Fiji former opposition leader accuses PM of treason

Updated February 18, 2009 17:07:15

Fiji's ousted opposition leader Mick Beddoes has accused the interim prime minister of committing treason. This follows a threat from Commodore Bainimarama that the deposed prime minister might not be let out of the country after his return from Australia. Mr Beddoes says the interim prime minister is hardly one to accuse someone else of behaving illegally.

presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Fiji's ousted opposition leader Mick Beddoes.

BEDDOES: If you spin the kind of rhetoric that the commander has been spinning since December 2006, there comes a time when you start to believe your own garbage and I think that's the position he has reached. He’s hanging his hat on the fact that the three judges in the high court ruled that the president was correct in appointing the interim regime as he did and that's based on some imaginary powers that they bestowed on the president, none of which exist in our Constitution. So on the basis of that, he's now starting to spin the fact that look, we're legal and my question to them is that if you are legal, hurrah and why don't you rip up the president's immunity decree and use as your defence when the next parliament is elected by the high court ruling that you are legal, let's see what happens.

HILL: He also said that he does keep in touch with ordinary people, he goes out to the rural areas, drinks bowls of kava with people and that he can't be that unpopular because no-one's actually thrown at stone at him.

BEDDOES : Yeah, that's a good one. But again I would have to say well if he's so popular, why does this few need a dozen or so armed guards surround him throughout the day, why would a popular man of the people need to be so intensely guarded by armed soldiers. He should therefore stand down and move about without any guards and then test the popularity.

HILL: Do you have any idea how popular or unpopular the commodore is?

BEDDOES: Well, I haven't seen the results in the newspaper today, but there is a poll that is coming out apparently. I was asked questions on this yesterday. Mr Qarase is preferred as prime minister over Bainimarama and he's level of support I think 27 per cent. So it kind of fits where I think things have been since 2006. I have always figured that on the top side of things, I would say he has about 15-20 per cent support, but I wouldn't push it too far ahead of that. And I understand from this poll, which is yet to be released, that it's somewhere round that figure, may be seven percentage points more than I think.

HILL: What do you think the response is likely to be to this threat to not allow Mr Qarase to leave Fiji once he gets back from his trip to Australia?

BEDDOES: It is yet a further indictment or a further step towards banana republic state as I guess you could say, because here we have a man who has committed treason and has perpetuated the act of treason since December, 2006, receiving a pat on the back from the High Court in Fiji and then now proceeding to then question the former prime minister who was constitutionally elected and constitutionally appointed about the fact that he's during a visit to his family, that he that was perhaps his full intent anyway and during the time of his trip to New Zealand, why shouldn't he be free to attend fundraising dances and why shouldn't he be allowed to go and address Fiji citizens, former Fiji citizens all of whom are keen and interested to know what's happening in Fiji, what's the big deal. I mean these guys break the law so badly on virtually every second day, it's outrageous what they do, yet they are now trying to build up a case and say oh, we will not let him get out of the country. It's a little bit of a paranoia that comes with un-elected officials in this country.