Australia Strikes Deal With Interim Regime

Australia Strikes Deal With Interim Regime

Issue No: 201; 14 November 2000

The Australian government has struck a secret deal with the interim regime of Fiji.

A government press statement released today (14 Nov) states:

"At its meeting, Cabinet also welcomed the decision by the Australian Government to offer a successor arrangement to the import credit scheme, which expired on 30 September, 2000. This successor scheme will, no doubt, be also welcomed by Fiji's TCF Industry, as it will greatly assist it in accessing the Australian market."

For weeks now, it had been alleged that Australia was silently accommodating the interim regime. The Australian Opposition had alleged in the Australian Parliament that Australia had softened its stand on Fiji and was secretly making deals with it. The announcement by the interim regime confirms the allegations that Australia will tolerate the loss of democracy through violent means.

That the violent overthrow of democracy in Fiji, the holding of an elected government hostage for 56 days, and the subsequent appointment of an interim regime on the platform of the terrorists demands, has been unprecedented during the past 200 years of modern world history.

For Fiji, Australia is the single largest source of all imports.

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Rumours Of Rabuka Arrest

Issue No: 200; 14 November 2000

Rumours have been strong in the country today about the possible arrest of Sitiveni Rabuka by the military.

Rumours began this morning in Suva and spread throughout the country. That no media covered this indicates that the rumours were unfounded.

The military, however, has banned Rabuka from entering any of the military premises around the country.

This follows the attempted coup of 2 November by members of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit of the army. Rabuka had established the CRW as the Fiji equivalent of a `palace guard'. The military believes that the CRW remained loyal to Rabuka years after Rabuka left the military. Members of the CRW unit trained on Rabuka's farm before the 19 May terrorist style takeover of the Parliament Complex on 19 May.

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SVT Leader Also Behind The Terrorists - SVT Member

Issue No: 199; 14 November 2000

The SVT's leader, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola was behind the illegal overthrow of the democratically elected government.

This statement comes from a SVT member and ardent pro-democracy activist Jone Dakuvula in an article he has written for the Daily Post.

We quote here the relevant extracts of the article:

"(a) Ratu Inoke told a S.V.T. Management Board Meeting a few days after the 1999 General Election result, that we must get rid of the Coalition Government in the shortest time possible. People must be ready to shed blood and die for that "cause". He said this only a few days after Major General Rabuka had refused the request of some ex MP's to lead another military coup. Since the S.V.T. could not have forced another General Election, or achieved a majority for a vote of no confidence in Parliament, what then did Ratu Inoke mean by getting rid of the government in the shortest time possible?

(b)Ratu Inoke and Apisai Tora together revived the Taukei Movement and co-ordinated the marches with the Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party activists that built up towards the coup of George Speight.

(c)Ratu Inoke, on the day of George Speight's seizure of Parliament, told Jokapeci Koroi, President of the F.L.P., to leave Government offices in Parliament because they were taking over.

(d)He led the S.V.T. delegation that expressed its support to George Speight in Parliament on the 24th of May. He told George Speight supporters that they were "under his protection".

(e)His name was on George Speight's various Cabinet lists and he did not say or do anything to deny his willingness to be on those lists."

In the article, Dakuvula states that Kubuabola also knew about the 2 November attempted coup. He writes: "can Ratu Inoke deny that he said to a worker at the Suva Wharf before the Mutiny day: `Don't forget Thursday'. What was that about?" Thursday was the 2 Nov. attempted coup.

The full text of Dakuvula's article is found at: http://www.ppcgov.org.fj/docs_o/jd_inoke_14nov.htm

The other two Coalition partners of the SVT, the NFP and the UGP, have remained silent on these allegations.

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