Fiji resists imperialist sanctions
By Louis Paulson
Once again the imperialist powers are using the weapon of
trade sanctions against a small and poor country. Australia,
New Zealand, Britain and France have already adopted
sanctions against Fiji. They want to remove the Indigenous
prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, and reinstate Mahendra
Chaudhry, who was deposed on May 29 during an Indigenous
rebellion.
Because of the sanctions, 6,000 jobs have been lost since
May, half due to layoffs in textiles and other manufacturing.
The tourism industry has lost 1,700 jobs and is threatened
with further losses.
Fiji's dominant industry, sugar, lost money last year due
to bad weather conditions. French President Jacques Chirac
has now warned that if Fiji does not comply with the
imperialists' demands, the European Union will stop buying
Fijian sugar under the advantageous terms of the Lomé
Convention. This would mean economic disaster for Fiji.
"We are unashamedly aggressive about it," Australian
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned.
Arizona Sen. John McCain has called for the "isolation" of
Fiji. Establishment media like the New York Times agree with
him.
The legacy of British colonialism is behind the turmoil
that has shaken this South Pacific country of fewer than a
million people.
During the colonial period, Britain imported indentured
workers from India and settled them on Fijian land to grow
sugar. Today, 44 percent of the population is composed of the
Indo-Fijian descendants of those sugar workers, while 51
percent are Indigenous Fijians.
The Indo-Fijian workers were harshly exploited by the
British, but were allowed to enter trade, while the
Indigenous Fijians were barred from the money economy. Most
of the land is owned by the Indigenous Fijians. However, they
are forced by colonial-era laws to rent it to small sugar
growers and other farmers for long periods at the lowest land
rents in the world.
Indigenous grievances over land, jobs and the role of the
traditional chiefs were at the root of an uprising that broke
out in May. During a demonstration of 5,000 Indigenous
Fijians demanding Chaudhry's resignation, a small armed group
took Chaudhry and most of his cabinet members prisoner.
This touched off a spontaneous uprising in many areas of
Fiji. Hundreds joined the takeover. Some 187 shops were
reported burned or damaged, and 269 people were arrested on
the first day alone.
In many parts of Fiji, villagers took over police and
military barracks and seized weapons. Troops guarding a
hydroelectric facility were disarmed by villagers with spears
and knives. Two beach resorts were temporarily occupied by
Indigenous Fijians. The main airport on the island of Vanua
Levu was occupied for a time. The television station was
sacked, and there was a rebellion and mass escape at Naboro
Prison.
On May 29, in response to this rebellion, the Fijian
military declared martial law, voided the constitution and
deposed Chaudhry.
Speaking to a United Nations women's conference, Tania
Woodward, an Indigenous Fijian, said, "The causes espoused by
the rebels had a considerable amount of mass support, some of
which was out in the open--thousands of people marched--some
of which was implicit--the refusal [of the police and army]
to act against the rebels. Strong feelings of resentment have
been suppressed by Fijians for decades."
Prime Minister Qarase has announced a program of
reconciliation, and has called for Indo-Fijian participation
in his government. Meanwhile, sanctions are damaging all the
poor and working people of Fiji of all nationalities, and are
contributing to the atmosphere of tension.
The imperialist powers are the world leaders in racism and
violence. They have no legitimate role in imposing a
political settlement on the peoples of Fiji. Imperialist
force, economic or military, can only further worsen the
colonial legacy of division.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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