September 10, 1997

By Michael Field

 When Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka stood up in the striking parliamentary debating chamber here today he was in a poignant way bringing to an end the indigenous dream - some would say fantasy - he ignited with his military coups nine years ago.

Now 47 and burdened by the detail of government there is no longer the sense of elan he had as an army officer commanding the 1987 coups which saw the end of a largely Indo-Fijian dominated government.

Tuesday he was tabling an 800 page report of the Constitution Review Commission which called for a return to the multi-ethnic democracy. In a striking refutation of everything the coups stood for the report added "...trying to keep a predominantly Fijian government in office in perpetuity may not be the best way of securing the paramountcy of Fijian interests."

Since the coups Fiji has built itself a beautiful new parliament, richly wooded in native Fijian timbers with large tapa or bark cloth hanging from the ceilings. Indigenous Fijian items adorn the walls and giant fighting clubs assume the purpose a mace would in another parliament. The Fijian men wear sulus, the cloth wraparound skirts.

Since the coups Fiji has become a republic, but much of the symbols of the British connection remain, most notably the Union Jack so prominent in the flags standing in the chamber. The speaker and his clerk wear horse-hair wigs and the division bells, standing orders and tabling procedures are as familiar here as in London.

The Fiji Military Forces were there again, but this time to provide the music. With a fanfare of doubtful origin they welcomed into the joint gathering President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. In a way it was his electoral failure a decade ago that was responsible for this. Mara had been prime minister in the Alliance Government which in 1987 was defeated by Fiji Labour Party lead by the late Timoci Bavadra.

Of Fiji's estimated 773,000 people indigenous Fijians make up 49 percent and Indo-Fijians 46 percent.

The term "Indo-Fijian" is relatively new here; until recently they were just Indians, the descendants of the hundreds of people bought here last century to open up the sugar plantations for the British colonial masters.

Under the British and continuing to this day Fijian politics have been very communal but as the report says there was always the understanding Fijians would be on top. This misunderstanding was behind the coups.

"Many Fijians thought that Indo-Fijians had tacitly accepted the maintenance of Fijian political paramountcy," the report puts it.

Trying to maintain paramountcy is wrong, the report says, and adds that no matter what constitution was produced, provided it was on democratic principles, there could never be a guarantee that a particular party will always remain in office.

Surprisingly, given the considerable hype ahead of Tuesday's release, there was no protest at parliament from the pro-Fijian groups who have said until now that they will oppose any changes to the 1990 constitution.

In one of the more telling moments Mara spoke of the way traditional Fiji had a procedure for reconciliation. Like other Polynesian cultures the business of saying sorry is deeply engrained and much honoured.

What he did not say was who was meant to apologise to who. And for what.

Copyright: Michael Field