Our Struggles for Democracy in Fiji: Rule of Law and Media Freedom

This Volume 3 comprises most of my writings on my battles to protect democracy, the rule of law and media and academic freedom in Fiji. The different sections reflect the different periods in which different sets of political forces were in play associated with the particular governments which were in power, either illegally through coups (such as by Sitiveni Rabuka or Voreqe Bainimarama) or elected governments. The honest writings on the 2000 coup and mutiny and the 2006 coup, could well be the basis of a Commission for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation which politicians parrot ad nauseam but has never been established, because too many persons in positions of power and authority have skeletons in their cupboards.
The first edition of this volume was printed just prior to the 2022 Elections, when the state of democracy and rule of law in Fiji was in tatters, all the institutions of state were tightly controlled by the Bainimarama Government through an illegal 2013 “Constitution” imposed on Fiji without any parliamentary approval. Since then the 2022 Elections has brought in the new Coalition Government led by Sitiveni Rabuka in partnership with NFP’s Professor Biman Prasad. While media freedom has been restored, there has been little progress in restoring the rule of law. This book tries to explain how Fiji has descended to its current state, in the process giving many pointers to the future challenges for restoring genuine democracy and rule of law to Fiji. This book begins with the first 1987 Rabuka coup and the struggles for ethnic fairness in electoral systems, leading up to the 1997 Constitution unanimously approved by both Houses of parliament. The writings trace political mistakes made before and after the 2000 coup, leading up to the 2006 Bainimarama coup; the diversions into the People’s Charter and the Yash Ghai Constitution Review; with tight media censorship before the 2014 Elections. Trying to understand why otherwise good citizens support illegal coups (as they have done in Fiji coup after coup) led this economist to read the the brilliant work of Zimbardo who asked why do good people do evil. This second edition has additional writings covering the period just prior to the 2022 Elections and a year after the change of Government. But with the Rabuka Government not challenging the illegal 2013 Constitution, major blunders keep getting made. Sadly, Fiji is not out of the woods yet.