Impunity Watch: Oceania

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

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

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

 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

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

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

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

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

Amnesty International Reports Torture and Abuse by Indonesian Police

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

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Amnesty International is reporting that Indonesian police regularly torture and abuse suspects held for questioning, in addition to taking bribes in the form of money and sex.

Amnesty International’s report entitled, "Unfinished Business: Police Accountability in Indonesia," found that the most marginalized people in Indonesian society receive the worst treatment.

The organization’s Asia Pacific deputy director, Donna Guest said that, "Amnesty International's report shows how widespread the culture of abuse is among the Indonesian police force." She added, "The police's primary role is to enforce the law and protect human rights, yet all too often many police officers behave as if they are above the law."

Rebecca Emery, deputy director for Amnesty International, says that some of these marginalized people are from the Papua region. Papuans have long reported abuse by Indonesian police, and have struggled to gain independence from Indonesia.

“Since the national Indonesian police separated from the military in 1999, it has undertaken significant reforms, even though these reforms have been undertaken, the actual practice with regards to policing haven’t reflected human rights improvements. There’re a lot of violations and abuses, which are still deeply rooted in Indonesian policing,” Ms. Emery said.

The most vulnerable groups include women, drug addicts, and sex workers.

Ms. Emery added that the Indonesian government must recognize these human rights violations and work to stop them.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International - Amnesty reports serious abuse by Indonesian police - 25 June 2009

BBC News - Indonesia police abuse 'ongoing' - 24 June 2009

AFP - Torture 'widespread' in Indonesia: Amnesty - 24 June 2009

Fiji's Prime Minister Announces Road Map To Democracy

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji - Fiji's prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, announced he will reveal Fiji’s road map to democracy within the next few days.

While speaking to villagers in Tailevu North on Monday, Bainimarama said a constitution review team would be appointed to look at a new constitution and electoral changes.

The speech is one of the first times Bainimarama has publicly spoken about Fiji's political future and although Bainimarama did not provide a timetable, or framework, it is the first signs of the country gaining a new political and social code since April, when the president annulled the country’s constitution and gave Bainimarama and his government a five-year mandate.

Bainimarama has said repeatedly one of the reasons for the military's takeover of Fiji was to end racial and social division and Bainimarama's speech primarily focused on how the new constitution would not tolerate politicians using racial discrimination as a tool to win votes. However, just last weekend, all police officers not on duty were required to attend a Christian crusade event. The country's ethnic make-up means its police force has members who are Hindu and Muslim, as well as Christian.

Also, as Bainimarama was speaking of a new constitution, his government extended to August the Public Emergency Rules that limit free media by placing government censors in newsrooms, extend police search and seizure powers, and force organizations to ask for permission to hold meetings.

For more information, please see:

Australia Network News - Fiji's multi-ethnic police join Christian crusade - 24 June 2009

New Zealand International Radio - New Fiji constitution to be drawn up soon - 24 June 2009

Fiji Sun - WE ARE ONE :PM - 24 June 2009

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited - Censorship extended till August - 24 June 2009

 

West Papuan Dancers Highlight Indonesian Human Rights Violations

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

MANOKWARI, West Papua - A dance troop from West Papua performed at Stonehenge in Britain to draw attention to the human rights violations in the Papua region.

The British Council of Druids invited the Mambesak troupe and a West Papuan activist, Benny Wenda, to partake in the Summer Solstice celebrations. The celebration attracted a record breaking 36,500 people.

The Mambesak troupe consists of four semi-nude dancers, who according to the Times Online, danced through the night and ended with a performance at sunrise. The West Papuan dancers came to Britain to highlight what they believe is the Indonesian government’s history of persecuting people from the Papua region and denying them their independance.

Rollo Maughfling, head of the British Council of Druids Archdruid, spoke to the crowds at Stonehenge, informing them of Papua’s history of human rights violations and encouraging listeners to actively support West Papuan efforts in gaining independence from Indonesia.

Separatist protests and demonstrations for independence have long marked Papua’s history. Once a Dutch colony on New Guinea’s western end, Papua became Indonesia’s largest province in 1969. Violence erupted in 2003 after President Megawati Sukarnoputri separated Papua into three provinces: Central Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Tengah), Papua (or East Irian Jaya, Irian Jaya Timur), and West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat).

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International - West Papuans push their cause at Stonehenge event-  22 June 2009

Radio New Zealand International - 11 Papuans jailed in Indonesia for separatist activities - 09 January 2009