The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 6 | Issue 8 | Article ID 2863 | Aug 01, 2008

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Fiji's Mercenary Military, the US and the Politics of CoupD'etat

Andre Vltchek

Fiji’s Mercenary Military, the US and thePolitics of Coup D'état

Andre Vltchek

From Suva. Fiji is living in fear. Many of thosewho used to speak openly about social, politicaland racial injustice in this once idyllicarchipelago are still silently waiting for thesituation to improve and for the wave of frightto subside. The military coup which took placeon 5 December 2006 was hardly one ofhistory’s bloodiest, but again it managed toplant seeds of uncertainty in troubled Fijiansoil. On that day, Commodore Josaia (Frank)Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the electedgovernment of Laisenia Qarase in Fiji's fourthcoup d'état in just two decades.

There is clearly not much to look forward to.Strongman Bainimarama (who after the coupbecame “Interim Prime Minister”) announcedon July 18 that there would be no elections nextyear (2009) as was earlier promised. Hisgovernment said electoral reforms needed tobe carried out before Fiji could go to the polls.Bainimarama had previously taken control ofFiji after leading a counter-coup in May 2000,before handing over power in July to PresidentJosefa Iloilo.

Commodore Bainimarama (Fiji Timesphotograph)

There is little that Fijian citizens can do in theface of the coup; the military is in full control.And it is showing muscle not only at home butalso in the international arena, actingconfidently even arrogantly, ready to confrontthe countries it historically depends on, likeNew Zealand, Australia, even the solesuperpower. Postponement of elections evokedsharp disapproval from Canberra, whoseForeign Affairs Minister Stephen Smithcriticized the Interim government. But theissue quickly passed.

Diplomatic squabbles involving Fiji havebecome routine. In July 2007, Bainimaramaaccused the United States ambassador ofspreading misleading information about hiscoup, comparing the envoy to a New Zealanddiplomat he expelled for allegedly meddling inthe country’s affairs. The coup was followed bysanctions from the European Union and partialsanctions from Australia, with devastatingeffects on Fiji’s vulnerable and stagnating

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economy.

What makes this miniscule army so confident?Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMS) areamong the smallest armies in the world, withtotal manpower of 3,500 on active duty andwith 15,000 reservists. Three hundred menserve in the navy. Nevertheless, the locationswhere Fijian soldiers are deployed are“cosmopolitan”: two regular battalions of theFiji Infantry Regiment are regularly stationedoverseas on peacekeeping duties; the 1stBattalion has been posted to Lebanon, Iraq,and East Timor under UN command, while the2nd Battalion is stationed in Sinai with theMultinational Force and Observers (MFO). The3rd Battalion is stationed in the capital, Suva,and the remaining three are spread throughoutthe islands.

Nevertheless, this small force carried out fourmajor coups since Fijian independence in 1970.The country was shaken by two coups in 1987,the mutiny at Queen Elisabeth Barracks inSuva as well as the coup of 2000, prior to thelatest coup of December 2006. Earlier coupshad devastated Fiji by reopening racial dividesbetween native Melanesian Fijians and Indianswhose many ancestors were brought to thiscountry by the British colonial power as slavelabor, first predominantly Hindus fromCalcut ta . A la ter wave o f vo luntarypredominantly Muslim migrants came fromGujarat. In the late 80s, Indo-Fijians were amajority, but racial discrimination and thecoups and accompanying violence, looting ofIndian business and rape of Indian women,triggered an exodus of thousands of the best-trained professionals. Indo-Fijians againbecame a minority.

The Fijian military (RFMF) is larger than thatany other of Pacific island nation and it isextremely well “connected” to internationalpower brokers. It is also “independentlywealthy” as a result of controlling severalquestionable mercenary schemes supportive of

foreign interventions of both the United Statesand United Kingdom. More than 3000 Fijiansserve in the British Army. Some of thosemercenaries were once active members of theFijian army. The government allows soldiers,particularly officers, to transit from militaryservice to join private security firms, which inturn pay it a fee.

In May 2007, The Age (Melbourne) reported“The United Nations has called on Fiji to gettough on firms recruiting mercenaries in theSouth Pacific country. In a statement on Fridaya UN working group called on Fiji to createlaws to tackle the problem of mercenaries, andto sign on to the 1989 International ConventionAgainst the Recruitment, Use, Financing andTraining of Mercenaries. ‘The working groupnotes with concern that in a number ofinstances the activities carried out by Fijiansabroad may qualify as mercenary-relatedactivities,’ the UN group said. In 2005, Fijimercenaries were found working on the PapuaNew Guinea autonomous island province ofBougainville, where they were reportedlytraining the private army of a notoriousconman. The UN said people in Fiji also hadbeen recruited by dubious private securityfirms to undertake work in Iraq.”

Fijian Parliament

I was able to interview one of the retired top

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brass of the Fijian military. Not supporting themost recent coup d'état he prefers to remainanonymous:

“The Fijian military had been serving in manyconflict zones as a UN peacekeeping force”, heexplains. “But some of its active or retiredmembers were contracted directly by the UK orthe US governments. The Fijian military forinstance worked on one Iraq project code-named “Filous” (the Arabic term for currencyexchange of). The goal of this project was toexchange Saddam’s currency for the newmoney. Fijian soldiers are very familiar withArabs and their culture. Our soldiers haveserved in Lebanon, the Sinai Desert andelsewhere.”

“The Fijian military actually expanded throughUN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, in1978. The UN invited Fiji to join the UnitedNations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).Under the British, Fijians had served in manyparts of the world, including Malaya. Oursoldiers are known for their excellence. Theyare trained locally, but also in Australia, NewZealand, the US and the UK. Fijian military andthe US military are very close; we used to haveexcellent relations. Since the 2006 coup the UShas frozen all new cooperation, althoughexisting projects can still go on. One moreimportant issue to mention is that the USsecurity companies often directly contractretired Fijian soldiers who then serve in Iraq,Afghanistan and elsewhere. For Fiji it istremendous business.”

It is a well known fact that Fiji is a majorrecruitment ground for mercenaries. But athome, the issue is taboo or at last free ofcriticism. With the money continuing to comeback to Fiji, there is little public questioning. Inpost-September 11 world battlefields, the Fijianmilitary is ‘marketing’ not only its active dutysoldiers and reservists, but also more than20,000 unemployed former troops. Remittancesare essential for the survival of many families.

A soldier stationed abroad can send up to 2,000dollars a month, a huge amount in Fiji, yet agreat bargain for the UK or the US where themilitary personnel with similar experienceemployed in combat zones can easily cost50,000 dollars or more a month.

Homes of the poor in Suva. Fertile groundfor military recruitment

On November 1, 2007, the Fiji Times carried aninterview (conducted by Pacific News) withSakiusa Raivoce, a retired Fijian colonel anddirector of Security Support, the biggest of thecountry's six mercenary employment agencies.Raivoce observed that “Private armies becamea viable commercial enterprise the momentAmerica invaded Iraq… The time is right, andour price is right."

His statements were echoed in the samenewspaper (Fiji Times) by Lieutenant-ColonelMosese Tikoitoga, 46, senior officer in the juntaled by Voreqe Bainimarama, and a former UNpeacekeeper: "We made a conscious decision tocreate an army bigger than we need togenerate foreign currency. Our economy has nochoice but to build armies, and it's a goodbusiness… There are few other foreigninvestments. If we didn't do this, our peoplewould be in the street creating havoc." Headded that more than 1000 Fijians werestationed throughout the Middle East for

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private armies under the corporate commandof Global Strategies, Triple Canopy, ArmorGroup International, DynCorp International,Control Solutions and Sandline International.

“Fiji is not a particularly rich country”,explained one of Fiji’s top internationalconsultants. She prefers to remain anonymous.“We need money and frankly we don’t carewhat our soldiers are doing abroad. Killingothers, being involved in bad causes? It’s notour problem. Sorry for being so blunt, butthat’s how we feel here.” Similar views areshared by many Fijians.

For years, the Fijian military was given carteblanche by the local population. But now theprice is being paid as the army brings itscombat-zone practices and morals to thestreets of Fijian cities and villages.

Shortly after the latest coup, the ExecutiveDirector of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement(FWRM), Virisila Buadromo and her partnerwere arrested and taken to the militarybarracks. “I was threatened and insulted,beaten and humiliated”, she recalled.“Eventually, soldiers threw me on the floor andbegan jumping on my stomach. Since the coup Ihave been receiving anonymous phone calls;some of them openly threatening members ofour organization with rape.”

Virisila Buadromo, Executive Director ofthe Fiji Women’s Rights Movement(FWRM)The regime - which has previously warned thati t wi l l round up reporters seen to beundermining it - has admitted to having a"blacklist'' of people it will prevent from leavingFiji”, according to Xavier La Canna of AdelaideNow.

Joseph Veramu, a leading Fijian novelist andhead of the Lautoka (Fiji’s second largest city)Campus of University of the South Pacific(USP) shares his emotions: “Yes, there isdefinitely fear. People are suddenly scared tospeak out, to make a comment and beoverheard by a passer-by. The militarymanaged to plant small, tiny seeds of fear inour society. And then there is reason for realfear as some people are truly suffering, likethose who were taken in; dragged to themilitary barracks.”

Concerns over the possibility of the worsthuman rights abuses have not materialized.The situation is tense, but people are notdisappearing and there have been no recentreports of torture. Military cleared theroadblocks from the streets of Suva andwithdrew to their barracks. There are presentlyproportionately fewer soldiers on the streets ofSuva then in Manila or Bangkok. Outrightopposition and outspoken critics are beingintimidated and sometimes humiliated, butthere seems to be no consistent physicalviolence against them.

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The military took over some coastal villasin Suva

The junta leaders of the 2006 coup gavecorruption in government as well as pendinglegislation to pardon those soldiers involved inthe 2000 mutiny as the main reasons for theiraction. Leaders of the coup then called fornational reconciliation. That was in sharpcontrast to previous coups when the Indianpopulation suffered mightily. A substantial partof the population (including the majority ofIndo-Fijians) supports the present InterimGovernment.

“The situation is absurd”, declared Tongannovelist Epeli Hau’ofa in an interview for thisarticle. Mr. Hau’ofa is one of the greatestwriters of the Pacific islands and a long timeprofessor at USP in the capital city of Suva.“Military coup is always bad news, but therecent one in Fiji was at least not raciallymotivated; on the contrary. Leaders of thecoup, including Commodore Bainimarama,called for equality for the two main ethnicgroups living on these isles – native Fijians andIndo-Fijians. This may be the only and the lastchance for national reconciliation in Fiji.”

“The United States and Australia – andAustralia is nothing else than the right hand ofthe United States in this part of the world – areputting great pressure on the interim military

government. Sanctions are being imposed –sanctions that are harming simple people, notthe elites, not the military. In the meantime,the military – the very same military thatperformed 4 coups in the last two decades – isallowed, even encouraged, to serve in the US-and UK-controlled areas in the Middle East andAfghanistan.”

Guarding the US embassy in Suva

“The Fijian army had been created by the UKafter the Second World War”, continued Mr.Hau’ofa. “It is simply a mercenary force thatwas designed to be engaged in conflictstriggered by the US and UK, while allowingnative Fijians to make money. I say nativeFijians, because it almost exclusively consistsof native Fijians. Indians were not invited tojoin after they sent The Crown to hell duringWorld War II. Today, in Iraq and Afghanistan,Fijian soldier-mercenaries are known as thetoughest guards around.”

But Fijian mercenaries are not operating onlyin far away shores; they are gaining notorietyeven in their own region of Melanesia. Sincethe end of 2005, three “waves” of former Fijiansoldiers were either employed or trying tomake their way to Bougainville, the breakawayprovince of Papua New Guinea bordering theSolomon Islands. Nine were detained inBougainville itself and others were arrested by

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the Solomon Island authorities and deportedback to Fiji.

Suva Prison

An anecdote often repeated in Suva says thatright after the 25 December 2005 coup d'état,the Fijian military took over the streets of thecapital and began erecting roadblocks. Therewas no real use for the roadblocks, but that’swhat the military had learned during its servicein the Middle East and that is what it beganimplementing at home.

Roadblocks on the streets in Suva

The military leaders of the United States andthe UK should spend at least a few momentsstudying the wisdom of that story. A smallchain of islands in the middle of the Pacific had

been designated as supplier of the cannonfodder for the Kingdom simply because itspeople were very big and obedient, and theyhad been excellent warriors in the past. Fijianswent to war for money and eventually theystopped questioning whether their involvementin the conflicts was right or wrong. Warbecame their lucrative business.

What kind of society can be raised on suchethics? What can one expect from an army thatfights for a fee? It was only a matter of timebefore it would bring its cynicism and twistedmorals to the doorsteps of its own home.

A tiny nation of 900,000 inhabitants, Fiji doesnot need an army. It faces no external threat.By implanting it here, The UK did a greatwrong to the Fijian people. By using it as it did,the US continued in the same tradition. Thereshould be no sanctions against Fiji. Instead,there should be some compensation for theharm inflicted, as well as insistence that Fijidismantles its military and becomes, onceagain, respectful and peaceful nation.

Andre Vltchek, novelist, journalist, filmmaker,and author of political novel “Point of NoReturn”. Andre is chief editor of Asiana NewsAgency (http://www.asiananews.org), co-f o u n d e r o f M a i n s t a y P r e s s(http://www.mainstaypress.org) and a JapanFocus associate. He lives and works in Asia andSouth Pacific and can be reached at: andre-wcn@usa.net. He wrote and provided thephotographs for this article for Japan Focus.Posted on August 30, 2008.

His earlier articles on the Pacific Island nationsat Japan Focus include:

Samoa: One Nation, Two Failed States(http://japanfocus.org/_Andre_Vltchek-Samoa__One_Nation__Two_Failed_States)

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Paradise Lost. Logging and the Environmentaland Social Destruction of the Solomon Islands(http://japanfocus.org/_Andre_Vltchek-Paradise_Lost__Logging_and_the_Environmental_and_Social_Destruction_of_the_Solomon_Islands)

Wooing the Islands: China and Taiwan HighStakes Bid for Pacif ic Island Support(http://japanfocus.org/_Andre_Vltchek-Wooing_the_Islands__China_and_Taiwan_High_Stakes_Bid_for_Pacific_Island_Support)

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