Fiji constitution author says decrees not democratic
Updated
One of the co-authors of the abrogated 1997 constitution, Dr Brij Lal, says that the coup-installed interim government decreeing which parts of a constitution to choose is problematic.
The interim government has confirmed plans to use parts of the former constitution as a basis for its governance program.
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Dr Brij Lal, co-author of Fiji's 1997 constitution and lecturer at the Australian National University
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LAL: Well, I think the first thing is that we are really talking about the rule of decree rather than the rule of law. We've heard so many times promises made about protecting human rights and so on and so forth, but the reality on the ground is very different. Now, for example, we have in existence the public emergency regulations where were enacted in April and they have been extended month by month by month. There is no freedom of speech. There is strict censorship of the media. They talk about the independence of the judiciary but what they forget is, you see, that the registrar of the High Court of Fiji is a junior serving officer of the Fiji military forces. So I think we're talking about the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, and it seems to me that the spirit of the constitution is breached on a regular basis. And so we'll just have to wait and see precisely what aspect of the 1997 constitution they want to bring, and what kind of goodwill gestures they will demonstrate to the international community, that is for example removing the censorship of the media, relaxing the public emergency regulations,enabling people to have a full and free discussion of the various issues facing the country.
COUTTS: Is this a case of seeing to be doing? They seem to be cherry-picking the eyes out of the 1997 constitution, but in essence they're presidential decrees.
LAL: Indeed, indeed. I mean the important thing to remember is that it's Commodore Bainimarama who will decide what aspect of the constitution are brought back. Now as an example he said that in early next year there will be a political dialogue forum to prepare for the constitution amendment and so on in 2012. That sounds alright except that he says that no political party or political leaders will be invited to participate in this process of talking about what is needed. So in a sense really we're talking about the shadow, not the substance of the constitution in Fiji.
COUTTS: But even making out that they're following the constitution why do it? Why abrogate it? It's the third time. In previous coups it was abrogated so it's just a matter of practice now. After a coup you abrogate?
LAL: Yes indeed this is the thing, I mean they've abrogated the constitution and now they want to bring it back in dribs and drabs. But I think we've got to look at the whole thing in a larger perspective. The larger of perspective will involve looking at what kind of political culture, what kind of political institution we want in Fiji. What kind of electoral system we want in Fiji. And this is something that must involve the citizens of Fiji in an inclusive way rather than just simply the interim administration
