A massive step back for Fiji

I had begin to warm towards the Fijian regime. Not their actions, but their intentions. I had taken tme to talk to a lot of Indian Fijians in NZ and they all supported the Commodore’s aim to replace the race based constitution with a new supreme law that does not discriminate.

But the Government had to demonstrate a programme for moving back to democracry, for sanctions to start to be lifted.

Instead the Government has nullified the Constitution, sacked the Judiicary and said there will be no elections for five years.

Now don’t let anyone think the Fijian President has done this. The Fijian President has no authority to abolish the constution, abolish the Judiciary or do anything else that the Constution does not grant him. His “powers” come from the guns controlled by the Commodore who will enforce these decisions.

There is an interesting discussion on the ipredict forums, over whether the court decision to declare the Government illegal, means that the contract for “Frank Bainimarama to lose position as Interim Prime Minister of Fiji in 2009” has been satisified or not.

Some argue it has been, since the court ruling. Others argue that if the President confirms him as Interim PM in his “new” Government then he has remained PM throughout. The contract only pays out on the date that a permament appointment takes effect, so that lends some weight to saying the contract is unfulfilled. Of course I have a vested interest in saying that, as I had shorted the stock.