Impunity Watch: Oceania

Wanted Former Thai PM Seeks Safe Haven in Fiji

2009-07-08T14:50:27-04:00

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - The ousted prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, may be seeking safe haven in Fiji which does not have an extradition treaty with Thailand.

The former Thai prime minister’s Thai passport was cancelled, and he is wanted by Bangkok police on corruption charges.

According to Pacnews, Thaksin met with Fiji interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, on Monday. The Bankok Post reported that the former Thai politician barely escaped arrest in Malaysia before heading in Suva.

Thaksin reportedly remained in Suva for a day while he and Bainimarama held a private talk. According to the Australian, Thaksin offered to invest $300 million in Fiji in exchange for creating a base in Fiji where he can safely stay.

The large investment from Thaksin would aid Fiji’s ailing economy, which has taken several blows from the dwindling tourism industry and sugar industry. In addition, Bainimarama’s controversial politics has alienated Fiji from the European Union, which has since withdrawn its aid.

Bainimarama’s recent announcement that he will not return the country to democratic rule until at least 2014, also means that Thaksin could remain safe in Fiji for the next five years.

For more information, please see:
The Australian - Fugitive former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra's secret Fiji talks - 09 July 2009

ABC Radio Australia News - Ousted Thai PM visits Fiji - 08 July 2009

Radio New Zealand International - Wanted Thai ex-PM visits Suva to meet regime - 08 July 2009

Participants Withdraw From Fiji Youth Festival After Several Speakers Banned

2009-07-07T22:51:48-04:00

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - The Pacific Youth Festival in Fiji is still to go ahead despite some groups withdrawing after participants were vetted, and some banned, by Fiji’s military.

Last month, the interim regime set up a committee made up of security forces to work alongside festival organizers to evaluate all of the festival's scheduled speakers, facilitators, and presenters.The committee soon banned several individuals from appearing at the festival.

Those banned include, Reverend Akuila Yabaki, former Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Jaque Koroi of the Young People Concerned Network, and Imrana Jalal, a board member of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement.

Director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Virisila Buadromo, claims the festival is no longer a safe space for dialogue for the youth of the Pacific because it does not encourage free speech.

“We feel that in this current political climate it’s going to be extremely difficult for these young people to be able to express their views openly and without any fear of repercussions or intimidation,” Buadromo said.

The festival, which was originally to host 22 countries, will begin July 11 with 600 students from 12 countries marching through the center of Suva displaying their cultural dances in the opening ceremony.

For more information, please see:

New Zealand International Radio - Pacific Youth Festival to go ahead in Fiji despite groups dropping out - 8 July 2009

Fiji Village - Suva to get taste of Pacific Life - 7 July 2009

Islands Business - PACIFIC UPDATE: Fiji to host Pacific Youth Festival - 8 July 2009

Fiji Interim Government Censors Youth Festival

2009-07-05T12:26:11-04:00

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - Fiji’s interim government has banned several speakers scheduled to attend this month’s Pacific Youth Festival.

The youth festival is backed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The recent bans are part of Fiji interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama’s emergency regulations, put in place after a Fiji High Court declared the interim regime illegitimate in April.

The regulations require, in part, journalists and media outlets to refrain from criticizing the government and to submit reports that involve the government to the Ministry of Information for review before publication.

Jacque Koroi, the Pacific Youth festival organizer, says the Ministry of Information reviewed the guest list and named "several people who will be unable to make their presentations."

While Koroi did not specify which speakers were banned, he did say that he believed most supported Fiji’s return to democracy.

Associate editor of the Fiji Times, Sophie Foster, was also banned last month for publically criticizing the emergency regulations which mandate media censorship.

In addition to the Youth Festival, the interim government has recently banned speakers for the Society of Accountants, and has prevented a Methodist Church Congress from convening entirely.

For more information, please see:
2SER's Razors Edge (Current Affairs from Radio 2SER-FM 107.3) - Fiji youth festival censored - 04 July 2009

The Herald Sun - Fiji censors speakers at youth festival - 30 June 2009

South Pacific Leaders Join Australia and New Zealand in Condemning Fiji Interim PM’s Roadmap for Democracy

2009-07-03T15:56:06-04:00

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - Leaders around the South Pacific have joined Australia and New Zealand in criticizing Fiji’s recent announcement of the interim government's roadmap for the country’s return to democracy.

Australia and New Zealand were quick to voice their concerns after Fiji interim PM, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, announced he would delay the writing of the constitution for 3 years and would rule by decree until the democratic elections are held in 2014.

In addition, Australia and New Zealand leaders have dismissed Bainimarama’s request for support of his proposed roadmap.

Other leaders from around the South Pacific, are coming forward with their own concerns for Fiji’s democratic future. Samoa's Prime Minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele, says that before the international community can support Bainimarama’s leadership, Fiji must return to democracy as a precondition.

Jim Marurai, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, says that the 3 year delay in writing the constitution and the 5 year delay in elections are unacceptable. He added that even when if the constitution is written in four years time, a duely elected Parliament must still approve it.

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Edward Natapei, has arranged a meeting of the four leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to be held in Port Vila on July 10th. The Group hopes to discuss Fiji’s political future ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum meeting next month in Cairns.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International - MSG to hold summit in Vanuatu next week - 03 July 2009

ABC Radio Australia - More regional reaction not good for Fiji leader - 03 July 2009

EU Disappointed With Interim PM's Road Map

2009-07-03T00:41:41-04:00

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - The European Union says it is disappointed by Fiji’s new road map.

Fiji’s interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has said the country will have a new constitution by 2013 to make way for elections the following year and he called on the international community for assistance.

Leaders in Samoa, the Cook Islands, Australia, and New Zealand have openly condemned Bainimarama's time table. The charge d’affaire for the European Commission in New Zealand, George Cunningham, says he’s concerned that the people of Fiji will now be without a constitution and an elected government for some time yet.

“We appreciate that the interim government wants to reengage in dialogue, but we’re very disappointed that the elections are not announced to be held sooner,” said Cunningham.

The EU member states will soon review the future of Fiji’s sugar funding and other assistance that is tied to the elections and Cunningham says the road map may influence the review.

“We have coming up soon a review of where Fiji’s going and the appropriation measures such as sugar funding and assistance funding, which at the moment is tied to democracy coming in by certain deadlines, far sooner of course than the expected deadline of 2014. We’re very very disappointed by the announcement,” said Cunningham.

The European Commission canceled Fiji’s 2009 sugar allocation in the absence of any indication that a legitimate government would be in place this year.

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand International - EU disappointed with Fiji regime’s roadmap - 2 July 2009

Radio New Zealand International - EU says Fiji roadmap may affect sugar assistance review - 3 July 2009

Radio Australia - More regional reaction not good for Fiji leader - 3 July 2009

Fiji Interim PM Delays Return to Democracy and Draws Criticism

2009-07-01T12:12:30-04:00

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

Interim Prime Minister Bainimarama- Image courtesy of BBC News

SUVA, Fiji - Fiji’s interim prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, says the government will wait three years before rewriting the country’s constitution in time for the 2014 elections.

In addition, Bainimarama says emergency regulations will remain in place until the end of 2009. According to Bainimarama, people with “dirty political moves” are waiting for the regulations to be lifted so they can protest certain government decisions. Bainimarama says the government must work together with security forces to see that this sort of protest movement does not happen.

The interim government put these regulations into place after a High Court in Fiji declared Bainimarama’s interim regime illegal in April. The regulations require, in part, journalists to refrain from criticizing the government and to submit reports that involve the government to the Ministry of Information for review before publication.

But several critics have voiced their concerns with the regulations and the three year delay in writing the constitution.

Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, has called Bainimarama’s new charter “totally unacceptable.”

"He continues to ignore the calls of the international community for Fiji to return to democracy as soon as possible," Smith said.

Dr. Brij Lal, from Australian National University, says it is ironic that Bainimarama chose to extend regulations on the same day that he announced his roadmap for Fiji’s return to democracy.

“The country, since April this year has been ruled through decrees. And this is the way it’s going to be until 2014. So this is the sad part really, prolonging the suffering of the people unnecessarily,” Dr. Lal said.

Meanwhile, an Australian-based NGO, the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement, is calling Bainimarama’s three year delay a “charade.” The organization says the interim prime minister is claiming he needs three years to consider the constitution in order to maintain his power hold on the country.

The Movement’s spokesman, Usaia Waqatairewa, says Bainimarama has offered no explanation for the delay in democratic elections, and Waqatairewa would not be surprised if the interim government announces further delays in the future.

“It’s two and a half years that he has reigned as a dictator in Fiji is littered with reneges on promises, littered with lies, so I wouldn’t be surprised that come 2014 he says two years to put together a constitution was a too short a time period and now they’re going to extend it again,” Waqatairewa said.

The interim government plans to begin writing the constitution in 2012, which means Fiji will be without a constitution for at least another four years.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International - Fiji regime extends emergency regulations until end of 2009 - 01 July 2009

BBC News - Fiji constitution plan unveiled - 01 July 2009

Radio New Zealand International - Three-year delay to Fiji constitutional debate called a charade - 01 July 2009

Radio New Zealand International - Fiji people’s pain prolonged by five year roadmap to elections - Dr Brij Lal - 01 July 2009

France To Compensate Nuclear Test Victims

2009-07-01T00:30:33-04:00

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PAPEETE, French Polynesia -The French National Assembly approved a landmark bill Thursday to compensate victims of nuclear tests carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria over more than three decades.

The bill calls for the establishment of a review commission and fund dedicated to the 150,000 civilian and military personnel who worked on the 210 nuclear-test explosions France carried out in the Sahara desert and the Pacific from 1960 to 1996.

Resources will also be available to people who claim they are suffering from radiation-caused illnesses because, at the time, they lived in the Algerian Sahara and near the two Polynesian atolls where France staged its underground, submarine and atmospheric blasts.

The legislation — whose 300-to-23 passage spanned party lines — must now be presented to the Senate, which is expected to approve it. Defense Minister Herve Morin said in May when he presented the bill that he expected it to take effect by the end of the year.

The bill comes after decades of official denials by France of its responsibility, for fear that the admission would have weakened its nuclear program during the Cold War.

For more information, please see:

New Zealand International News - France to compensate nuclear test veterans - 1 July 2009

The Wall Street Journal - French Assembly OK's Compensation For Nuclear Test Victims - 30 June 2009

TIME - France Votes to Pay Nuclear-Testing Victims - 30 June 2009

BRIEF: UN Works with Fiji Security Forces to Ban Torture

2009-06-28T20:29:27-04:00

SUVA, Fiji - The United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights is helping Fiji’s security forces ensure that detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated.

International law dictates that torture or ill-treatment of those arrested or detained is illegal. Matilda Bogner, a regional representative, said that Fiji already has a strong commitment to banning torture and ill treatment.

At the same time, Bogner says she has worked closely with Fiji Police and the Prison Authority to educate them not to take the law into their own hands, but to defer to the proper legal authority.

Bogner was also careful to point out that Fiji is not unique, and it is crucial that the UN work with other countries around the world to educate and eradicate torturous treatment of those who are arrested or detained. The UN hopes to work harmoniously together with local security forces to address these human rights issues.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International - UN works on torture ban in Fiji - 28 June 2009

French Polynesian Nuclear Test Veterans Denied Compensation

2009-06-26T22:30:03-04:00

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PAPEETE, French Polynesia - French Polynesia’s Nuclear Workers’ Association, Moruroa E. Tatou, is dismayed that the Papeete labor court has thrown out compensation claim cases by eight former test site workers. This morning, the court found that under local law the complaints cannot be ruled on.

However, the court found that the Atomic Energy Commissariat had failed in its obligation as an employer to provide security and awarded 11,000 US dollars to each of the three children of a deceased local veteran.

French Polynesians who have had their claims for compensation for the effects of nuclear testing rejected say they won’t give up their bids for redress.

John Doom, of Moruroa E. Tatou, says eight people who took their cases to French Polynesia’s industrial relations tribunal were unsuccessful.

He says the three surviving workers have leukemia, and they and the five widows will consult with lawyers over how to continue with their bids.

“We will not give up anyhow, we will continue this fight and represent again the three who were not accepted, and these three have leukemia,” said Doom.

For more information, please see:

New Zealand International Radio - Former Moruroa workers fail in nuclear testing compensation bids - 26 June 2009

New Zealand International Radio - French Polynesian test veterans dismayed at Tahiti court decision - 26 June 2009

Radio Australia - French Polynesia rejects nuclear compensation - 26 June 2009

French Polynesian Court Rules For Nuclear Test Veteran

2009-06-25T22:42:06-04:00

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PAPEETE, French Polynesia - French Polynesian court has ruled in favor of three children of a deceased nuclear weapons test veteran who sought compensation for the effects of the tests.

The court found that the Atomic Energy Commissariat had failed in its obligation as an employer to provide security and ordered that each claimant be paid 11,000 US dollars.

The Nuclear Workers’ Association Moruroa E. Tatou has expressed disappointment at the low compensation sum. However, today's decision coincided with the French parliament beginning debates on a landmark bill for compensating the victims of nuclear tests carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria over more than three decades.

About 150,000 civilian and military personnel took part in 210 nuclear tests carried out in the Sahara desert and the Pacific between 1960 and 1996, many of whom later developed serious health problems.

The government unveiled a bill on compensating the test victims in March, after decades of denying its responsibility for fear the admission would have weakened its nuclear program during the Cold War.

Under the bill, which is to be put to the vote on June 30, a nine-member committee of physicians, led by a magistrate, will examine individual claims for compensation.

Defense Minister Herve Morin told the lower-house National Assembly that the bill, thirteen years after the end of the tests in the Pacific, will allow France to serenely close a chapter of its history.

For more information, please see:

New Zealand International Radio - French Polynesian Court rules in favour of nuclear test veteran’s children - 25 June 2009

New Zealand International Radio - France begins debating nuclear compensation bill - 25 June 2009

Australian News - French debate nuclear test compo - 26 June 2009