We now have confirmation of what the Rabuka government is trying to engineer with the current constitutional review – an end to the common and equal citizenry, the common identity and the entrenchment of iTaukei supremacy with a return to the racially-weighted 1997 Constitution.
There would be no election next year and the current duumvirate of the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, and the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu would continue in office for another three years as work begins to jettison the 2013 Constitution, enshrine the principles of the 1997 version in a new document and only then have fresh elections under a new electoral system.
It is an astonishing assault on democracy for which the PAP and its Coalition partners have no electoral mandate, having barely scraped into office in December 2022 with just one seat on the floor of the parliament. But it also guarantees a return to a prolonged period of national instability and the very real prospect of another coup.
Why? Because the main governing party wants the immunity provisions of the 2013 Constitution abolished, exposing those who had any role in the 2006 coup to the very real threat of prosecution. This includes almost the entire senior officer corps of the RFMF, including the Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, and certainly those who played a prominent part in the events of 2006 such as Colonel Aseri (Rocky) Rokoura and Colonel Penioni (Ben) Naliva.
Kalouniwai is already in possession of the following document, some of which you are about to read. It is currently being closely scrutinised at the Camp and insiders are saying that the military is waiting to see what happens. But the potential consequences of the Supreme Court giving this submission the green light are blindingly obvious.
The RFMF remains committed to the equal opportunity provisions of the 2013 Constitution. These alone are said to be non-negotiable. But consider this, Fiji. If these changes are adopted, the senior officer corps are also expected to effectively sign their own arrest warrants – standing by while they and those who have since left the RFMF such as their former commander, Frank Bainimarama, lose their constitutional immunity.
It includes, incidentally, those former members of FijiFirst who have since joined the government such as another former commander, Viliame Naupoto, and the long time secretary of the Military Council, Ioane Naivalurua. And it includes other former military men like the newly installed Tui Nayau and high chief of Lau, Ratu Tevita Mara, who were at Frank Bainimarama’s side when he removed the Qarase government in 2006.
It would be a brave investor indeed who thinks the following blueprint is a recipe for national stability. On the contrary.
Today, Grubsheet unmasks the secret plan by the People’s Alliance to rob you of your vote next year and your ability to turn the page on a dysfunctional and chaotic government – a big-spending rabble mired in corruption, nepotism and unlawful conduct.
It is all here in black and white:
- No election in 2026.
- Another 36 months of rule by Sitiveni Rabuka and his ailing President.
- The equal opportunity provided by the 2013 Constitution jettisoned.
- The minorities in Fiji again reduced to second class citizens as indigenous paramountcy is re-established and constitutional power is restored to the chiefs.
- The prospect of gross instability as these changes are made and the very real threat of another military upheaval.
You need to sit down, Fiji, and take in the full detail of the following extract of what Sitiveni Rabuka is trying to do as PAP leader and Prime Minister. And what the man Rabuka refuses to suspend as Chief Justice, the corrupt Salesi Temo, is expected to deliver in the coming months.
We now know why Salesi Temo is going nowhere and the Ashton-Lewis Commission of Inquiry is dead in the water, except for those prosecutions that serve Sitiveni Rabuka’s purposes. But it is the shocking betrayal of the Fijian people that is genuinely unforgivable.
For a start, you are being robbed of your vote next year. Then, if you are a member of one of the minorities, you’re being robbed of your right to equality and to be called “Fijian”. And our nation is about to be plunged into the unknown all over again.
———————–
NOTE: One or two pages are missing from this copy but the main points remain:
Now down to page 151 – the guts of the submission and its astonishing provisions.
Where does the NFP stand on all of this? Biman Prasad hasn’t yet said. Though he is telling people that Sitiveni Rabuka wants the NFP to continue to partner with him in government.
Why hasn’t the Deputy Prime Minister and NFP leader said anything? It is yet another betrayal of the minorities – his abject failure to do the job he was put there to do, to keep the bastards honest.
Why hasn’t the mainstream Fijian media reported any of this? Because they are either ignorant or complicit .
Be afraid, Fiji. Be very afraid. Because our democracy is again under direct threat from Sitiveni Rabuka – the man who raped democracy nearly four decades ago and intends to fulfill the mission he began then to establish indigenous supremacy once and for all. And the rest of us can go jump.
A special sheep will be imported from NZ by FICAC to be slaughtered in Fiji soon.
Place your orders.
That’s prime meat.
Lamb shoulder is prior sold and bought by no other than Bimaan .
Long white breed???hahahahaha
To all the decent and law abiding citizens of Fiji ( including people of both itaukei and of Indian descent) now is your chance to pack your bags and leave if you can.
If the above comeS into effect and no elections are held, it’s people like you that will suffer the most again.
There is just no saving Fiji anymore. The country we all knew and loved once a long time ago is gone.
This has the potential to create deep and destructive divisions across multiple layers of society. The key question is whether the submission is solely driven by issues with the 2013 Constitution, without consideration for broader implications—or whether those wider consequences are in fact well understood and deliberately central, with the constitutional review serving merely as a vehicle for a larger agenda. In either case, the consequences are likely to be severe. Truly this is towards a rock and a hard place.
Military intervention in this situation will be treason and the consequences will remain the same for the perpetrators if they execute another coup in Fiji. Long arm of the law will follow them to their eventual demise.
All dictators will never succeed and we have multiple examples of it from local and international scenarios.
Fiji’s political situation must remain in the hands of people through votes and not by any form of military intervention.
There is so much hype on equal citizenry, but its only on paper. All reconciliation and acceptance must come from the heart of the people, not through forced imposition as in 2013 Constitution. The 1997 Constitution was widely consulted and that reflected the will of people. The 2013 Constitution was imposed and remain controversial in Fiji today and many of the obstacles in governance is direct result of it. The 1997 Constitution was done by 3 prominent people who were widely respected, trusted and accepted to take Fiji forward and they did what was best for Fiji. It was a transition Constitution bringing people together by the will and desires of people as they were heard and their aspirations respected. The trust was in 1997 Constitution.
To transit from 2013 Constitution marred with uncertainty, let participative democratic process roll out again and hear the people in their output.
Military intervention should be never be a recourse, no matter how thuggery things appear in a country.
Media which is off course have lost their bearing, but other means such as your forum is relevant in upholding the transparency, accountability and keeping the check and balances on every move of this government.
In supporting the 1997 Constitution, you are depriving the rest of us of our right to equal opportunity. And to unilaterally delay the election is profoundly undemocratic and must (and will) be resisted.
Don’t complain if facing the tyranny of the majority, the minorities turn to the RFMF to uphold its current constitutional duty to protect them and defend their well-being.
No equal citizenry without respect for the indigenous inhabitants.
The stridency of anti-i’taukei rhetoric on this site indicates that equal citizenship will make no difference to entrenched attitudes, however you try and dress it up. So forget it.
What do you expect when you want to take away the rights of other citizens? Get it into your thick head. Give respect, get respect. Give shit, get shit. It isn’t rocket science, mate.
Worry more about how the poor Aboriginals are being treated in Australia. We dont want to be like them.
Moce Jo
Wacol and Fiji for Fijians
Equal citizenry does not take away any rights from indigenous Fijians. It merely gives other minority races in Fiji the right to be treated equally as everyone else and not as second class citizens.
It still does not give them rights to own native land that we itaukei own.
You need to start educating yourselves and stop listening to politicians who use race to get votes and divide us by race. Such politicians have existed since day 1. By now you should be smart enough to determine that we havent achieved anything by voting or listening to them.
Changing the Constitution is not going to solve any of the social problems that we currently face in Fiji. And most of these, it is we the indigenous that are the victims.
In fact, any attempts to change the Constitution will only create political instability which will have adverse consequences to Fijis economy.
The economy is already struggling as it is.
Bravo. I just wish we could clone you.
Nice try Gran. The only over throwing will be done to the 2013 constitution. Good luck with this article decendants of convicts. 😂😂
As a itaukei, the 1997 Constitution disadvantage the itaukei in so many ways.
It did not entrench native land ownership at all.
Perfect example the changing of native land ownership in Momi and Denarau to suit the then Rabuka and later Qarase government aims whereas the 2013 version does not allow for such alienation of native land. If such changes happens these Tovata government should expect strong opposition from other levels of society especially from the Western parts of Viti Levu
Thankfully, it’s not for you to decide anything, kaicolo. Even more so, equal citizenry does not belong to anyone person and it certainly does not belong to any kaicolo.
Just as most rabid racist do not understand the word Fijian is not itaukei word- it is an English word coined by the kaivalagi.
From Jiaoji Savou’s Facebook page:
In the lead up to the 2022 elections I was banned from Grubsheet for posting about this plan to subvert the legal systems, and execute a return to ethnic politics
I also stated at the time that if it was executed that would lead to significant instability.
I thought it was a necessary conversation, so I was quite disappointed when I was banned by Grubsheet.
Anyway, what I posted over 4 years ago is now here.
The nation should remain calm. There is no need to panic. A small cell within the RFMF has brainstormed this issue over 5 years ago. It advised the Commander to let the process play out because that is the way all the key players behind the instability in this nation over the years will reveal their hand, as they become emboldened believing that no one can hold them to account for their overreach.
Rabuka will not go down this path. He understands the strategic risk it presents for the nation as well as for him personally. He is looking for a solution, and as usual he will try to find a compromise way out because that is his natural instinct. He is playing to his political base, whilst trying to manage the real politick. And so, it is a muddle, which is normal in Rabuka’s style of politics, but this is a much safer route for the nation than the alternative one which we have seen in 1987, 2000 and 2006. When presented with two options, Rabuka will choose the one which ensures his political survival and long term well being. He is a survivor, hence his seemingly endless contradictions.
Recent public statements by Defence Minister Pio Tikoduadua, emphasizing that the military must no longer dictate political outcomes or be politically influenced is a public reckoning which is rare but a signal that the old playbook is being reconsidered in some quarters.
Those who are instruments in this pantomime will end up thrown under the bus, when matters come to a crunch. Rabuka will survive. His political survival instinct, that ability to pivot, reconcile, and reinvent has left behind a trail of allies who misjudged their proximity to power. His political path is one littered with the carcasses of those who, like Icarius, came too close to the Sun.
I don’t recall banning anything in the comments section of this website in the lead-up to the 2022 election. If you’ll recall, I was then on Facebook and my website was in recess. But I note the other points Savou makes.
I think he meant you banned him from Facebook.
Thanks for being a true journo, GD. Can’t say the same about the likes of Vijay Narain, Stanley Simpson, and Fred Wesley.
I had the misfortune of working with Vijay – an arrogant fool eager to impress his bosses. He’d run to William Parkinson after interviewing Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Khaiyum, bragging that they mentioned him by name. He’d make sure those sound bites aired just so their mention of his name went to air too. I wonder if he does the same with Rabuka now.
I worked with Fred as well. Let’s just say he’s more interested in making money to support his dozen kids than in supporting the newsroom team.
Stanley, whom I know well, is just a clown chasing Facebook attention. I could share far more startling details about the trio – including Stanley’s attempts to protect his meth addict buddy who is “shedding tears over George Fiji Veikoso’s death after stealing from him.” But I’ll save that for another day.
I will say it again. This man Rabuka has to be bought to Justice for his crimes. He has to be removed from all things regarding Fiji. He is not a leader. He is a coward and he has nothing good to offer Fiji. He’s been evading justice and must be made to pay for his crimes,
As another itaukei and Kai Kadavu the appointment of Tabuya is a disgraceful turn of events.
Where are the standards we preach about in church on Sunday.
Justice comes before mercy and forgiveness. We have read about it from Genesis to Revelation. Forgiveness in the bible is for God to forgive the sins so perpetual punishment in hell is not imposed. He did not say that justice should not be imposed in fact by the impositions of the 10 commandments validates the godly standard of justice comes before mercy and forgiveness. There were no justice granted to the sensibilities of the public by the wanton corruption of Lydia Tabuya. Rabuka and his government should be brought to justice
With bated breath, I await the irony to unfold, the unceremonious removal of the coup daddy’s government.
The proposed constitutional changes threaten Fiji with instability, division, and a potential coup, but the iTaukei’s failure to capitalize on their vast opportunities exacerbates these risks.
Owning 93% of the land and controlling most resources, they have unparalleled potential to drive Fiji’s prosperity. Yet, too many lack the will for honest, hard work, idling in unproductive roles within the RFMF or civil service, or relying on dwindling taxpayer funds, handouts, and remittances.
This dependency and laziness squanders Fiji’s wealth, deepens economic woes, and fuels the very unrest these changes could ignite. Seizing their advantages with determination is critical to building a resilient, inclusive nation.
Rabuka and the rest of the mob are not the right people to be leading Fiji, what an absolute mess they have created, again !
If the head of the snake was chopped off, after 87’s treason, we wouldn’t be here, and Fiji would likely be well on the way to being declared a developed nation.
Too much mired in soqo or functions from the vanua to churches.
Then made worse by too much grog or kava use.
No wonder God is punishing my fellow itaukei from high drug use, high HIV rates, high NCD rates, high failure rates in academics, and so on. Etc etc..I am also a young itaukei, from my experience living in the village after graduation from tertiary and trying to utilise the land and seeing my fellow itaukei are doomed to fail because of their wrong priorities in life. Fortunate for me is for God has blessed me with a good career and opening my eyes to the many opportunities available in life.
This is a delusionally brazen attempt to take Fiji back to the dark ages. I do wonder if the RFMF are taking the “enough rope” approach by watching it play out.
Wouldn’t Rabuka also be impacted by the removal of the immunity provision?
The Coalition sure are intent on giving Fiji a lobotomy.
Let me get this straight.
They want the 2013 Constitution gone. The Constitution that gives immunity provisions to all coup makers including Rabuka himself. (Not to mention the good things about the Constitution).
But reinstate 1997 Constitution which only gives immunity to coup makers prior to 1997.
This is clearly inviting a showdown with the military.
Unless they already know they will get support from the military.
Otherwise, it is just plain dumb and stupid.
Rabuka’s proposal to defer the national election by three years is not only reckless—it is a direct assault on democracy that will plunge Fiji deeper into political instability and economic ruin.
Such a move would send shockwaves to the people and especially the Indo-Fijian community, which will accelerate their exodus from a country that increasingly feels unsafe and unwelcoming. It would shatter investor confidence, pushing much-needed foreign capital further away from our shores. No serious investor will commit to a nation where the democratic process is manipulated at will by those in power.
Where is Biman Prasad in all this? Will he finally break his silence, or will he continue to prop up a regime that is dismantling every democratic safeguard? How will his Indo-Fijian colleagues—Agni Deo Singh, Shashi Kiran, and Charan Jeath Singh—justify their alliance when the very rights of the people they represent are being trampled?
And what must the two political opportunists, Shalen and Sachida, be thinking now? They crossed the floor for promised power, not principle. But Rabuka doesn’t reward loyalty—he exploits it. They’ve bet on the wrong man, and the people of Fiji will remember.
Make no mistake: Rabuka is leading Fiji down a dangerous path. He is not saving the nation—he is sabotaging it.
Just like the authorities have ignored the findings of the COI report, we all should ignore any decisions made by the courts in Fiji. That is what freedom is all about in a now free Fiji. You are free to do as you please. Or is that restricted only to those who have the power?
Quite frankly this is long overdue. Without the 2013 Constitution we will finally have total authority to reduce the price of lamb chops for all. VAT can be raised to 30% to stop butter hoarding by the elite, and tax rebates can be provided to Fiji’s largest export companies as an incentive to drive inward investment.
Mate, the problem with a comment like this is that most Fijians don’t do irony. It is taken as literal. Believe me, I’m as guilty of it as you are. But it doesn’t work. 🙂
Many people in Fiji especially the itaukei are too dumb to understand such ironies.
Sadly, unfortunately, it’s true GD. Good knows we’ve tried.
Unless it’s said in the vernacular, sarcasm flies over the head much like a drone.
Even then, it’ll be hit or miss as the masses aren’t able to read in the vernacular, according to the gcc chair.
The submission is prepared by some law school failed student…lol
One place they asking 2013 constitution is invalid, another place they asking certain provisions of it be legitimized. Bloody prostitution qori…lol brutal.
At this point, I think the RFMF should just take over and throw the current regime out as they are now trying to take Fiji further backward. No passports to provide, spending millions on COI Report to not action it, hiring a porn star as minister for information and now going after DPP Pryde instead of fixing local issues that affect citizens of the country daily.
Google ‘constitutional coup’.
The first page of results should allow one to draw parallels with where this is headed.
Yes, it will be a coup. One clique bypassing the democratic process to enforce its will. And no different from any other coup carried out at gunpoint.
There are some people like Jaoji and others of course who think Rabuka is a strategist , survivor, smart and what not. Stop putting him on a pedestal. He is nothing but a cruel cowardly spawn of the devil.
The monkeys are running riot.
Oops – Suva is a jungle.
As I said when Rabuka came to power, he would seek to finish his 1987 agenda!
He will take Fiji back to the 1990’s and believe it will work in the 21st century, it won’t!
The countries that are supporting Fiji do not like Governments who actively promote racism or any form of apartheid and will act accordingly. Countries that practice segregation are also treated with contempt and aid is either withheld or scaled back.
At the same time investment will slow and the exodus of smart/qualified Fijians, especially those specifically affected (read targeted) will climb.
Delaying elections for 3 years is a sign of a Government who want to change the rules so as to entrench their hold on power, nothing more than that. They again want to return to the old world of the 90’s with biased electoral system, vote buying and hospitality tents at every polling booth.
Would I return or even visit Fiji? -No! And I will encourage other to do likewise!
GD, PAP garnered 168,581 votes at the last election. There were 693,915 registered voters.
Who is going to represent the other 75% at this hearing?
Will the government provide funding for legal representation to all the parties so there is an even playing field?
Will the army, being an interested party, be making its own submissions ?
I don’t think you fully appreciate the problems with the 2013 constituency. The single constituency that has left the rural people without any representation as the influence of Suva and urbanites drowns their issues and draws all the resources. The concentration of power within two individuals who, if the people are duped into voting two more corrupt individuals like Baiyum, will leave the people again under an ends-justify-the-means authoritarian regime. Although I am not a fan of the Chiefs, they are benign compared to what is possible when the 2013 Constitution is wielded as was as a weapon against the people as we have witnessed since its promulgation, of which you were a part until, for whatever reason you weren’t.
Akuila, there is a very big problem returning to the 1997 constitution. Among other things, it abolishes the common and equal citizenry and the common identity and turns the minorities into second class citizens. It will also end dual nationality and have a big impact on tens of thousands of Fijians in the diaspora.
A racially weighted constitution isn’t going to fly in the international court of public opinion and will have a big impact on global perceptions of Fiji. It will also accelerate the exodus from Fiji, which is already running at more than 100,000 since the last election. Can a small country in which barely more than 20,000 people are already paying tax afford to have its tax base reduced further?
So you have signaled only one deficiency with the 2013 Constitution – the single constituency – and ignored all of the negatives I’ve just cited. And then tried to personalise your argument by mentioning by own role in Fiji. I’m very proud of the work I did, whether domestically or on oceans and climate. So if you think I am embarrassed about that you are very much mistaken.
You know I campaigned for a change of government in 2022 on the basis that change was needed but it has not been a change for the better. And give me Frank and Aiyaz any day compared with this mob. They leveled the playing field for all citizens. And for that, they deserve a great deal of credit. Winding back the clock to entrench indigenous supremacy isn’t going to be acceptable to the minorities or global opinion.
The iTaukei hold more than 90 per cent of the land. They are in the majority. There is no evidence whatsoever that their position is threatened. Whatever problems they have are self inflicted. And it is about time that is recognised and the minorities cease to be a scapegoat for the nation’s ills.
The basis for any functioning democracy the world over is equal opportunity for all citizens, not entrenched privileges for some. Certainly, the notion that changing the constitution is going to be a change for the better in improving the position of the iTaukei is a fantasy and just plain wrong.
I don’t believe in entrenching the indigenous paramountcy I think we do fine without it, particularly as the paramountcy results in incompetent and financially insecure Taukei being railroaded into positions where they are asked to represent the interests of Taukei. That was basically what I saw in Bainimarama. Instead of reforming the Taukei Affairs and the Provincial councils to make them more meritorious and democratic, he sat on top of them as a stylised Tui Viti to satisfy Khaiyum’s political agenda. Exact records are hard to find, but they indicate that the majority of the Taukei live under the administration of the provincial councils, who reside on the majority of the land resources. These Taukei must be given more autonomy by making their representative systems of governance more competent, so that their frustrations, which in the most part are pretty basic, can be met with suitable solutions to help them realise their potential. At the moment, they have the Single constituency and the Taukei Affairs administration that refuses to yield to competence, meritocracy and democracy.
As a itaukei the 1997 Constitution does not entrench the native land ownership but 2013 version does.
What has 1990 and 1997 constitution did for us the itaukei?
Brought us economic calamities at the village and community level. The 2013 constitution forced us the itaukei to confront the economic realities head on instead of burying our heads in the sand.
What an irony, most itaukei migrate they want to be called Kiwis, Australian or Americans or even British but don’t give the same privilege to other ethnicities here in Vitia.
What an irony.
Yes , certain people in society don’t know the difference between ethnicity and nationality and would apply it selectively to suit their needs and arguments.
We can see that the appointment of Lynda Tabuya as Minister of Communications who just outlined her action plans, which of course dove tails with this scenario.
FYI
https://fijisun.com.fj/news/nation/tabuya-fights-fake-news-with-rapid-response-unit
Time for the fifth coup in Fiji.
Forget the Indo-Fijians, forget all other ethnic minorities and forget iTaukei. Forget everyone’s justification for the turn of events .This is what’s happening:
“Essentially, a constitutional coup is a power grab that uses the legal system itself as a tool to undermine democracy, often with the goal of consolidating power in the hands of a specific group or individual, according to political scientists. “
Rabuka is basically wanting to become a dictator like the ones we have had or currently have in some African countries . He wants to become the Mugabe of Fiji or the Idi Amin Dada of Fiji.That’s my theory for this madness. Fijian people in general have become blind and have become like the rats that followed the Pied Piper ! Heading for doom in the big ocean of poverty, isolation and become the outcasts of the Pacific and prime for a Chinese takeover to enshrine their presence in the Pacific.
Ni sa Moce Fiji .
There shouldn’t be any elections at all.
Waste of tax payers money,donors funds and free lovo with VIP service for overseas observers.
We will have another bunch making up the new government and that would be part 3 of what Bai and Kai started.
Let this old farts bankrupt Fiji and it will be better off with new owners.
Bred bank is doing better than bankrupt National Bank of Fiji.
Before those behind the 2006 coup are to be sent to prison, Sitiveni will remove the RFMF leader and replace him with the one who won’t act against Sitiveni. So no one will attempt a coup against Sitiveni. That way he gets to do what he wants.
Simply put, I’d welcome the return of the 1997 Constitution as it is the only true representation of the people’s views/aspirations. It was never abrogated, just discarded, unlawfully, an act of treason. The 1997 Constitution as the country’s supreme law is not set in stone and can be amended…
Why on earth is it taking so long?
Fiji cannot be held ransom to the so-called “2013 bullshit” replacement that Bai & his shysters put up following their 2006 coup.
Let’s get it right once and for all and SLR to please retire for good before elections.
The 2013 draft was promulgated by a junta that forced themselves on the government of the day several years earlier. Totally illegitimate and irrelevant. As it stands the 97 document must prevail despite the shortcomings that others may view it to have!