Page 5 - IB May 2021

Opinion

SWEARING-IN STRENGTHENS NATION’S

FOUNDATION

By the Samoa Observer Editorial Board provided by people.
When the history of this country is written, these actions
What a shame it had to happen as it did. will largely define their legacy: refusing to place the value of
Fiame Naomi Mataafa taking the oath of office to govern the nation above their own self-interest.
this nation seven weeks after being elected is an event of Many descriptors have been reached for by observers seek-
generational, regional, and international significance. ing to capture the magnitude of the events that have gripped
Today and for her conduct since 9 April, we congratulate this nation.
Fiame. We wish her ability to form a workable administration None proved hyperbolic in the end. It was only at the last
proceeds and the very best in Government, as the leader of a minute and by the intervention of a man who acted in ac-
nation whose fate is twinned with Samoa’s own. cordance with the high principles that befit his office: His
There will, of course, be legal challenges. But the symbol- Honour, Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese.
ism of Monday’s event was an assertion of power by the right- If anything captured the crisis of Samoan democracy, it
ful winner of the election. It was necessary, not only to uphold was the image of Justice Satiu, dressed in full judicial regalia
the constitution but to remind many in Samoan politics that approaching the front doors of the Legislative Assembly with
they exist to serve the people, not powerful interests. his judicial colleagues only to find them locked before humbly
The proper place for the occasion of Fiame’s swearing-in turning on his heel and walking away.
was inside our chamber of democracy; the people’s house; the And so it has been. The party that has ruled over Samoa for
Parliament. decades has played games with the law in the weeks after its
But it was not to be. Instead, Fiame and the Faatuatua i le election loss. Even on Monday night as Tuilaepa was invoking
Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T) party had to hold an unprece- threats of legal action he was simultaneously - yet again -
dented ad-hoc swearing-in, something they were forced to do trashing the courts and casting doubt on their independence.
to ensure that a constitutional requirement that Parliament Perhaps his frustrations are starting to show with his failure
meets 45 days after a national election was met. to get his way via the judiciary.
Perhaps we should have expected that the Human Rights Last week alone, on four separate occasions the party was
Protection Party (H.R.P.P.), having played political games and handed four separate losses in court over attempts to scrap
thumbed its nose at the rule of law since it lost its majority at the election of forestalling the forming of a new Government.
last month’s election, was not about to face up to reality and Already under attack from Tuilaepa while in office, the
honour democracy. judiciary has shown remarkable poise throughout this political
It is clear that they continue to intend to play the spoiler’s crisis and served as the defining line between chaos and order.
role after not showing up to Monday’s swearing-in and stating But given the tenor of Tuilaepa’s press conference on Mon-
that the absence of the Head of State had rendered the event day, we can expect there to be no end to the games.
invalid. He disputes the legitimacy of Fiame’s signing in.
The Head of State’s attempts to cancel Monday’s court-or- As he notes, the Head of State was not, as the constitution
dered Parliamentary sitting were quashed; this was the fourth requires, present for the swearing-in of her Faatuatua ile Atua
ruling against H.R.P.P. attempts to prevent the forming of a Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) party M.P.s.
new Government all in one week. Having exhausted legal av- But similarly, the Head of State was fast taking Samoa down
enues they resorted to the cheap tactic of simply locking the a path of lawlessness. If no swearing-in had taken place on
doors to the people’s house. The party has no right to make Monday then the Government would be in breach of the law
this nation hostage while they continue to cook up last-ditch of the land. Samoa would truly be in uncharted and lawless
schemes to hold onto power. territory. What would have happened to the nation then?
The rambling, shambling circus that has continued on now We anticipate Fiame’s swearing-in it to be challenged,
for seven weeks since last month’s election; it was really ridiculed and diminished by Tuilaepa. But we also believe his
resolved within seven days. voice is now consigned to slowly fade into the background,
In the interim, it began as a tantrum by a leader who could having done incalculable damage to his own once-proud politi-
not stand up to the truth came close to ending with him pull- cal legacy.
ing out every stop to derail proper Government. Ultimately though ugly political disputes are resolved by the
The actions of Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi and those exercise of law and order, a low point that civil society should
who aided and abetted him brought dishonour upon this na- never reach.
tion. We have seen a recent upsurge in divisive rhetoric among
These were the actions of someone who expects others to the people of Samoa, dogmatically backing one party or the
submit to his power; is unaccustomed to hearing ‘no’; and for-
gotten his office only derives its authority from the legitimacy Continued on page 35

Islands Business, May 2021 5