DATE=7/20/2000
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=FIJI'S TROUBLED FUTURE
NUMBER=6-11932
BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
TELEPHONE=619-3335
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
INTRO: For almost two-months, a discredited
businessman and a small group of elite soldiers held
the Prime Minister of Fiji, and much of its cabinet,
hostage in that South Pacific island nation's
parliament building.
Now, the coup leader and his men have released the
hostages, but he is warning of new unrest because he
wants more power in the new cabinet. Many U-S papers
are concerned at what several of them have labeled
chaos in paradise. We get a sampling now from
_________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.
TEXT: Ethnic unrest between Fiji's indigenous
population and ethnic Indians is nothing new. The
Indians were brought in by the British more than a
century ago to tend the sugar cane fields and their
descendents have taken over much of the island's
commerce.
There was a somewhat similar coup in 1987. In the
current situation, George Speight and members of the
special services unit of Fiji's small army took over
the parliament in May, demanding that ethnic-Indian
Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry step down. Mr.
Speight wants only native Fijians, who are of
Melanesian and Polynesian descent, to run the
government.
The U-S press, noting that Mr. Speight was in trouble
with the authorities over questionable business
dealings prior to his takeover, worries that Fijian
democracy is about to crumble. Here are some thoughts
from The Wall Street Journal.
VOICE: Say goodbye to Fiji, and say it soon.
The country is going rapidly down the tubes.
Two months ago, Fiji was not such a bad place.
It ambled along at a South Pacific pace. ... All
that changed on May 19th when a ... George
Speight barged into parliament with a throng of
thugs and took ... the Prime Minister hostage.
They were released only last week, and have all
been stripped of office. ... The country's
interim prime minister, appointed by the army
chief while Mr. Chaudhry was hostage, last week
unveiled a "Blueprint" for the "protection" of
indigenous Fijians. The document comprises an
ill-judged plan for commercial affirmative
action, designed to "advance the interests of"
the country's ethnic majority. ...the problem
... is that ... the sugar industry, manned by
Indians, is in disarray. Tourism, which
contributed 235-million per annum to the economy
- and ... is second only to sugar in Fiji's
economic schema - has ground to a jarring halt.
After the recent invasions of luxury resorts by
knife wielding `traditional landowners," its
hard to see those Aussies, Kiwis, and Midwestern
honeymooners coming back. ...Mr. Speight and
his cohorts will learn swiftly that running an
economy is a lot harder than storming a
parliament. Theirs [plan] is no more than a
blueprint for economic suicide.
TEXT: Boston's Christian Science Monitor is linking
unrest in Fiji to other world troublespots as it
laments:
VOICE: Call it what you will - melting pot,
salad, Mulligan stew - but mixing "different"
peoples in one society can be as difficult as
cooking up any fusion cuisine: The right blend
takes an understanding of the essential
qualities of each ingredient. In Fiji, Israel,
and Kosovo, ethnic or religious antagonism has
prevented people from understanding the
essentials about others. Racial tensions in
Fiji have resulted in a coup that has scuttled
its multiracial constitution. Now indigenous
Fijians hold absolute rule over the 44-percent
of the population descended from South Asians.
Such racist rule deserves international sanction
of Fiji's new government.
/// OPT /// Coup leader George Speight only
plays to native Fijians who fear economic
dominance by the minority ethnic Indians. The
ousted Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudry, remains
optimistic. "Fiji is a great country and if we
have a future, we have to work together," says
Fiji's first elected ethnic-Indian leader.
Right on. /// END OPT ///
TEXT: In the Pacific, one of America's largest daily
papers nearest the action, Honolulu's Star-Bulletin
says in its editorial headline: "Democracy is [the]
loser in Fiji power struggle."
VOICE: // OPT // The new interim president,
selected by the so-called Great council of
Chiefs, is Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who was [Mr.]
Speight's choice. In negotiations with military
commanders, [Mr.] Speight had made it plain he
would not free the hostages unless he could
dictate the makeup of the new government. It
appears he will have his way. /// END OPT ///
This is a victory for racism. ... Fiji
maintained a veneer of democracy for years after
gaining independence, but relations between
ethnic Fijians and Indians were often tense.
Twelve-years-ago an army colonel staged a coup
in the name of the Fijians and ruled by martial
law. But a new constitution was approved two-
years ago that granted Indians equal political
rights. When a mixed Fijian-Indian coalition
gained power in the last elections, with an
Indian as prime minister for the first time,
tensions increased. ... Fiji's economy, based on
sugar and tourism, has been paralyzed for the
last two-months. The damage to the economy,
like that to democracy, will take time to
repair.
TEXT: The Chicago Tribune is also upset at what it
calls Mr. Speight's "outrageous actions."
VOICE: Like many countries, Fiji's population
of 800-thousand contains a combustible ethnic
mix - 51-percent Fijian, 44-percent Indian -
that needed only to be lit by the torch of
hatred wielded by an ambitious opportunist. In
Fiji, that torch was carried by George Speight,
a one-time computer and insurance salesman. ...
Fiji's major trading partners, Australia and New
Zealand have not yet decided if they intend to
impose trade sanctions. [Mr.] Speight's
outrageous actions can not be allowed to stand,
but sanctions may be superfluous. The sugar
cane harvest has been disrupted and Fiji is
losing half-a-million-dollars a day in lost
tourism. "This is not the end. This is the
beginning," said [Mr.] Speight. He is right
there. This flight is far from over, and
paradise may be lost in the process.
TEXT: On that ominous note, we conclude this sampling
of editorial opinion on the recent coup in Fiji and
its troubling aftermath.
NEB/ANG/RAE
20-Jul-2000 14:29 PM EDT (20-Jul-2000 1829 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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