The operations of a Fiji corruption commission modelled on the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in NSW was a key
factor in provoking the country's coup, according to the family of the
deposed Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Tupeni Baba.
The Fiji commission, chaired by a High Court judge, Justice Daniel Fatiaki,
was set up by the government of Mr Mahendra Chaudhry which took office
in May last year.
Justice Fatiaki and the then attorney-general, Mr Anand Singh, visited the
ICAC in Hong Kong, and it is understood Mr Singh visited the ICAC in
NSW.
A spokesperson for the NSW ICAC confirmed yesterday that arrangements
had been made for visits by Mr Singh and Justice Fatiaki last September.
The Fiji corruption commission started to make inquiries, and, according to
a
government lawyer, Ms Raijeli Vasakula, who is Dr Baba's daughter,
indicated that its inquiries would be far-reaching.
"I think many people felt vulnerable," Ms Vasakula said.
Dr Baba, who got his MA in education at Sydney University and did his
PhD at Macquarie University, has been held hostage at Fiji's parliamentary
complex for more than five weeks.
Alongside him, in a racially segregated area, is Mr Singh, the driving force
behind the corruption-fighting body.
The identity of those ultimately behind the coup remains a mystery.
One speculative list of coup backers was published two weeks ago, and a
source close to the office of president said: "The one thing those names
have
in common is that they are all bankrupt."
Coup leader George Speight was facing legal proceedings arising from his
former career as a businessman, and a case in which he was involved was
due for mention in court in Suva four days after he launched his coup.
He has emphatically rejected a description of himself as an undischarged
bankrupt.
He said a fire that destroyed the head office of Fiji Hardwoods, which he
once chaired, had nothing to do with legal proceedings against him; it was
probably the work of supporters of the then president, Ratu Sir Kamisese
Mara.
Ms Vasakula, 26, said powerful commercial interests in Fiji had felt
threatened by the Chaudhry Government.
Speight had been a friend of powerful people, including Indian
businessmen.
"Some names have been mentioned, but they are only allegations."
Dr Baba was a member of the government of Dr Timoci Bavadra, toppled in
the 1987 coup. He returned to academia and became head of the School of
Humanities at the University of the South Pacific when the 1997
Constitution based on racial equality inspired him to re-enter politics.
Malcolm Brown
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