FIJI: Senior politician resigns from national council
Updated
Fijian political figure Mick Beddoes has resigned from the interim government's National Council for Building a Better Fiji. His resignation follows the deportation on Tuesday of the publisher of the Fiji Sun, and allegations of tax evasion made against former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry -- allegations Mr Chaudry denies. Mr Beddoes' departure means that in the past fortnight, two members of the Council, set up by the interim government to set a path for the country's future, have left in protest at the actions and interventions of that government.
Presenter: Pacific Correspondent Campbell Cooney
Speakers: President of Fij's "United People's Party" Mick Beddoes
COONEY: Fijian politician Mick Beddoes says there are three reasons he's resigned from the National Council for Building a Better Fiji.
BEDDOES: Well I've resigned in protest at the double standards that the interim regime's applying to the Chaudhry case. The Chief Justice was terminated from his role and kept waiting for over a year before they laid charges, and initially his removal from office was to do with his mismanagement of the judiciary, and it ended up being a tax issue, similar to Mr Chaudhry's, but on this occasion they were quite happy to divulge the tax issues relating to the Chief Justice, so the application of double standards. Secondly it was my objection to the abduction and deportation of Russell Hunter, the publisher of the Fiji Sun. And my third reason to express my objection and which is why I quit was the fact that in all of this, because people were quite outraged by what was revealed, the Police Commissioner then threatened citizens with a charge of incitement if they objected and made comments that went against the interim administration. Now I agreed to go on this committee because it was building a charter and the cornerstone of that charter was to create the rules of engagement for future governments of Fiji to take the country forward. And the cornerstone to all of that is good governance, accountability and transparency.
COONEY: The council was created by interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama with the stated aim of laying the groundwork for helping the country return to democratic rule and to provide priorities for future governments. But Mr Beddoes is the second high profile member to resign within a fortnight. Last week Fijian academic Suliana Siwatibao withdrew unhappy with the appointment of Commodore Bainimarama as the chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs with the power to appoint new members. But Mrs Siwatibao's and Mr Beddoe's protests are just two of the voices which in the past three weeks have come out in opposition to the proposals and plans of the interim government. Between the Great Council of Chiefs decision, the prospect that reserve land might be released to farmers, the allegations against Mr Chaudhry, and the deportation of one of the country's newspaper editors Russell Hunter, things in Fiji right now are a little unsettled. Mick Beddoes says the interim government hasn't delivered on what it promised.
BEDDOES: The sole reason that this military regime exists this time is that it accused the previous government of corrupt practices and mismanagement. If they're serious about it, then they need to demonstrate it by their actions. In other words they need to walk the talk and you cannot suggest to me that although they don't want to admit it I think they're starting to buckle a little under the pressure.
COONEY: Are you concerned perhaps now that you're no longer going to be part of this council that your say and your views on how Fiji can go into the future are going to hit a dead end now?
BEDDOES: No I'm going to make sure that it doesn't, I'm going to continue to express my point of view as I have done in the past, and like I say if they start to do and act like they ought to, like somebody who's interested in creating a unified and a collective ownership of the new set of rules for the future, in order for them to do that then they've got to include everybody else. Right now it is not inclusive. The fact is that this is a one-sided Labor Party-Alliance Party driven charter, until such time as they incorporate all the other players, and until they get to that point they can't say that this is a document that reflects the wishes of the people.
