Page 12 - Islands Business September 2023

Fiji Fiji

tourism, and investment, and Fiji Rugby 7’s support.” democracy and a culture of discourse about issues, and not a
All of which, said Naidu, puts Fiji at a crossroads yet again, culture where politicians are hell bent on remaining in power.
“challenged to make the choices that may lead us to long- Because democracy is about peaceful change of government.
term stability, peace, and prosperity as a multi-racial country We as a government, are saying to people that we are not
with a sense of national identity and unity like Mauritius and going to be there for life. We are going to make mistakes. We
Singapore; or to relive our past of inter-ethnic bitterness, and [will not always] achieve everything that we want to do. But
the cycle of instability and coups.” that’s part of what a government is in a democracy.”

The lost Mauritius of the Pacific The iTaukei shift
Reflecting at the panel discussion on the checkered history In the middle of the mix of factors that are influencing the
of Fiji’s political journey through four constitutions and as shift away from the old counterculture to democracy lies one
many coups, Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica said other significant point of change.
the economic cost of instability and uncertainty had been Tarte describes it as the tension that arose from the
substantial, using the often-drawn parallels between Fiji and question of who the government was for.
Mauritius. Whose GDP has gone from being around the same “I think that before the 2006 coup, there was always this
as Fiji’s in the 1970s, to “almost double the size of Fiji’s tension of ‘Who was government for? Whose interests should
economy” now. it serve? What was the basis of political stability in this
Like Mauritius, Singapore shared similar social and economic country?’”
indicators as Fiji in the 1960s, said Professor Naidu. Singapore She continued: “For a long time, the idea was that it had to
now has a GDP per capita that is more than four times that of rest on the interests of the iTaukei. And unless their interest is
Fiji. served, you cannot have a stable democracy. And it even went
But the biggest cost “of the political instability and so far as to say that unless the iTaukei are in power, you can’t
perceived insecurity of our people” has been the exodus of have a stable democracy. So, whenever we had a change of
200,000 people from Fiji, a diaspora that is more than 20% of governments, we had these overthrows of government.”
Fiji’s population. It’s something that Tarte feels Fiji has moved on from.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Biman Prasad “There is still the special recognition of indigenous Fijians,
told the panel that in 1986, Fiji was ahead of Mauritius on and we hear it being spoken of increasingly. And there’s a
almost all social and economic indicators. Several studies by need to have that open discussion without it necessarily
economists and political scientists have concluded that the creating this fear that has always been generated in the past
only reason Mauritius (which has a much smaller landmass that others are not going to be safe or secure in Fiji.”
than Fiji but a bigger population) has been so successful, was That thought resonates with Fiji Council of Social Services
because they practised genuine democracy. Executive Director Vani Catanasiga, who sees a greater
“Governments changed peacefully, institutions remained appreciation for democratic processes amongst the iTaukei
strong. Electoral laws were transparent. Election systems since the first military takeover of 1987.
provided confidence. And that was the reason why Mauritius Back in 1987, “There was nothing he could do wrong [in the
was successful,” said Prasad. eyes of the iTaukei],” she says of Fiji’s original coup maker
That, said Kamikamica, was the way forward. and now Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka. “He executed a coup
“As a country, we need to all make a commitment that for indigenous people and their beliefs, no one died, and he
there will be no more coups in Fiji. That we dedicate did so while smiling at the cameras.”
ourselves to democracy. That we commit to a Fiji that That kind of outlook has changed since the coup of 2006,
espouses democracy, and we have no tolerance, absolutely no she said.
tolerance for any discussion that involves the illegal takeover “I believe the iTaukei [thinking] is beginning to evolve that
of government,” he told the gathering. a suggestion for a coup in 2023 would not warrant the same
“Ultimately, the fundamental issue is, as a country, are response as in pre-2006.
we ready to commit to developing a new democracy and “I think 16 years of systematic weakening of iTaukei support
committing totally to the values of democracy and accepting services via the laws that attempted to reform the iTaukei
the results of an election, whether we like it or not, and administrative structure by a government that initially came
sticking to the rule of law?” into power through a coup, opened iTaukei eyes.”
Prasad elaborated on the need for politicians to work at Catanasiga believes every coup has had a different kind of
creating a culture of democracy. impact on the iTaukei culture and social fabric.
“As politicians—whether in Opposition or Government, or “The 1987 and 2000 coups gave iTaukei a false sense of
outside of Parliament—it is our responsibility to advocate a security. The 2006 coup shocked the iTaukei and really taught
path towards not having a military coup and making sure that us the importance of valuing and protecting democracy. I
we support democracy at all times.” think the systematic stripping of powers from the iTaukei
He continued: “It is our responsibility to be part of any administrative structure did weaken some aspects of iTaukei
political discourse, any political process, where politicians cohesiveness, but it also gave some of us the opportunity to
can talk about issues. Because that will create a culture of leverage the Bose Vanua, the independent vanua decision

12 Islands Business, September 2023