Fiji’s former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and ex-police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho are out on bail after appearing in court, charged with inciting mutiny.

The pair appeared for a first call before the Suva Magistrates Court yesterday and were granted bail under strict conditions.

Magistrate Yogesh Prasad also issued a stop departure order, meaning they cannot leave Fiji.

The state requested time to provide a full set of disclosures to the defence and the matter was adjourned until March 5.

Prosecutors allege that in 2023 the two encouraged senior military officers to arrest and overthrow their commander, Ro Jone Kalouniwai.

They are alleged to have spoken with high-ranking military officers during a meeting and “grog session” in July that year at Bainimarama’s Suva home.

Bainimarama also faces a second charge relating to text messages he allegedly sent between January and July 2023 to Brigadier General Manoa Gadai urging him to take command.

Night behind bars
The long-serving former prime minister, who is also a former head of Fiji’s military, spent Wednesday night behind bars with Qiliho before their court appearance.

They were arrested, handcuffed and driven to Totogo police station following lengthy questioning that day.

The Opposition leader Inia Seruiratu said the timing of their arrest suggested it was politically-motivated.

The former FijiFirst MP claims Bainimarama is still a threat to Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition government.

“Political opponents, of course Bainimarama and [Aiyaz Sayed-] Khaiyum and a few others are a big threat to the current government.

There may be political reasons behind this because of the elections in 2026.” Seruiratu said.

Party rebranded
The opposition leader has rebranded the deregistered FijiFirst party and set up a new political party, People First, to contest the general election.

Seruiratu said he had hoped Bainimarama would back the new party, but he did not.

He still believes Bainimarama has political currency.

“Although people may think they [Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum] are just minor players, they can be involved to some extent, given their past achievements and popularity. They still have support, they still have sympathisers, Seruiratu said.

RNZ Pacific has sought comment from military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Eroni Duaibe and the government’s information director Samisoni Pareti.

Serious allegations
Fiji Labour party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry is questioning why it took the government so long to deal with the allegations.

“The charges and allegations are serious. If such attempts were made to incite mutiny, they should have been investigated much earlier and disposed of, rather than coming right toward the end of the term of the current government.”

Seruiratu added that their arrest reflects well on Fiji.

“No-one is above the law, this is the rule of law in action. Of course everyone, regardless of who you are in society, is answerable to the law and it is happening in Fiji right now.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence by the Fiji High Court in Suva, local news media reports say.

Bainimarama, 71, was found guilty of “making an unwarranted demand with menace” on October 2. The court found he used his position as Prime Minister in 2021 to pressure the country’s then-Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu into sacking two officers.

He is the first person in Fiji to be convicted under this specific offence.

The former military commander and coup leader had pleaded not guilty. However, High Court Judge Thushara Rajasinghe found him guilty of making an unwarranted demand to a public official under Fiji’s Crimes Act.

The maximum penalty for this charge is 12 years’ imprisonment. Bainimarama was sentenced to 12 months in prison and suspended for three years — meaning he will not go to jail unless he recommits the offence within that period.

Bainimarama resigned from Parliament in March 2023 after receiving a three-year suspension for sedition.

In a separate case, he was jailed in May last year for perverting the course of justice in a case related to him blocking a police investigation involving the University of the South Pacific in 2021.

He was released from prison in November 2024 — six months into his one-year sentence — following a comprehensive review by the Fiji Corrections Service.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Bainimarama was jailed in May, alongside former police chief Sitiveni Qiliho, for perverting the cause of justice.

“The Fiji Corrections Service confirms that former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been granted early release as of today [Friday], in accordance with section 46(3) of the Corrections Act,” it said.

“This decision follows a comprehensive review of his application, which was processed in line with the relevant legal provisions governing early release and supervised reintegration.”

It said that the section 46(3) of the Corrections Act, allows for early release of inmates based on specific criteria that ensure both the security of the community and the facilitation of an inmates reintegration.

“All requirements were rigorously assessed, including eligibility criteria, conditions for release, and supervisory measures in place, in accordance with the guidelines established under FCS regulations.”

The FCS will continue to oversee Bainimarama’s reintegration to ensure compliance with all conditions associated with his early release.

“This decision reflects the commitment of the FCS to uphold the principles of justice, rehabilitation, and reintegration, as stipulated by the Corrections Act.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The founding members of the FijiFirst party, including former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and ex-attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, have resigned.

Sayed-Khaiyum confimed that party president Ratu Joji Satalaka, vice-president Selai Adimaitoga, acting general-secretary Faiyaz Koya and treasurer Hem Chand have also resigned from the party, according to local media reports.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the other vice-president Ravindran Nair and founding member Salesh Kumar have also resigned.

He said the resignation letters were given to the Registrar of Political Parties last Friday, June 7.

One FijiFirst MP, Ketal Lal, posted on Facebook: “Sad day for Fiji” after the news was made public.

Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal said the “mass resignation of founding members and senior officials is probably one of the most ill-conceived moves on the part of the founding members of the FijiFirst party”.

Lal said the move will “severely weaken” the position of the two minor parties — Sodelpa and NFP — in the coalition government.

Minor parties losing ‘bargaining chip’
“It was always in the interests of NFP and Sodelpa that FijiFirst remained a strong, united and viable party, and with this latest development, this is clearly not the case any longer. Both Sodelpa and NFP lose their bargaining chip, with the demise of FijiFirst.”

RNZ Pacific has contacted the Registrar of Political Parties, Ana Mataiciwa, for comment.

Last week, FijiFirst confirmed that it had sacked 17 MPs after they voted for a pay rise — going against a party directive.

However, the expelled Fijifirst MPs said they were going to contest the decision and would remain parliamentary opposition, highlighting divisions within the largest single party in the Fijian Parliament.

Mataiciwa, who was also the Supervisor of Elections, said FijiFirst needed to amend its consitution by June 28 or risk deregistration.

She told local media the party’s constitution did not have guidelines on how internal party disputes were resolved, which was in breach of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

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“Justice has won,” says Fiji’s acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku following the sentencing of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho.

Speaking to The Fiji Times, Rabuku said that while they welcomed the judgment by acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, there was nothing to celebrate about the outcome of the case.

Former Fiji prime minister Bainimarama was sentenced to  one year in prison for perverting the course of justice.

Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva last Thursday for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police investigation at the University of the South Pacific in 2021.

Qiliho was sentenced to two years jail for abuse of office.

“We don’t celebrate anybody that is going into jail,” said Rabuku.

Worked ‘without prejudice’
“All we can say is that at the end of the day justice wins in this case.

“We will not celebrate the fact that a former prime minister and a former police commissioner have gone in.”

Rabuku said his team of prosecutors had achieved what the state had set out to do.

“I think our team are seasoned prosecutors.

“They looked at all of the facts and worked to prosecute without any prejudice.

“That is something that we have maintained throughout this whole case.

“Again, from our side, at the end of the day justice wins.”

Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year in prison, Fiji media are reporting.

Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva today for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police investigation at the University of the South Pacific in 2021.

Qiliho has been sentenced to two years jail.

Bainimarama and Qiliho jailed.      Video: Fiji Village

Bainimarama, the 69-year-old former military commander and 2006 coup leader, had been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Qiliho had been found guilty of abuse of office by the High Court Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, who upheld the state’s appeal.

Bainimarama and Qiliho walked out of the High Court in Suva in handcuffs, and were escorted straight into a police vehicle.

“The former PM and the suspended COMPOL were found not guilty and acquitted accordingly by Resident Magistrate Seini Puamau at the Suva Magistrates Court on 12 October 2023,” the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said.

“The State had filed an appeal against their acquittal where the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo then overturned the Magistrate’s decision and found the two guilty as charged. The matter was then sent back to the Magistrates’ Court for sentencing.

“In sentencing the duo, Magistrate Puamau announced that both their convictions would not be registered. The former PM was granted an absolute discharge while the suspended COMPOL received a conditional discharge with a fine of $1500 on 28 March 2024 by the Suva Magistrates Court following which the State had filed an appeal and challenged the discharge for a custodial sentence.

“The Acting Chief Justice quashed the Magistrate Court’s sentence and pronounced the custodial sentences respectively.”

Earlier today, local media reported an increased police presence outside the Suva court complex.

“There is more pronounced police presence than usual with vehicles being checked upon entry. A section has been cordoned off in front of the High Court facing Holiday Inn,” broadcaster fijivillage.com reported.

State broadcaster FBC reported that police only allowed close relatives and Bainimarama and Qiliho’s associates, along with the media, to sit in the courtroom.

MPs from the main opposition FijiFirst party in Parliament, including opposition leader Inia Seruiratu, Faiyaz Koya were present in court.

Brief timeline:

• The duo were sentenced by the Magistrates Court on 28 March.
• Magistrate Seini Puamau gave Bainimarama an absolute discharge — the lowest level sentence an offender can get and no conviction was registered.
• Qiliho was fined FJ$1500 and without a conviction as well.
• The 69-year-old former military commander and 2006 coup leader was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in a case related to the University of the South Pacific; and suspended police chief Qiliho was found guilty of abuse of office by the High Court Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo.
• Magistrate Puamau’s judgement had left many in the legal circles and commentators in the country perplexed.
• The State – through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution – had appealed the sentencing straightaway to the High Court.
• They were back in court 7 days later — during the court appearance at the High Court, the Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, gave time until the 24 April for the respondents to file their submissions and for the State to reply by the 29th.
• The sentencing hearing was last Thursday, 2 May.
• Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo sentences Bainimarama to one year in jail and Qiliho for two years.

Bainimarama’s attempt to pervert the course of justice charge had a maximum tariff of five years while Qiliho’s charge of abuse of office carried a maximum tariff of 10 years.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case.

Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with a fine of FJ$1500 ($NZ$1110) for abuse of office by the Suva Magistrates Court earlier today.

Magistrate Seini Puamau announced that both their convictions would not be registered.

“The sentence delivered by Magistrate Puamau is unsatisfactory, is wrong both in fact and in law and does not reflect the considerations and tariff of cases or matters of similar nature,” Acting Director of Public Prosecution John Rabuku said in a statement following the sentencing.

The notice of appeal against the sentence was filed in the High Court this afternoon.

The state has filed four grounds of appeal:

• a. That the sentence imposed by the learned Magistrate against both the Respondents are manifestly lenient and in breach of sentencing principles, case laws and the tariff set in other similar matters and offences.
• b. That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact when she made a finding that there were no aggravating factors against the Respondents.
• c. That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact in considering irrelevant factors in sentencing the Respondents; and
• d. That the learned Magistrate erred in law and in fact when she made a finding that there was no victim and that the offending was a technical breach by both Respondents.

Lowest-level sentence
An absolute discharge is the lowest-level sentence that an offender can get. It means no conviction was registered against Bainimarama.

State broadcaster FBC News reports that Magistrate Puamau considered Bainimarama’s health.

The 69-year-old was sentenced alongside Qiliho, who was given a FJ$1500 fine without conviction as well.

The absolute discharge and a fine without conviction was given despite the prosecutors last week urging Magistrate Puamau to order immediate custodial sentences towards the high end of the tariff for both men — which would be no less than five years in jail for Bainimarama and 10 years for Qiliho.

RNZ Pacific reported earlier today that a Fiji governance professor, Dr Vijay Naidu, said the magistrate had been sypathetic to both men.

“It is surprising in that the sentencing is like the minimalist kind of approach,” he said.

“I didn’t expect the magistrate to sentence them for the maximum of you know 10 . . . and five years, but the sentence now is quite farcical because these persons are found guilty and they are given sentences that, to say the least, is quite ludicrous.”

He said Bainimarama was “not out of the woods yet” because there was a string of other charges that he would face in the coming months.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo overturned the Magistrates’ Court judgment and convicted both men at the Suva High Court today.

Bainimarama was charged with one count of attempted to pervert the course of justice and Qiliho was charged with one count of abuse of office, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

“The former PM and the suspended [police commissioner] were found not guilty and acquitted accordingly by Resident Magistrate Seini Paumau at Suva Magistrates Court on 12 October 2023. The State had filed eight grounds of appeal which mainly centred on the opinion that the Magistrate erred in law and in fact on several evidentiary and procedural issues, thereby resulting in an unfair trial and an erroneous verdict.”

The office said that Justice Temo in his judgment found that the magistrate had erred in fact and in law when she found both the respondents not guilty and therefore overturned the Magistrate’s decision.

“Justice Temo found both the respondents guilty as charged.”

Justice Temo has ordered that this matter be brought before Magistrate Puamau on March 18 at the Suva Magistrates’ Court for her to abide by the decision of the High Court and pronounce both the respondents guilty as charged and convict them accordingly.

“Justice Temo ordered both the respondents and the State to file their mitigation and sentencing submissions by 20 March after which the Magistrate is ordered to conduct a sentence hearing on 21 March followed by the sentencing of the two respondents on 28 March.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Fiji prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the country’s intervention at the International Court of Justice over Israel’s occupation of Palestine betrays Fiji’s legacy as peacekeepers.

Paul Reichler, an attorney representing Palestine at the ICJ revealed this week that Fiji and the United States were the only nations to defend Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Fifty countries and three international organisations are calling for self-determination and an end to the Israeli military occupation which has lasted more than half a century.

Bainimarama said Fiji’s stance “insults the intelligence of every Fijian”.

The former prime minister and military commander said that that position undid Fiji’s long-standing commitment to neutrality, peacekeeping, and the principles of self-determination and decolonisation.

“The coalition government’s claim that the occupation of foreign territory by Israel is legal — an argument not even advanced by Israel itself — reveals a disturbing truth that Fiji’s voice to the world is hostage to a demented few who are hellbent on destroying our national reputation,” he said in a statement today.

‘Contradicts our stance on independence’
“This action contradicts our firm stance on the rights to independence and statehood, rights we have championed for our Pacific brothers and for all colonial peoples.

He said Fiji has stood with Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and others in their pursuit of independence.

“We must ask ourselves: with what credibility will we support the independence of territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia? We must not be selective in our support for statehood and independence.

“Our actions today will define our legacy and our ability to lead in the Pacific and beyond.

“The world should know that the vast majority of Fijians stand on the side of peace. That is our national character and that is the spirit in which we offer our service on the frontlines of conflict zones around the world.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Fiji prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum are due to appear in court today on a charge related to abuse of office, as is a former health minister Dr Neil Prakash Sharma.

Fiji state broadcaster FBC reported the trio were interviewed by CID officers yesterday for allegedly failing to comply with statutory requirements for tenders.

All three were kept in custody at the Totogo Police Station overnight.

Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum are each accused of recklessly abusing their position by granting a waiver of tender process without lawful justification.

Sayed-Khaiyum is also charged with obstructing the course of justice.

Sharma faces four counts of abuse of office.

The new charge against Bainimarama comes less than four months after he was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice.

In October, according to local media reports, Magistrate Seini Puamau said the state had failed to establish a compelling case.

“According to their charge sheet, it was alleged that Bainimarama sometime in July 2020 as the Prime Minister directed the Police Commissioner to stop the investigation into a police complaint, in the abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of the University of the South Pacific which is the complainant,” fijivillage.com reported last year.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s government has taken the local leader of an influential South Korean doomsday sect into immigration custody after he and several other members of the Grace Road Church were declared “prohibited migrants” based on charges filed in 2018.

Fiji had announced last Thursday that it was taking steps to deport Daniel Kim and the other sect members who had been detained.

The passports of the sect members had been annulled by the Korean government in 2021, and Interpol “red notices” were issued against them.

Fiji Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua revealed that all of this had been ignored by the previous repressive Fiji government led by former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama, according to Fijivillage News and other local media.

Tikoduadua said two sect members had already been deported while the deportations of another two were temporarily halted by a court order.

One more member was still at large.

OCCRP investigated Grace Road and its close ties to the Bainimarama regime last year. Kim and others had managed to evade a 2018 INTERPOL red notice until the new government acted. https://t.co/i4d0XtVLYS

— Dan McGarry (@dailypostdan) September 7, 2023

A joint investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Organising Project (OCCRP) and KICJ-Newstapa last year exposed how the secretive Grace Road became an economic powerhouse in Fiji during the 16-year rule of Bainimarama, who lost power in elections last December.

Reporters discovered that the church was able to thrive in Fiji despite Kim and other key members being wanted on international warrants.

The investigation also uncovered how the church expanded its empire, which included a farm, restaurants, petrol stations, and supermarkets, all while receiving millions in state-backed loans.

Grace Road’s spiritual leader, Kim’s mother Ok-joo Shin, was arrested at Seoul’s international airport in 2018 and imprisoned for offences, including assault, child abuse, and imprisoning church members.

Around the same time, South Korean police attempted to bring Kim and other church members back on similar charges in Fiji but were forced to return empty-handed after a court blocked their removal.

Republished with permission from the Organised Crime and Corruption Organising Project (OCCRP).

The press statement was clear enough — that the Interpol Red Notice described these individuals as “Fugitive wanted for Prosecution”. pic.twitter.com/EjqJcyVVwv

— Pio Tikoduadua (@piotikoduaduafj) September 8, 2023

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Fijian Media Association (FMA) has labelled comments made by former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama this week to media workers of Mai TV, Fijivillage and Fiji Sun outside the Suva courthouse as “distasteful, unbecoming, and unacceptable”.

Bainimarama told the Mai TV cameraman in the iTaukei language on Tuesday: “Qarauna de dua tacaqe, au na qai caqeta yani na muna.” (“Be careful no one stumbles, for I will then kick your backside.”)

The former prime minister also told the Fijivillage cameraperson “watch out, you slip, and then I will kick your backside”.

Earlier in the week, Bainimarama also told a Fiji Sun press photographer “kwan kwan”, a derogatory term commonly used to chase away dogs or animals.

In a statement, FMA said they found these comments highly offensive.

“The FMA continues to reiterate that journalists, photographers and videographers are doing an important work of informing the public, and threats of violence against them is unacceptable,” the statement read.

The FMA stated that journalists had come through a period — 17 years of media repression since the 2006 military coup — where they had been beaten, intimidated, and abused and would not let these threats to deter them from doing their duty.

Former prime minister Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho are on trial on a count each of attempting to pervert the course of justice and abuse of office over an abandoned investigation relating to the University of the South Pacific in 2020.

Rakesh Kumar is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has played down criticism he is leading an administration that practices nepotism and favouritism.

The Rabuka-led three-party coalition government has been accused of rewarding loyalists with top positions in state-backed institutions and organisations.

There are some Fijians who claim Rabuka’s coalition is walking the same path as the previous FijiFirst government, which was also accused of rewarding party supporters with government jobs and contracts when it was in power from 2014 to 2022.

But Rabuka, while not categorically denying the accusations, said the opinions of detractors did not worry him.

“[My reaction is] that I should not worry about that,” Rabuka told RNZ Pacific at Bau Island following the conclusion of the first meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs.

He said criticism received by his government was healthy and a part of democracy.

“It is a good thing that people speak out [about good governance concerns].”

‘Can they do better?’
“What I can say, or all I can say is ‘can they do better?’” he added, pointing out if his critics were good enough to offer a better alternative.

But the country’s former attorney-general and economy minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has alleged Rabuka’s government has been offering people unfair advantage on the basis of “political allegiance”.

Speaking to local media outside a Suva courthouse on Tuesday, Sayed-Khaiyum said former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s FijiFirst-made appointments to government boards and institutions were due to “their capability or the capacity to assist”.

“We have people being appointed on boards not because of what they know, what they can contribute but who they are, who they know, whose political allegiance they have,” he claimed.

“When we [FijiFirst] appointed people to boards it was all about those institutions, those bodies started making revenue, start collecting revenue, start paying dividends to the government.”

He gave the example of Airports Fiji Limited, a government commercial company, paying more than F$40 million in dividends to government which he said was “unprecedented” when it happened before the covid pandemic.

Sayed-Khaiyum claimed Rabuka’s government was rewarding individuals based on the political connections they had rather than on merit.

“So, people are now being appointed to those positions not because of their capability or the capacity to assist but over who they are, which political parties they belong to, what province they come from, what ethnicity they are, who they know, [or] whether they were failed [political] candidates or not.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A bizarre swinging punch towards an academic from a senior management figure at the top of the University of the South Pacific (USP) is underscoring a deepening crisis in the regional organisation.

While it was not vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia who threw the punch, its plain the one time Fiji deportee is spectacularly failing USP. With falling student roles, and running out of already badly spent money, the once model of regional cooperation and dreams is heading toward a Fiji road smash.

Much of it will have been Professor Ahluwalia’s fault, but inaction on the part of the current pro-chancellor Dr Hilda Heine carries a burden of liability too.

Professor Ahluwalia has gone into a kind of cone of silence, neither calling the “senior management team” (SMT) for several months, nor dealing with urgent issues.

To those inside the Suva campus, the place seems on remote control. Money is disappearing, and the institution is struggling again to pay its bills. Nothing decisive is happening to rescue the organisation founded in 1968.

While tensions between senior academic staff in any university is not unknown, inside USP it has become deeply hostile. Various allegations are made about staff, and the place has descended into a kind of madhouse.

Professor Ahluwalia occasionally issues emails to criticise those who he thinks is bringing him down. He now directs who gets what jobs and where.

Management ‘explosion’
This seems to have been behind an explosion at one of the last SMTs where a top figure is said to have screamed “bastard” and swung a punch at another academic head. Another senior figure had to break it up.

Professor Ahluwalia took no action and the man who swung the punch has been told his place is safe. Consequently Professor Ahluwalia has a new loyalist in SMT.

The latest events at USP have deep political implications in host nation Fiji, where a new government says it is going to pay its USP dues of F$86 million. The previous FijiFirst government led by Voreqe Bainimarama refused to pay, claiming Professor Ahluwalia and other senior figures in USP were corrupt.

Professor Ahluwalia was kicked out of Fiji and took refuge in USP regional offices in Nauru and Samoa.

With Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in power in Suva, Professor Ahluwalia has been allowed back.

It may only be a coincidence, or not, that Bainimarama has subsequently been arrested and faces a charge of abuse of office. The charge specially cites his role over USP.

‘Colonial’ research deal
Now it is emerging that some in USP are party to a research deal with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (signed in Papua New Guinea) that has a decently colonial feel to it, an endorsement of transferring Pacific resources to India.

It is not what universities are supposed to be doing, especially those set up to advance Pacific people.

While Professor Ahluwalia and Dr Heine — former President of the Marshall Islands who in 2016 made history as the first woman leader of a Pacific Islands independent nation — might hope to cope with the new tsunami hitting them, the reality is that the big donors, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union and the United Nations, are going to get pretty weary of this endless, destructive childishness at USP.

Michael Field is an independent journalist and author, and co-editor of The Pacific Newsroom. This article from “On The Wire” is republished with his permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s Great Council of Chiefs has endorsed the reinstatement of a lease distribution policy with the iTaukei Land Trust Board.

The decision was reached by interim council members who met on Bau Island yesterday shortly after the historic re-establishment of the council, which was abolished in 2007 by then prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

The lease distribution policy outlines the payment scheme for revenue generated through Fiji’s complicated system of native land leases which can be tens of millions of dollars a year or even more than that for the wealthier tribes.

The former FijiFirst government removed the policy and introduced Equal Rent Distribution in 2011.

This meant every member of the mataqali, or landowning unit, received the same amount from lease payments, regardless of their status.

The Minister for iTaukei Affairs, Ifereimi Vasu, said the chiefs endorsed the reinstatement of the original policy at a reduced percentage.

This means after the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB), which oversees all native leases takes its 10 percent poundage fee, the remaining funds are to be distributed as follows:

• 5 percent for the Turaga iTaukei (Village Chiefs)
• 10 percent for the Turaga Qali (Village Elders)
• 15 percent for the Turaga ni Mataqali (Clan Leader)
• 70 percent to be shared equally among remaining members

Vasu said concerns had been raised with them that some mataqali members around Fiji take their lease money and do not contribute to the vanua or the village’s development.

“Most of our visits to the province, most stated that the equal distribution is not helping, it really is not helping those that are leading the vanua, they are really struggling.

“In a sense, now that we are having equal distribution, people don’t bother about what is happening on the vanua, they have taken their share, they have gone, and all the responsibilities are handled by the chiefs.”

Ifereimi Vasu said it was also decided that a development fund be set up to cater for future iTaukei development needs.

“As an outcome of the discussion, the meeting endorsed the setting up of a special fund for the future, iTaukei Development Funding, which will be sourced from the percentage of the TLTB poundage and the percent of the lease money,” he said.

Chiefs to hear from review committee
Apart from the lease distribution policy, the chiefs also agreed to hear back from a committee conducting a review of the Great Council of Chiefs which will guide the form and function of the new council.

The review team, led by Ratu Jone Baledrokadroka, has until the end of July to complete their work.

A final report will be presented to the council upon its completion.

Ratu Baledrokadroka said the council — which was accused of being a racist organisation in the past — has indicated a willingness to open up as a body for all Fijians, which is a positive endorsement of the work his team is carrying out.

He said, in reinventing itself, it is important for the council to keep out of politics.

“The GCC is willing to open up the institution making it more apolitical. We are trying to make sure that, into the future, it doesn’t commit the mistakes of the past,” Ratu Baledrokadroka said.

“That has been the biggest mistake for the GCC that it had delved into politics which had seen it disestablished by the previous government.”

Speaking after the presentation to the meeting yesterday, Ratu Baledrokadroka said their brief presentation on what they had been able to gather so far was well received.

“We have done nine provinces. What they are wanting is inclusiveness, that the GCC represents all ethnicities and all sections of society, the youth, the women.

“We give our recommendations on what people say. What we will produce is what the people have said.

“What has come out very strongly today is that the GCC and the chiefs are for all, not just for iTaukeis; they are willing to take on that responsibility for all.”

Ratu Baledrokadroka said the traditional ceremonies of apologies and forgiveness that took place at the opening ceremony augured well for the way Fiji was moving.

Future membership
Minister of iTaukei Affairs Vasu confirmed yesterday that the current membership of the GCC was temporary.

He said the re-establishment of the GCC was scheduled for May.

“Its actual make up will come from what the Review Team finalises. The people and the chiefs will decide how the GCC will move forward,” Vasu added.

Vasu said calls made for the inclusion of other races and groupings in the GCC membership would have to be decided when the review team “come back and give us their final analysis of what the people and the chiefs are saying”.

The meeting of the interim council members continued today on Bau Island and was expected to conclude this afternoon.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz