THIS ACCORD is made at Muanikau, Suva on Sunday the 9th day of July 2000.
BETWEEN THE COMMANDER OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI MILITARY FORCES and HEAD OF THE
INTERIM MILITARY
GOVERNMENT OF FIJI of the first part A N D ILIKINI NAITINI also known as GEORGE
SPEIGHT for and on behalf of himself and
his group and supporters of the second part.
A. WHEREAS a group of armed men under the leadership of one ILIKINI Naitini
aka George Speight herein after referred to as the George
Speight Team (GST)] did on 19th May 2000 at the Parliament Complex at Veiuto,
Suva by force of arms seize, take and have kept as political
hostages the Prime Minister, most members of his Cabinet, some members of the
House of Representatives and other persons (here inafter
referred to as the "political hostages") Schedule One hereto.
B. AND WHEREAS the GST was immediately joined by other civilians who under
the leadership of Ilikini Naitini aka George Speight
purported to form a government and styled themselves the Taukei Civilian Government
(TCG) with the declared purpose of addressing and
correcting the growing discontent among indigenous Fijians and their opposition:
(a) to various policies declared and/or implemented by the People's Coalition
Government under Mahendra Pal Chaudhry as
Prime Minister; and to various matters and issues which are inconsistent with
the aspirations of the indigenous Fijians; and,
(b) to the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands which they
believe are repugnant to the preservation and
protection of the rights and interests of indigenous Fijians in Fiji;
C. AND WHEREAS the said Ilikini Naitini aka George Speight did on 19th May
2000 purport to abrogate by Decree the 1997 Constitution of
the Republic of the Fiji Islands, and he also purported to promulgate various
enabling Decrees under which he proceeded to appoint a
President, a Prime Minister and other Ministers under the said TCG ;
D. AND WHEREAS the said Ilikini Naitini aka George Speight and the TCG purported
to establish and have maintained control of the
Parliament Complex and its environs together with the political hostages held
therein since 19'" May 2000;
E. AND WHEREAS His Excellency, the President of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara,
on the advice of the Commissioner of Police and being
satisfied that the state of law and order in the country was put at great risk
by the political crisis caused by the GST, and acting on his own
deliberate judgement. did on 19th May 2000 declare a state of national emergency
over Fiji under the Public Safety Act; and acting pursuant to
section 85 of the Constitution, he assumed sale Executive Authority of the Government
of Fiji in the absence of the Prime Minister and his
Government Ministers;
F. AND WHEREAS on 23rd to 25th' May 2000 the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (hereinafter
referred to as the "BLV") in an attempt to maintain
constitutional Government and authority in Fiji met at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks
at Nabua, Suva ("QEB") and adopted a number of
Resolutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Resolutions"), and delegated
to a specially appointed committee (hereinafter referred to as a the "Committee")
the responsibility:
(a) of conveying the said Resolutions to Ilikini Naitini aka George Speight
and members of his group (hereinafter referred to
as the "GSG") ; and,
(b) of maintaining dialogue with the GSG in respect of the Resolutions ;
G. AND WHEREAS as a result of the disappointment initially expressed by the
GSG over the inconsistencies between some of their aims and
plan of action and some of the Resolutions of the BLV conveyed to them by the
Committee, the Committee acting pursuant to Resolution 10 of
the said Resolutions, sought and obtained the agreement of the GSG that the
Committee entered into negotiations with the GSG for the purpose
of determining the best means of implementing the said Resolutions;
H. AND WHEREAS His Excellency the President, in his continuing search for a
proper and peaceful solution to the political crisis and acting
in accordance with his constitutional powers, appointed the Minister for Labour,
Industrial Relations and Immigration, Ratu Tevita
Momoedonu, to perform the functions of the Prime Minister; and, further acting
on the advice of the said Prime Minister, the President
dismissed Prime Minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhry and all of his Ministers, and
upon receiving the resignation for the said Ratu Tevita
Momoedonu as Prime Minister, the President proceeded to prorogue Parliament
;
I. AND WHEREAS following various incidents of civil commotion and continuing
civil unrest especially in and around Suva since 19th May
2000 resulting in the fatal shooting of a policeman, and after the Commissioner
of Police considered that the Fiji Police Force can no longer
guarantee the security of the nation, requested the President to invoke regulation
22 of the Emergency Regulations and to request the RFMF to
perform all duties and functions of police officers. The President in his own
deliberate judgement directed the RFMF to assume the
responsibility of the security of the nation;
J. AND WHEREAS the RFMF. under its Commander, Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama,
considering the gravity of the deteriorating
security situation and believing that it was necessary to preserve the State
and its people from potential anarchy, advised the President that it was
in the best interest of the security of the nation that the President gave way
to the formation of military rule under an Interim Military
Government [IMG] and for the assumption of executive authority and power by
the .Head of the I MG ;
K. AND WHEREAS the Head of the IMG in the exercise of its executive authority
and legislative power over Fiji did on 29" May. 2000,
promulgate the following Decrees
(a) IMG Decree No. 1, the Fiji Constitution Revocation Decree 2000, wherein
it abrogated the Fiji Constitution of 1997
resulting in the removal of his Excellency the President of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese
Mara and all the vital institutions of the
Government, and,
(b) IMG Decree No. 2, the Fiji Existing Laws Decree 2000, resulting in the
reinstatement of all laws. other than the 1997
Constitution, existing prior to 29''° May 2000;
L. AND WHEREAS the IMG under the leadership of the Commander of the RFMF and
Head of the IMG with the assistance of his Military
Council and selected civilian advisers has been in effective control over the
governance of the nation since 29'" May 2000 including the
promulgation of Decrees for the establishment or continuation of the vital institutions
of the State
M. AND WHEREAS the state of national security has compelled the IMG to continue
to maintain military rule over the whole nation with
stricter application in and around Suva and its suburbs in view of the continuing
difficulty in finding an acceptable solution to the current
national crisis and the consequential reluctance of the GSG to release its political
hostages still held captive at the Parliament Complex until an
acceptable solution is found ;
N. AND WHEREAS the national crisis has caused and continues to cause serious
adverse effect and implications on the national security and
its people in - relation to their daily lives and welfare; including the national
economy, the employment situation, the education system, public
transport and national security;
O. AND WHEREAS the representatives of the parties hereto have with the co-operation
of a Committee of the BLV and occasionally under the
chairmanship of the Turaga tie Tut Vuda Ratu Josefa Iloilo, and in the final
stages with the assistance of the Turaga tie Qaranivalu, Ratu lnoke
Takiveikata, been engaged in continuous negotiations in their search for and
desire to find the most appropriate peaceful solution to the current
national crisis especially in relation to the release of the political hostages,
the formation of a suitable and acceptable interim regime and the
mapping of a way forward to ensure that the grievances of the indigenous Fijians
including those highlighted by the GSG are expeditiously
addressed and adequately corrected without ignoring the interests of all other
citizens of this nation;
P. AND WHEREAS the H/IMG has continued to govern the nation with the assistance
of his Military Council and unilaterally selected a
Military Interim Government on 4`" July, 2000 until the appointment of
an Interim Civilian Government under clause 2 below. NOW
THEREFORE THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE as follows:
1. The immediate objectives of the Parties under this Accord are:
a. release of political hostages held at the Parliament Complex;
b. the restoration of law and order as soon as practicably possible
c. the return of all service personnel (who shall be - reinstated to their service status quo before 19th May, 2000), and the
return of arms, ordnance and stores to the RFMF.
2. The H/IMG shall promulgate a Decree on or before Thursday 13th July 2000
to come into force on Thursday, 13th July 2000 to include
provisions for:
a. The establishment of the position of an Interim President and Interim Vice President who shall be nominated and appointed
by the BLV.
b. Transferring Executive Authority from the H/IMG to the Interim President on Thursday 13" July 2000. Effective as at the
transfer of Executive authority, all Ministers appointed by the H/IMG, pursuant to that power, are deemed to have resigned
from their respective portfolios.
c. Vesting power in the Interim President to establish an Interim Civilian Government [ICG] under a Ministerial format to
govern the nation from Thursday 13'" July 2000 for a period of 24 months in order to return the nation to constitutional rule;
and to replace the current Military Appointed Interim Civilian Government.
d. Vesting Power in the Interim President to appoint, in Consultation with the BLV a Constitutional Review Commission with
an appropriate Terms of Reference.
e. Convening a BLV meeting on Thursday 13'" July 2000 to appoint an interim President and an Interim Vice President.
3. The H/IMG is to promulgate on Thursday 13th July 2000 a Decree to grant
immunity to all persons who allegedly commits the offence of
treason in connection with the actions of the GSG on 19`" May 2000. The
Decree is to cover offences committed between the 19th May 2000
and 13°' July 2000 ( both dates inclusive) and also to cover other persons
who allegedly committed offences which are covered within the
meaning of "political offences" as defined under the Decree. It is
a condition of the grant of immunity under the Decree that:
a. Political hostages held at the Parliament Complex be released on the date of the BLV meeting.
b. Service personnel involved in the in the political takeover, are to be reinstated to their respective service status quo before
19th May, 2000 and the return of arms, ordinance and stores to the RFMF pursuant to clause 5 below.
4. The RFMF shall, upon the signing of this Accord. Immediately -Repeal the
Military Exclusion Zone Decree before the meeting of the BLV.
5. Parties shall return all deployed operational stores and personnel to their
respective garrisons as soon as
practicable after the release of the hostages.
SIGNED by the parties hereto on the day and date herein before written.
RATU JOSAIA VOREQE BAINIMARAMA }
THE COMMANDER OF THE REPUBLIC }
OF FIJI MILITARY FORCES and HEAD }
OF THE INTERIM MILITARY }
GOVERNMENT OF FIJI )
WITNESSED by the Turaga tie Qaranivalu, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata
ILIKINI NAITINI aka GEORGE SPEIGHT }
AS LEADER OF THE TAUKEI CIVILIAN }
TAKEOVER GROUP
WITNESSED by the Turaga tie Qaranivalu, Rats Inoke Takiveikata }
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