni Rabuka became occurs will be the challenge of1993. prime minister after Labour threw its The general election, the sixth since support behind him rather than Kami independence in 1970 and the first since kamica, who was backed by the the coups of1987, was preceded by a National Federation Party. long and sometimes bitter campaign Labour's strategy took supporters (see my article, this issue). Political completely by surprise. Its leaders fragmentation in the Fijian community argued that Rabuka was a changed accompanied the emergence of a num man who appeared to be a genuine ber ofpolitical parties and the rise of friend ofthe poor of all races. -
FIJI Dates of Elections: 10 to 17 July 1982 Purpose of Elections
FIJI Dates of Elections: 10 to 17 July 1982 Purpose of Elections Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. Characteristics of Parliament The bicameral Parliament of Fiji is composed of a Senate and a House of Represen tatives. The Senate consists of 22 members appointed by the Governor-General, of whom: - 8 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs; - 7 nominated by the Prime Minister; - 6 nominated by the Leader of the Opposition; - 1 nominated by the Council of the Island of Rotuma. Appointements are for 6 years, 11 members retiring every 3 years. The House of Representatives consists of 52 members elected for 5 years on the following basis; - Fijian: 12 members elected by voters on the Fijian Communal Roll; 10 members elected by voters on the National Roll. - Indian: 12 members elected by voters on the Indian Communal Roll: 10 members elected by voters on the National Roll. - General (persons neither Fijian nor Indian): 3 members elected by voters on the General Communal Roll; 5 members elected by voters on the National Roll. The "National Roll" consists of all registered electors on the three Communal Rolls. Electoral System Any person may be registered as elector on a Roll if he is a citizen of Fiji and has attained the age of 21 years. The insane, persons owing allegiance to a State outside the British Commonwealth, those under sentence of death or imprisonment for a term exceeding 12 months and those convicted of electoral offences may not be registered. -
Reflections on the First Anniversary of Fiji's 2006 Coup
30. One hand clapping: Reflections on the first anniversary of Fiji’s 2006 coup Brij V. Lal The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. Montesquieu Acquiescence is the friend of illegality. Justice Roger Coventry The first anniversary of Fiji's December 2006 coup passed uneventfully, without any rallies, protest marches or vigils ± merely an exhausted, scarcely audible mutter from the populace hankering for some semblance of normality. A Fijian political activist once likened Fiji to a swimming duck: All calm on the surface but furiously churning underneath. Just how much turbulence there was among indigenous Fijians is difficult to gauge, but its existence was beyond doubt. To forestall any organized opposition, the interim administration slapped on several states of emergency. Overall, 2007 remained a depressing and miasmic year, with much movement but little change. The military's much heralded `clean-up' campaign, the principal reason for the coup, was stalled, mired in controversy about its legal validity and true purpose. No one was successfully prosecuted for the misdemeanours for which they had been unceremoniously sacked from office. The judiciary, to everyone's disappointment, remained as divided and demoralized as ever. The constitution remained intact, but often `ignored or bypassed as deemed necessary'.1 International vigilance, manifested in travel bans on members of the interim administration, remained despite official pleas for sympathetic understanding and assistance. Fundamental changes to the electoral system were mooted, including a common non-racial electoral roll, a common name for all citizens, and reform of important institutions of indigenous governance, but there was reservation among many who were already distrusting of the interim administration's motives and its counterproductive confrontational approach to sensitive issues. -
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2002
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2002 Reviews of West Papua and Solomon mined, circumvented and ignored by Islands are not included in this issue. the highest in the land including those who were sworn in to uphold it” Fiji (Times, 19 May, 10). During the final The political and economic highlights months of 2002, the Fiji Labour Party in Fiji in 2002 have again brought and some quasi-political civil society into sharp focus a lesson painfully movements like the Citizens Constitu- learned after the 1987 military coups: tional Forum (ccf) questioned why it takes years to recover from the neg- some members of Parliament had been ative ramifications of any national permitted to continue serving in Prime political upheaval. The economic and Minister Qarase’s cabinet despite sociopolitical fallout of the May 2000 videotaped evidence of their close civilian coup in Fiji continued to involvement in the May 2000 civilian impact major events in both the uprising. The extensive video footage politico-legal and economic domains of siege activities at the Veiuto Parlia- of the nation during the year. The mentary Complex emerged during the path to economic recovery and socio- first treason trial of Josefa Nata and political normalcy was generally shaky Timoci Silatolu, which commenced on and fraught with difficulties. The local 26 November and featured deposed tabloids regularly featured major Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry scams within the civil service, exacer- as a key state witness (Post, 27 Nov, bated by gross fiscal mismanagement 2; Times, 29 Nov, 1). Following the by the state and a general lack of 14 November conviction of fifteen political goodwill between the major former Counter Revolutionary War- political parties—the ruling Soqosoqo fare Unit soldiers who had been found Duavata ni Lewenivanua (sdl) and guilty of the November 2000 mutiny the opposition Fiji Labour Party (flp). -
Economy and State in Fiji Before and After the Coups
Economy and State in Fiji before and after the Coups Bruce Knapman This paper is a rt;:vision and update of an earlier article on the economic consequences ofthe I987 military coups d'etat in Fiji (Knapman I988a). Its purpose is to explain what has happened against a background analysis of postindependence development, and to predict what is likely to happen. It is not prescriptive, but it does comment on the universalist, promarket, antistate analysis and policy recommendations in two recent books on the Fiji economy (Cole and Hughes I988; Kasper, Bennett, and Blandy I988). The conclusion is that Fiji probably faces a future ofeconomic stagnation. DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AND PERFORMANCE I970-1986 In I874, at the beginning of the colonial period, Fiji's largely self-sufficient subsistence economy supported a population of about I40,000 Fijians who tolerated a shaky frontier economy of less than 2000 white settlers and traders. By I970, at the end of the colonial period, Fiji had an export economy supporting a population of 480,000. Of these, 200,000 were indigenous land-owning Fijians, 76 percent ofwhom lived in rural villages and retained a significant commitment to subsistence agriculture and neo traditional society. Another 24°,000 were Indians, 6I percent of whom lived in rural areas: they were predominantly Fiji-born (therefore "Indo Fijian"), grew the principal export crop (sugarcane) on leased land, and were prominent in small-scale commercial and service enterprises. The remaining, almost entirely urban, population consisted of Europeans and Chinese who dominated the management of largely foreign-owned big business in the manufacturing (mainly sugar milling), banking, trade, and tourism sectors (Knapman I987, I; CES, July I988; Fisk I970, 36-42). -
Confronting Fiji Futures
CONFRONTING FIJI FUTURES EDITED BY A. HAROON AKRAM-LODHI Published by ANU eView The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at eview.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Confronting Fiji futures / A Haroon Akram-Lodhi (editor). ISBN: 9781921934292 (paperback) 9781921934308 (ebook) Subjects: Fiji--Politics and government. Fiji--Economic conditions. Fiji--Social conditions. Other Creators/Contributors: Akram-Lodhi, A. Haroon (Agha Haroon), 1958- editor. Dewey Number: 320.099611 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press. Cover photograph by M M (padmanaba01): www.flickr.com/photos/43423301@N07/3997565309/ First published 2000 by Asia Pacific Press This edition © 2016 ANU eView Stop Press Confronting the Present: The Coup of May 2000 A Haroon Akram-Lodhi On 19 May 2000, as With widespread doubt community politics that it ConfrontingFiji Futures went about who was in charge of suggested was not universal. to press, a group of 7 men the country, the Great It can be argued that the armed with machine guns Council of Chiefs met. On25 failure of the senior entered the Parliamentary May, following an intensely members of the government Complex in Suva. They took divided meeting, the council to recognise and seek to the Prime Minister, authorised the President to strengthen the fragility of Mahendra Chaudhry, establish, pending the the political consensus members of the Cabinet, and release of the hostages and helped create a climate that other members of the Fiji the resignation of the Prime made the coup possible.