FIJI: Treason probe against Qarase shelved
Updated
A Fiji Police investigation of deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase for treason has been put on hold. It's alleged Mr Qarase appealed to Australian prime minister John Howard to intervene militarily just before the coup, led by the current interim prime minister, Frank Bainimarama. The Fiji Police asked the international police organisation, Interpol, to investigate the matter, but with no result so far.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speakers: Anish Chand, from Fiji TV One
CHAND: The backdrop to this investigation was that Fiji police was liaising with Interpol, the international police organisation to help them get information out of Australia. We know that the Australian Federal Police and the Fiji police force are not on good terms after the December takeover. So the Fiji police force were as a matter of procedure asked to liaise with Interpol and Interpol looks like it did go to Australia and whatever information trickled back into Fiji has given the police force not enough evidence to proceed with this investigation.
HILL: Well this was all to do with allegations that just before the coup Mr Qarase actually appealed to Australia and or New Zealand to intervene militarily, which is a pretty serious sort of a charge isn't it?
CHAND: Well at that time when this information surfaced it was the military commander back then, Frank Bainimarama who made this piece of information public saying that Laisenia Qarase on the eve of the takeover that was round about December 4th or 5th did call up John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister and allegedly asked John Howard to send in troops to Fiji to protect his government. How far that is true is known between Laisenia Qarase and John Howard, but Laisenia Qarase is on record in Fiji saying he did make the call, but he denied asking for international intervention. But insofar as the military's concerned they remain adamant, they said that Laisenia Qarase had broken the cardinal rule of following procedure in Fiji, he did not, it was alleged by the military that Laisenia Qarase did not ask the president at that time that he was going to call John Howard and so forth the case of treason was made against Laisenia Qarase.
HILL: The fact that the Fiji police have been unable to make this case so far, is that going to be seen as a failure of the Fiji police or will this be blamed on the lack of cooperation from the Interpol and the Australian Federal Police?
CHAND: Well it will be interesting to see what happens now, now that the Fiji police force have said that they cannot proceed with this investigation against Laisenia Qarase, it will be interesting to see what the military has to say. We all know that Laisenia Qarase is supposed to come onto Viti Levu in less than a week, and whether the Fiji military force will ask Fiji police force to continue this investigation so as to keep Laisenia Qarase in a bind insofar as the investigations are concerned. We know that if Laisenia Qarase comes to Viti Levu he will have to move around Suva, but if investigations against him are ongoing it could give the Fiji police force and the military a chance to keep Mr Qarase under caution just to let him know that watch out sir, you are under investigation, don't do anything that will jeopardise your freedom.
HILL: The fact that they've been unable to proceed with this case, is that going to be seen as a black eye for the interim government, a bit of a setback for them? Because this was one of their major charges against Mr Qarase that he actually committed treason?
CHAND: Well it's a plus for Laisenia Qarase in the sense that the Fiji police force has for the time being closed the file on him. It's yet to be seen what the interim government will do, but we all know that the interim government, the Fiji police force and the military work from one song sheet, they do the same things, the interim government says something it goes down to the Fiji police force. Of course the police commissioner, his deputy police commissioner, deputy police commander previously, Esala Teleni, and whether the Commodore, Esala Teleni carries the agenda of the military in this whole investigation is yet to be seen. But as of now Laisenia Qarase seems to be a free man, and until things change otherwise we cannot say what will happen now.
