People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress


The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress was a proposed legal document which would have complemented the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. It would have established compulsory guidelines for any government policy in Fiji over the coming years. The People's Charter was due to be completed and come into force prior to the scheduled 2014 general election.
A draft version of the Charter was released to the public in early August 2008. Input from the public was to be received in August and September. Council member Filimoni Kau stated that objections would be considered, but that the Charter would go ahead in any case.

Context

The People's Charter was the brainchild of interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, head of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, who overthrew the elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in December 2006. Bainimarama alleged that Qarase was corrupt and racist, and declared that a People's Charter was necessary in order to prevent corruption and racism within future elected governments.

Content and aims of the Charter

Stated objective

In April 2007, a draft version of the Charter was published. The draft, intended as a general presentation of the future Charter's aims, began with a statement that "Fiji’s politics and overall governance have been dominated by and deeply mired in divisive, race-based politics, policies, and institutions". Consequently, the text authors state, "Fiji needs to become a more progressive and a truly democratic nation; a country in which its leaders, at all levels, emphasize national unity, racial harmony and the social and economic advancement of all communities regardless of race or ethnic origin."
The overall objective of the Charter is defined as follows:
Much emphasis is laid on the necessity to prioritise national unity over the politics of separate ethnic communities.
In August 2008, shortly before the Charter was due to be released to the public, it was announced that it recommended a change in the name of Fiji's citizens. If the proposal were adopted, all citizens of Fiji, whatever their ethnicity, would be called "Fijians". At present, the word "Fijian" does not denote a nationality, and refers exclusively to indigenous Fijians. Citizens of Fiji are referred to as "Fiji Islanders". The proposal would change the English name of indigenous Fijians from "Fijians" to itaukei, the Fijian word for indigenous Fijians.
Archbishop Petero Mataca summed up the Charter by saying it would "reinforce the quality and sustainability of democracy in Fiji" and "provide a clearer vision of the principles and values we want to live by".

Short-term consequences

Commodore Bainimarama said that the People's Charter would prevent any candidate for the 2009 general election from campaigning on racist and divisive policies. Such candidates would be barred from taking part in the election.
Asked by a journalist whether Qarase would be allowed to take part in the election, Bainimarama said he would: "That is also in the commitment we had yesterday and that was always been there".
In May 2008, Bainimarama added that the military would enforce future governments' compliance with the provisions of the Charter.

Methodology

The Charter was prepared by a National Council for Building a Better Fiji , supposed to be "broadly representative of Fiji society ".
The NCBBF held its first meeting on January 16, 2008. It reportedly began with an "in depth" assessment of the state of the nation.
Officially, the NCBBF's work on the Charter is overseen by an independent monitoring group, which reports directly to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo. The monitoring group was chaired by Sela Molisa, a member of the Parliament of Vanuatu. Reverend Amy Chambers is also a member of the monitoring group. The NCBBF itself is composed of three task teams, one tasked with focusing on good governance, another on economic growth, and the third on "social cultural identity and nation building."
On June 24, 2008, the NCBBF made several recommendations, all of them in line with Bainimarama's original aims. These included:
The NCBBF advocated implementing electoral reforms before holding any election. A representative of the Council stated: "The NCBBF is of the firm view that change is long overdue and that Fiji urgently needs a new electoral system based on equal suffrage - that is one person, one vote, equal value."
On August 5, 2008, the NCBBF announced that it had endorsed a draft Charter document, which was to be released shortly thereafter. Fijilive reported that the NCBBF planned to "gauge the views of the people on the draft Charter via a public awareness campaign over the next six weeks". Meetings would be held in public venues, the Charter would be advertised in the media, and there would be "consultations by public relations teams at grassroots level in all the villages and settlements throughout the country".

Implementation

It was unclear how the People's Charter would be officially implemented. The interim government announced that the public would be consulted, but no official reference to a referendum was made. Legally, if the Charter was deemed to alter the Constitution, it could only be adopted by a two-thirds majority of elected members of Parliament, which was not in session, having been dismissed after the coup. Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who opposed the Charter, however, stated that a referendum would constitute legal validation. In the end, the abrogation of the Constitution in 2009 made the question redundant, and much of the essence of the People's Charter was included in the new constitution promulgated by the interim government in 2013.

Content

The People's Charter was released to the public on August 6, 2008. Among its key proposals were the following:
In addition, specific proposals aimed at promoting national unity and reducing inter-ethnic divisiveness:

Prior to publication

The proposed Charter received strong support from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Petero Mataca, who became co-chair of the National Council for Building a Better Fiji. However, others were more cautious, noncommittal or openly critical. Fiji Women's Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali declined to comment. Fiji's Citizens Constitutional Forum continued to oppose the military coup, calling it unjustifiable, but in response to the proposed Charter, said there is "a serious need to re-look at problems to find solutions to move the country forward".
The National Federation Party and the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party both opposed the idea of a People's Charter implemented by an unelected government. Fiji’s Methodist Church, to which a majority of indigenous Fijians belong, also opposed the Charter, stating that it had been instructed by God to do so. The Fiji Labour Party supported it. The Fiji Council of Churches offered cautious support, urging people not to oppose it outright, and suggesting that it provided "a window of opportunity for the nation to move forward".
Samisoni Pareti of the magazine Islands Business expressed doubt as to whether elections could be held as promised in early 2009 if the interim government insisted on having the People's Charter in place before the election. In Pereti's view, the Charter would not be completed in time, and Bainimarama might have to choose between postponing the election or abandoning his People's Charter. Pareti's prediction turned out to be accurate: the election was postponed.
By contrast, New Zealander human rights activist Thakur Ranjit Singh expressed public support for the People's Charter, stating that fresh elections alone would not address the "fundamental problems in Fiji", such as "the agenda of the nationalists who want Fiji for Fijians and Fiji as a Christian state" or a "culture of corruption, nepotism and cronyism"; the People's Charter must therefore, in Singh's view, be implemented before any election takes place.
The responses of Indo-Fijian cultural and religious organisations were mixed. The Hindu organisations Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha supported the process and agreed to take part in the NCBBF. By contrast, Sangam, an organisation representing South Indians, refused to do so, as did the Fiji Muslim League, describing itself as non-political. On an individual basis, prominent Indo-Fijians such as Shamima Ali, Brij Lal, Imrana Jalal, Wadan Narsey and Richard Naidu refused to support the Charter.
In March 2008, an editorial in the Fiji Daily Post commented that "a one-sided ‘People’s Charter’ for Fiji may not have the ameliorative effect its enforcers hope for. To truly succeed, the charter, like the nation, must proceed by bipartisan agreements, by consultative dialogue that brings victors and vanquished to the table of compromise so that a just settlement is achieved".
The Pacific Islands Forum supported the proposed Charter.
In April 2008, a Fiji Times opinion poll found that public opinion was evenly split, with 46.2% disagreeing with the idea of the Charter, and 45.8% supporting it. The poll was taken in the context of a public debate over the Charter, during which it was supported by Joseva Serulagilagi,
Lorine Tevi, and Pundit Kamlesh Arya, and opposed by Wadan Narsey, Richard Naidu and Tupou Draunidalo.

After publication

The People's Charter was released to the public on August 6, 2008. Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was critical of its content. He dismissed as "unreasonable" its proposal to dissolve political parties which "engage in activities that breach important values of the Constitution". Qarase also opposed the proposed change in the country's demonym, which would enable all citizens of Fiji to refer to themselves as "Fijians": "That term is embedded into the indigenous population. It is a very sensitive issue and it will be opposed very strongly." Qarase stated that the Charter made a number of good suggestions, but that it would, on the whole, increase inter-ethnic tensions. He stated that "ome of the key proposals in the charter, if implemented without the approval of an elected parliament, would be contrary to the provisions of the 1997 Constitution." He called upon the Charter to be voted on by an elected Parliament, and, alternately, suggested a referendum to decide the issue. He added:
Ousted Opposition leader Mick Beddoes also expressed his opposition to the Charter. The Fiji Labour Party, whose leader Mahendra Chaudhry is a member of the interim government, officially supported the Charter.
Academic Brij Lal, one of the authors of the Constitution, described the Charter as "too prescriptive", commenting that it appeared to aim at creating an unfeasible utopia. He added: "I think that for the charter and some of the recommendations to have credibility, they have to be endorsed through parliament."
The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma confirmed its opposition to the Charter, both because it originated from a government that came to power by force, and because the Church deemed it to be "an illegal, dangerous document that, if followed, will have a negative impact on the lives of Fiji citizens". Following a Church conference, Church general secretary Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu told the media:
The National Federation Party called upon citizens to boycott the charter consultation process, claiming that the Charter would disadvantage Indo-Fijians. Referring to the proposed abolition of the communal voting system, to be replaced by a "one man, one vote" electoral process, party secretary Pramod Rae stated:
Ousted Vice-President and lawyer Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi sought to take a balanced and cautionary view:
Jone Dakuvula, of the Citizens' Constitutional Forum, commented favourably on the Charter:
Bainimarama attacked some of his critics, labelling their objections self-serving:
In October 2008, the Fijian Teachers Association objected to a proposal for the Charter to be presented to children at school, describing the idea as "propaganda".

Basis for new Constitution

In July 2009, Bainimarama announced that his government would introduce a new Constitution by 2013, and that the Constitution would "derive its impetus from the recommendations under the Charter".