The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress (initially, People's Charter for Change and Progress) is a proposed legal document which would complement the Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. It would establish compulsory guidelines for any government policy in Fiji over the coming years. The People's Charter is due to be completed and come into force prior to the scheduled 2009 general election.
A draft version of the Charter was released to the public in early August 2008. Input from the public will be received in August and September. Council member Filimoni Kau has stated that objections will be considered, but that the Charter will go ahead in any case.[1]
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The People's Charter is the brainchild of current interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, head of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, who overthrew the elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in December 2006. Bainimarama alleged that Qarase was corrupt and racist, and declared that a People's Charter was necessary in order to prevent corruption and racism within future elected governments.
In April 2007, a draft version of the Charter was published [2]. The draft, intended as a general presentation of the future Charter's aims, began with a statement that "Fiji’s politics and overall governance have been dominated by and deeply mired in divisive, race-based politics, policies, and institutions". Consequently, the text authors state, "Fiji needs to become a more progressive and a truly democratic nation; a country in which its leaders, at all levels, emphasize national unity, racial harmony and the social and economic advancement of all communities regardless of race or ethnic origin."
The overall objective of the Charter is defined as follows:
Much emphasis is laid on the necessity to prioritise national unity over the politics of separate ethnic communities.
In August 2008, shortly before the Charter was due to be released to the public, it was announced that it recommended a change in the name of Fiji's citizens. If the proposal were adopted, all citizens of Fiji, whatever their ethnicity, would be called "Fijians". At present, the word "Fijian" does not denote a nationality, and refers exclusively to indigenous Fijians. Citizens of Fiji are referred to as "Fiji Islanders". The proposal would change the English name of indigenous Fijians from "Fijians" to itaukei, the Fijian word for indigenous Fijians.[3]
Archbishop Petero Mataca summed up the Charter by saying it would "reinforce the quality and sustainability of democracy in Fiji" and "provide a clearer vision of the principles and values we want to live by".[4]
Commodore Bainimarama has said that the People's Charter will prevent any candidate for the 2009 general election from campaigning on racist and divisive policies. Such candidates would be barred from taking part in the election.
Asked by a journalist whether Qarase would be allowed to take part in the election, Bainimarama said he would: "That is also in the commitment we had yesterday and that was [sic] always been there" [6].
In May 2008, Bainimarama added that the military would enforce future governments' compliance with the provisions of the Charter.[7]
The Charter is to be prepared by a National Council for Building a Better Fiji (NCBBF), supposed to be "broadly representative of Fiji society (including leaders and representatives from the civil society including NGOs, the private sector, religious and community organisations, employers/workers and youth organisations, and the political parties)" [6].
The NCBBF held its first meeting on January 16, 2008. It reportedly began with an "in depth" assessment of the state of the nation [8][9][10][11][12].
Officially, the NCBBF's work on the Charter is overseen by an independent monitoring group, which reports directly to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo. The monitoring group is chaired by Sela Molisa, a member of the Parliament of Vanuatu. Reverend Amy Chambers is also a member of the monitoring group.[13] The NCBBF itself is composed of three task teams, one (co-chaired by Ratu Josefa Serulagilagi and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum) tasked with focusing on good governance, another (co-chaired by Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo and Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry) on economic growth, and the third (co-chaired by Lorrine Tevi and Health Minister Dr. Jiko Luveni) on "social cultural identity and nation building."[14]
On June 24, 2008, the NCBBF made several recommendations, all of them in line with Bainimarama's original aims. These included:
The NCBBF advocated implementing electoral reforms before holding any election. A representative of the Council stated: "The NCBBF is of the firm view that change is long overdue and that Fiji urgently needs a new electoral system based on equal suffrage - that is one person, one vote, equal value."[16]
On August 5, 2008, the NCBBF announced that it had endorsed a draft Charter document, which was to be released shortly thereafter. Fijilive reported that the NCBBF planned to "gauge the views of the people on the draft Charter via a public awareness campaign over the next six weeks". Meetings would be held in public venues, the Charter would be advertised in the media, and there would be "consultations by public relations teams at grassroots level in all the villages and settlements throughout the country".[17]
It remains unclear how the People's Charter will be officially implemented. The interim government has announced that the public will be consulted, but no official reference to a referendum has been made. Legally, if the Charter is deemed to alter the Constitution, it could only be adopted by a two thirds majority of elected members of Parliament. Parliament is currently not in session, having been dismissed after the coup.[18] Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who opposes the Charter, has, however, stated that a referendum would constitute legal validation.[19]
The People's Charter was released to the public on August 6, 2008. Among its key proposals were the following:[20]
In addition, specific proposals aimed at promoting national unity and reducing inter-ethnic divisiveness[21]:
The proposed Charter received strong support from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Petero Mataca, who became co-chair (with Commodore Bainimarama) of the National Council for Building a Better Fiji. However, others were more cautious, noncommittal or openly critical. Fiji Women's Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali declined to comment. Fiji's Citizens Constitutional Forum continued to oppose the military coup, calling it unjustifiable, but in response to the proposed Charter, said there is "a serious need to re-look at problems to find solutions to move the country forward".[22]
The National Federation Party and the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party both opposed the idea of a People's Charter implemented by an unelected government [23]. Fiji’s Methodist Church, to which a majority of indigenous Fijians belong, also opposed the Charter [24], stating that it had been instructed by God to do so[25]. The Fiji Labour Party supported it.[26] The Fiji Council of Churches offered cautious support, urging people not to oppose it outright, and suggesting that it provided "a window of opportunity for the nation to move forward".[27]
Samisoni Pareti of the magazine Islands Business expressed doubt as to whether elections could be held as promised in early 2009 if the interim government insisted on having the People's Charter in place before the election. In Pereti's view, the Charter would not be completed in time, and Bainimarama might have to choose between postponing the election (and thus sparking the ire of the international community) or abandoning his People's Charter [28]. Pareti's prediction turned out to be accurate: the election was postponed.[29]
By contrast, New Zealander human rights activist Thakur Ranjit Singh expressed public support for the People's Charter, stating that fresh elections alone would not address the "fundamental problems in Fiji", such as "the agenda of the nationalists who want Fiji for Fijians and Fiji as a Christian state" or a "culture of corruption, nepotism and cronyism"; the People's Charter must therefore, in Singh's view, be implemented before any election takes place [30].
The responses of Indo-Fijian cultural and religious organisations were mixed. The Hindu organisations Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha supported the process and agreed to take part in the NCBBF. By contrast, Sangam, an organisation representing South Indians, refused to do so, as did the Fiji Muslim League, describing itself as non-political. On an individual basis, prominent Indo-Fijians such as Shamima Ali, Brij Lal, Imrana Jalal, Wadan Narsey and Richard Naidu refused to support the Charter.[31]
In March 2008, an editorial in the Fiji Daily Post commented that "a one-sided ‘People’s Charter’ for Fiji may not have the ameliorative effect its enforcers hope for. To truly succeed, the charter, like the nation, must proceed by bipartisan agreements, by consultative dialogue that brings victors and vanquished to the table of compromise so that a just settlement is achieved".[32]
The Pacific Islands Forum supported the proposed Charter [33].
In April 2008, a Fiji Times opinion poll found that public opinion was evenly split, with 46.2% disagreeing with the idea of the Charter, and 45.8% supporting it.[34] The poll was taken in the context of a public debate over the Charter, during which it was supported by Joseva Serulagilagi (Chairman of the Tailevu Provincial Council), Lorine Tevi (President of the Fiji Council of Social Services), and Pundit Kamlesh Arya (President of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji), and opposed by Wadan Narsey (Professor of Economics at the University of the South Pacific), Richard Naidu (Senior Partner at the Munro Leys law firm) and Tupou Draunidalo (Former Vice-President of the Fiji Law Society).[35]
The People's Charter was released to the public on August 6, 2008. Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was critical of its content. He dismissed as "unreasonable" its proposal to dissolve political parties which "engage in activities that breach important values of the Constitution". Qarase also opposed the proposed change in the country's demonym, which would enable all citizens of Fiji to refer to themselves as "Fijians": "That term [Fijian] is embedded into the indigenous population. It is a very sensitive issue and it will be opposed very strongly."[36] Qarase stated that the Charter made a number of good suggestions, but that it would, on the whole, increase inter-ethnic tensions. He stated that "[s]ome of the key proposals in the charter, if implemented without the approval of an elected parliament, would be contrary to the provisions of the 1997 Constitution."[37] He called upon the Charter to be voted on by an elected Parliament[37], and, alternately, suggested a referendum to decide the issue.[19] He added:
Ousted Opposition leader Mick Beddoes also expressed his opposition to the Charter.[37] The Fiji Labour Party, whose leader Mahendra Chaudhry is a member of the interim government, officially supported the Charter.[38]
Academic Brij Lal, one of the authors of the Constitution, described the Charter as "too prescriptive", commenting that it appeared to aim at creating an unfeasible utopia. He added: "I think that for the charter and some of the recommendations to have credibility, they have to be endorsed through parliament."[39]
The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma has confirmed its opposition to the Charter, both because it originates from a government that came to power by force (despite the Church having openly supported the coups of 1987 and 2000[40]), and because the Church deems it to be an "an illegal, dangerous document that, if followed, will have a negative impact on the lives of Fiji citizens".[41] Following a Church conference, Church general secretary Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu told the media:
The National Federation Party has called upon citizens to boycott the charter consultation process, claiming that the Charter would disadvantage Indo-Fijians. Referring to the proposed abolition of the communal voting system, to be replaced by a "one man, one vote" electoral process, party secretary Pramod Rae stated:
Ousted Vice-President and lawyer Joni Madraiwiwi has sought to take a balanced and cautionary view:
Jone Dakuvula, of the Citizens' Constitutional Forum, has commented favourably on the Charter:
Bainimarama has attacked some of his critics, labelling their objections self-serving:
In October 2008, the Fijian Teachers Association objected to a proposal for the Charter to be presented to children at school, describing the idea as "propaganda".[47]
In July 2009, Bainimarama announced that his government would introduce a new Constitution by 2013, and that the Constitution would "derive its impetus from the recommendations under the Charter".[48][49]