Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: FJI31964 Country: Fiji Date: 17 July 2007 Keywords: Fiji – Indo-Fijians – Women – Fiji Labour Party – State protection This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. What is the current situation for ethnic Fijian Indians in Fiji? 2. In particular if they are members of the Fiji Labour Party (FLP)? 3. How effective is state protection in Fiji for ethnic Fijian Indians against non state agents? 4. What is the situation for female ethnic Fijian Indians in particular? 5. Whether the situation would be the same throughout Fiji or whether relocation an issue? RESPONSE 1. What is the current situation for ethnic Fijian Indians in Fiji? Information on the current situation for ethnic Fijian Indians is detailed in Research Request FJI31224 of 31 January 2007. (RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response FJI31224, 31 January – Attachment 1). A recent report on the situation for the world’s minorities made the following assessment about Fijian Indians: Fiji The year 2006 proved to be an eventful one for minority rights protection in Fiji. Despite the Fijian Labour Party, representing the large Indian minority (45 percent), taking its place in a power-sharing system with the ethnic Fijian Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua party, a military coup ousted the government on 5 December. The takeover – Fiji’s fourth in two decades – was the culmination of a long impasse between coup leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama and Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase over attempts to offer pardons to conspirators in the 2000 coup and to grant lucrative coastal land ownership to indigenous Fijians. Commodore Bainimarama, himself half an indigenous Fijian, said the bills were unfair to the islands ethnic Indian majority. At the time of writing , the island was enjoying a relative calm and the interim government was taking shape, with eight ministers being sworn under Bainimarama who had been declared Prime Minister.(Minority Rights Group 2007 ‘State of the world’s minorities 2007’, MRG website, March. (http://www.minorityrights.org/admin/Report/pdf/SWM2007.pdf - Accessed 21 March 2007 - Attachment 2) According to the New Zealand Herald the latest coup has benefited ethnic Fijian Indians: The racial politics of Fiji makes all coups complicated, this one more complicated that the last. Although it was led by an indigenous Fijian military leader, it is seen widely seen as an Indo- Fijian coup. As well as the possible personal motivation for the coup, Bainimarama politically objected to measures that disadvantaged Indo-Fijians. The coup has been embraced by many Indo- Fijians - with whom the commander has close personal relations - on the basis that “my enemy's enemy is my friend”'. The fact that the Fiji Labour leader Mahendra Chaudhry signed up to be Bainimarama's finance minister was a bitter blow for New Zealand Labour and others who had supported him after he was deposed as Prime Minister in the 2000 coup. (‘A new era of diplomacy’ 2007, New Zealand Herald, 23 June – Attachment 3) 2. In particular if they are members of the Fiji Labour Party (FLP)? The Fiji Labour Party forms part of the current unelected interim government. This is corroborated in the following press reports: a) Fiji's former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry - twice before deposed from government in coups - has joined the interim cabinet formed by Frank Bainimarama on Tuesday. Commodore Bainimarama overthrew the elected government last month. Mr Chaudhry - Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister before being deposed and held hostage for 56 days in 2000 - was today sworn in as finance minister by reinstated President Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Mr Chaudhry also held the finance portfolio in 1987 when Sitiveni Rabuka led a military coup to reassert the political supremacy of indigenous Fijians over ethnic Indians. He was one of six ministers sworn in today to serve under Commodore Bainimarama, the interim Prime Minister and military commander. He was also the leader of the December 5 coup, which deposed the elected government of prime minister Laisenia Qarase. Another eight ministers were sworn in on Monday. Mr Chaudhry - the leader of the Labour Party, which narrowly lost elections to Mr Qarase's United Fiji Party last year - has described his appointment as a "strange twist of destiny". (‘Former Fiji PM Chaudhry back in government’, 2007, Australian Broadcasting Corporation website, 9January http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/01/09/1824114.htm Accessed 16 July 2007 – Attachment 4; US Department of State 2007, Background Note: Fiji, US Department of State website, April http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1834.htm - Accessed 4 July 2007 – Attachment 5). c) The racial battle lines are still drawn. For me the scenario was both inexcusably and reassuringly familiar – the country's polarised political landscape has not lost its racial edge since I last lived there in 1987. I was back home after Fiji's fourth coup in 20 years. After seeing two Indian-dominated governments toppled by coups, it was the Indians' turn to rejoice when Commodore Frank Bainimarama ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase on December 5. Many view it as "karma", some label it as "sweet revenge", and the Indian support was cemented when former Indo-Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry – the man who was removed from office during the previous coup led by George Speight in 2000 – was ushered in as Bainimarama's new Minister of Finance. But a University of South Pacific academic of Indian origin – who doesn't want his name used, for fear of the consequences – has a warning. "Too many Indians are supporting this coup. It is a tragedy. I was appalled at the level of support from overseas Indians for Bainimarama's coup. There could be an Indian backlash if and when there is a change. "The military is making some important changes by sacking CEOs and the Great Council of Chiefs, but it doesn't have the mandate of the people to carry that out. People have had their lifestyles changed overnight and that is breeding deep resentment out there," he says. Indigenous Fijians on the streets seem somewhat divided in their support for Bainimarama. (Masih, P. 2007, ‘A return to coup country’, The Press. Stuff.co.nz website, 12 May http://www.stuff.co.nz/4056207a13135.html - Accessed 2 July 2007 – Attachment 6) 3. How effective is state protection in Fiji for ethnic Fijian Indians against non state agents? According to the US Fed News, the aftermath of the coup has had a detrimental effect on the law enforcement and judicial systems: SAFETY AND SECURITY: While a state of emergency is no longer in effect, some basic rights remain uncertain. The independence of Fiji's law enforcement and judicial systems appears compromised, putting into question protections ordinarily afforded by the rule of law. (‘State Department issues consular information sheet on Fiji’, 2007, US Fed News, 13 June – Attachment 7) 4. What is the situation for female ethnic Fijian Indians in particular? Although there is no singling out of ethnic Fijian Indian women in the following report, there is an indication the current climate can have an adverse effect on opponents of the coup: The Fiji home of Wellington- based lawyer Janet Mason, who has challenged Fiji's military rule, was invaded by masked men and her husband was roughed up. A United States State Department human rights report says the military government has arbitrarily detained and sometimes abused coup opponents, intimidated the media and sexually molested women who were detained for speaking out. Human rights advocate Shamima Ali says most visitors would be horrified to hear what happens beyond their resort gates. While they may feel safe inside their luxury fortresses, she encourages them to really think about the country they are visiting. "People should, but normally people don't think about these things. It's usually, `I'm OK' and that's it." Watkins, Tracy 2007, ‘Fiji: What the tourists don’t see’, The Press (Christchurch) – (Attachment 8) There is also no distinction between female ethnic Fijian Indians and other ethnic groups in the latest US State Department report on Fiji - this report notes that the issue of domestic violence is predominant problem: Women Domestic abuse, rape, incest, and indecent assault were significant problems. Police practiced a "no drop" policy, under which they pursued investigations of domestic violence cases even if a victim later withdrew her accusation. The police generally were more responsive to domestic violence cases than in the past. Nonetheless, courts often dismissed cases of domestic abuse and incest or gave the perpetrators minimal sentences. The head of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement reported that following the coup soldiers forcibly took a battered wife who had fled to her parents' home back to her husband. Incest was widely believed to be underreported. Traditional practices of reconciliation between aggrieved parties were sometimes taken into account to mitigate sentences in domestic violence cases, particularly in cases of incest. An active women's rights movement sought to raise public awareness about domestic violence. Four women's crisis centers funded by foreign governments operated in the country. The centers offered counseling and assistance to women in cases of domestic violence, rape, and other problems, such as child support.