The Fiji military has appealed to the churches and the chiefs to
putpressure on rebel leader George Speight to release the
hostages. How thechurch and the chiefs of Fiji are handling this
crisis will have long termeffects on the behaviour of not only
Fijians but future generations of Pacific Islanders.
Already, one generation of Pacific Island students were brought
up inthe wake of the Fiji coups of 1987. This generation saw
how you can useguns to overthrow a democratically elected
government, change the rulesto suit your own ends (or the ends
of your supporters) in the name of culture,tradition and
indigenous rights. And eventually gain acceptance by
thecountries most vocal in their opposition at the outset.
George Speight has indicated his strong belief that after a
couple ofyears, he will be accepted by those countries now most
vocal against himand his supporters just like Rabuka.
Speight and hostages, Chaudry and Baba
In the meantime, the poor can suffer the consequences, the
rights ofthe Indians and others can be trampelled upon and the
law can be implementedby those with the guns.
As the hub of the Pacific, Suva has long been the home of
regional educational institutions such as the University of the
South Pacific, the Fiji School of Medicine, the Pacific
Theological College ; the base for regional organisations such as
the Forum Secretariat, United Nations agencies and other aid
donors.
Many Pacific Islanders who were students in Fiji at the time of
the1987 coups are now in positions of power in their own
governments. This might explain the lack of a strong response
from some of Fiji’s neighbours,who are preoccupied with their
own problems. The latest coup in the Solomon Islands (dubbed
a copy cat coup by the media) is a testimony to what
a generation of Pacific Islanders have learnt from the example
set by Rabuka in 1987.
In addition to the US$30 million worth of damage caused in the
centralbusiness area in Suva, millions of dollars have been spent
in evacuating students from all around the Pacific; the amount of
energy and time wasted on arranging for the safety of regional
students plus the productivity lost due to the closure of
organisations, many of whom are serving otherPacific Island
countries. And that’s not counting the trauma and
psychological suffering of the hostages, their families and the
rest of the nation.
Much of the aid for the Pacific is spent in Suva because of
costs, convenienceto the aid donors and the trust by Pacific
Island governments that theirpeople will be safe in Suva. But at
the beginning of the new millenium,Pacific Island governments
must be questioning the wisdom of this trust. And the aid
donors, many of whom focus their programmes on the
developmentof good governance, must also be questioning the
wisdom and long term effects of operating their programmes
from Suva.
The people in the Pacific are continually reminded of their
growinginter dependence as part of the regional and global
economy. The PacificIslands are linked in regional and national
development efforts to improve the standard of living of the
Pacific community.
The Secretary General of the Commonwealth Don McKinnon
recently urgedthe Melanesian countries (PNG, Vanuatu,
Solomon Islands and Fiji) to workout their own problems.
In Polynesia, Samoa is reeling from the effects of the
assassination of one of its government Ministers, Tonga is beset
with problems arising from what some describe as the
inflexibility of the monarchy to accommodate pressing changes.
Tuvalu and Kiribati are faced with sea level rising, population
increases and AIDS.
What is needed is a clear vision of the type of society Pacific
Islanderswant to develop for their children. A vision of the
principles and valuesPacific Island citizens should practice and
live by in the future, especially how to treat their fellow human
beings. A vision which encompasses thebest of the multicultural
environment which Suva used to embody and what is required to
strengthen the ongoing support required for that visionto
become a reality.
Not the interpretation of traditions, culture and religion to suit
theends of interest groups being fronted by few gun toting
rebels holdingeverybody to ransom.
In one of the reports broadcast by the BBC, Jonathan Head said:
“It is Fiji's tragedy that, such is the weakness of its democratic
institutionsand its political leadership, a half-baked bid for
power by an unapologetic racist, might actually succeed.”
The fires after the looting....
While everybody has a role to play, the chiefs and the church
are the two institutions which can best help to bring about
peaceful change and acceptance of a participatory political
system to help meet the needs ofPacific Islanders.
Both of these institutions have failed miserably in this role.
Which of the two can best face this challenge for the future?
The reputation of the chiefs looking after the interests of their
own people has been more than tarnished in many Pacific
Islands.
The recent revelation by Rabuka that Ratu Mara knew of his
plans to carry out the 1987 coup before he executed it has not
contributed to anincrease in the respectability, reliability and
integrity of the chiefs.
In Fiji, many members of the chiefly families benefitted from
the Rabuka regime. The National Bank of Fiji (NBF) scandals
led to the depletion ofthe national coffers in excess of $40
million. So many chiefs were implicatedthat the Great Council
of Chiefs (GCC) was sometimes referred to as theGreat
Council of Thieves. And the NBF became No Bloody Funds.
Many would agree with the description by Dr Brij Lal (Fiji
Times June 8, 2000 page 7) that “sadly, the GCC stand today a
diminished body of ditheringmen and women, confused,
partisan, manipulable, unable to exercise theirmuch sought after
-? and much hoped for role as the custodians not onlyof
indigenous Fijian but Fiji’s broad national interests as well.”
And what about the church?
The church is the major institution influencing the beliefs, moral
values and principles guiding Pacific people’s behaviour. In the
case of Fiji, they have failed miserably in developing principled,
upstanding Christian leaders.
They have helped to raise children such as Rabuka and Speight
and their supporters. People who will stop at nothing to gain
what they want. As long as they pray on Sundays, push for a
Christian state and denounce idolworshipping foreigners.
The vision of a gun toting group of Fijian young men walking
alongsinging hymns after having shot and killed a policeman
and gone on a rampageof destruction of equipment in the Fiji
TV station, threatening Radio Fijiemployees and intimidating
journalists at the Centra Hotel, will alwaysstick in my mind, a
departing expatriate said.
The picture symbolises the confusion and aims of Speight, and
his supporters.And begs an answer to the question How can
people who claim to be Christianssupport Speight and his band
of terrorists? How can those people who havesworn on the
bible to uphold law and order, defend the government and
upholdthe Constitution readily forget these vows and openly
support violenceand terrorism to achieve their ever changing
objectives? And do it allin the name of God?
The church can therefore do so much more to ensure that the
behaviourof their flock is guided by Christian principles rather
than the laws ofGeorge of the jungle.
On day 15 of the hostage crisis, the Methodist Church of Fiji
admitted“responsibility for failing to teach its people who make
up the majorityof the perpetrators and supporters in the
unlawful activities”. To admit some responsibility is a big step.
On day 21, the military appeals to the chiefs and the churches to
put pressure on the rebels in Parliament to give up the hostages.
The churches should be more involved in trying to address the
root causesof abuse of human rights and social injustices, not
promoting the interestsof the elite and the powerful. The silence
of the church can only be interpretedas complicity.
As Father Winston Halapua of the Anglican Church once said
“Church Ministersshould do more than just sing Hallelujah.
Where we see injustices, it isour duty to speak out and work
towards changing things. Silence breedsViolence.”
The events happening in Fiji (and the Solomon Islands) are a
testimonyto church leaders not speaking out enough about the
injustices ordinarypeople are facing in the Pacific today.
Hopefully, there is a solution in sight. In the meantime, the
churchin Fiji must review its role and responsibility to develop a
more principledfuture generation of Fiji Christians. For the rest
of the Pacific Islands,it is vital that future generations are
brought up to understand that thebehaviour of Speight and his
thugs is totally unacceptable to Pacific Islandpeople.
And more importantly, how they can use the democratic
processes andinstitutions to work towards making the
necessary changes to improve their lives.
The Pope recently apologised for the harm caused by the
Catholic churchbecause of their intolerance for people with
different beliefs. It tookthe Catholics over a thousand years to
do this. Let us hope and pray thatFiji does not take as long to
learn this valuable lesson.
Now that the Methodist church has admitted some
responsibility for theaction of the looters and those who
support Speight, the Fiji Council ofChurches and other faiths
are challenged to work towards a just solution.While prayers
are necessary and can be powerful, as the Bible says, itis the
truth which can set us free.
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