Page 22 - IB Sept-Oct 2020

Fiji @50 Fiji @50

FIJI MAKING AMENDS IN PACIFIC

REGIONALISM

By Ambassador Kaliopate Tavola and New Zealand (ANZ) in the Forum…..Indeed, we wanted
them for a special reason for part of the ambitious plan of the
From the zenith of Pacific regionalism (the Forum) from Forum..…was no less than to alter the whole balance of the
the early 1970s, Fiji’s standing in the group and amongst its terms of trade.”
regional neighbours stooped to unprecedented ignominy in Fiji’s good record persisted over the years when the Forum
2009. Fiji was the first member country ever to be suspended needed to negotiate and resolve intractable global issues like
from the Forum. It remained in the doldrums until 2014 The Law of the Sea and nuclear testing. Fast forward to 2000,
when its membership was reinstated after the country’s 2014 under the Biketawa Declaration, specifically under RAMSI,
general elections. After tentative steps to regain its rightful where Fiji’s contribution of security personnel, along with
status, Fiji appears to be firmly on the way to recapturing its those from Australia, New Zealand and other PICs assisted
lost good name. Its task is a foregone conclusion. It has to be Solomon Islands in its hour of need, is to be commended.
the mainspring of transformative changes under the proposed But the period starting in December 2006 marked Fiji’s de-
2050 Strategy. Fiji’s first step is to ensure that the strategy is cline in favour in terms of Pacific regionalism. The same Biket-
expertly and adequately framed to effectively deliver on all awa Declaration was invoked to suspend Fiji in 2009 following
the changes that will transform the economies of the Pacific the coup of 2006 and failure to conduct general elections as
Island Countries (PICs) to sustainability, secure inter-depen- first indicated. Fiji’s suspension was lifted in October 2014
dencies and heightened levels of self-sufficiency. after the general elections. But the controversies surrounding
Fiji’s good name in the Forum had a pre-Forum lead-up. Fiji persisted. This was due to Prime Minister Bainimarama’s
In 1965, independent Western Samoa was a member of the intention to find ways to exclude Australia and New Zealand
then South Pacific Commission (SPC). Fiji and other non- from the Forum’s membership.
independent PICs attended SPC meetings only on invitation. This intention, however, waned somewhat with the execu-
But they were unhappy about their treatment by the metro- tion of the provisions of Australia’s ‘Step-Up’ and New Zea-
politan countries. At the meeting in Lae that year, Fiji’s Ratu land’s ‘Pacific Re-set’ that strengthened regional aid packages
Kamisese Mara masterminded what was to be later referred for the PICs. PM Bainimarama’s mood was upbeat on the way
to as the Lae Rebellion. to the Tuvalu Forum Leaders’ meeting last year. When asked
Ratu Mara articulated the PICs’ concern: “The powers about his relationship with Australia and New Zealand, he said
seemed incapable of realising that the winds of change had that the Forum was reaching a new stage in its development
at last reached the South Pacific and that we peoples of the with both. His mood, however, reverted to being critical of
territories were no longer going to tolerate the domination of the two developed country members after the divisive she-
the Commission by the metropolitan powers. We were sick of nanigans of Funafuti instigated by Australia as perceived by
having little to say and no authority. Regardless of what we the PICs Leaders.
said or did the final decision was always in the hands of the However, all that seems to be water under the bridge. PM
metropolitan powers.” Bainimarama opened Fiji’s national consultation on the 2050
The Lae Rebellion resulted in the breakaway of five PICs— Strategy last August. He was upbeat. He was inspirational. He
the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Tonga and Western Samoa—with spoke of Forum Leaders as the captains - the ones who must
the idea to establish their own forum between 1970 - 1971. make the day-to-day decisions that lead us to our destination.
Ratu Mara, Fiji’s first Prime Minster, was the principal in- Our destination “is to achieve the future we know is right and
terlocutor for the group and he negotiated the terms of the know is possible.”
inclusion in the group of New Zealand first and Australia later. The future of course, and the path to get there, will be
The South Pacific Forum was thus formalised in Wellington in encapsulated in the 2050 Strategy. In Fiji’s eyes, “the Strategy
1971. Ratu Mara later justified the inclusion of the two de- will be at the heart of our ambition.” Referring to Australia’s
veloped countries: “We were happy to be joined by Australia effort to ensure equitable access to a vaccine to the corona-

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22 Islands Business, September/October 2020