VZCZCXRO7096
RR RUEHPB
DE RUEHSV #0255/01 1831820
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 021820Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY SUVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3154
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0030
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1241
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0855
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1032
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SUVA 000255 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016 
TAGS: PREL KPKO PGOV FJ NZ
SUBJECT: FIJI'S MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT TALKING AGAIN 
 
REF: SUVA 109 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR DINGER.  SECTIONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C)  Representatives of the Republic of Fiji Military 
Forces (RFMF) and Fiji's Ministry of Home Affairs tell us a 
June 23 meeting between RFMF Commander Bainimarama and Home 
Affairs Minister Vosanibola appears to have helped put 
civil-military relations in Fiji back on the right track. 
RFMF senior officers who participated said all major 
outstanding issues were raised, including the RFMF's desire 
to join the coalition in Iraq.  Few definitive decisions were 
made, but most participants think the cooperative tone could 
bode well for the future.  However, in a private conversation 
with the Ambassador, Bainimarama sounded much less 
optimistic.  He complained that Vosanibola knows almost 
nothing about key military issues and should have been 
replaced as Minister.  Bainimarama expressed displeasure 
about Vosanibola's conversation with New Zealand Minister for 
Defense Phil Goff on June 22 in which both reportedly 
endorsed the idea of having Fiji's Supreme Court rule on the 
RFMF's proper role under the Fiji Constitution.  End summary. 
 
RFMF-Home Affairs Meeting: Generally Good Reviews 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2.  (C)  Senior military officers who attended the June 23 
reconciliation session between RFMF Commander Bainimarama and 
Minister of Home Affairs Vosanibola told the Ambassador and 
DATT June 24 that the event was very useful and positive. 
The meeting lasted over five hours, with a ceremonial 
exchange of whales' teeth and lots of kava drinking.  RFMF 
Commander Bainimarama and 15 military officers attended. 
Minister of Home Affairs Vosanibola, CEO Korovavala and other 
officials represented the Ministry.  At one point, Korovavala 
reportedly had tears streaming down his face.  The officers 
said virtually all outstanding civil-military issues were 
discussed.  While few definitive decisions were made, the 
officers were impressed with the cooperative spirit that 
pervaded the meeting and left feeling good about prospects 
for improved civil-military relations. 
 
¶3.  (C)   At a joint meeting with the Ambassador, DATT, and 
DCM June 26, Korovavala and RFMF Chief of Staff Teleni agreed 
that the meeting was very positive.   Korovavala said 
discussion was open and honest, and no issues were evaded. 
He said a decision has been made by both the ministry and the 
military to put the past behind them and "head in a new 
direction." 
 
RFMF Involvement in Iraq 
------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (C)  One key issue that came up at the RFMF-Home Affairs 
meetings was the RFMF's desire to join the Coalition of the 
Willing in Iraq.   According to participants, Home Affairs 
referred to the 2003 government decision stipulating that the 
RFMF could only participate in UN activities in Iraq.  The 
RFMF argued that the situation in Iraq is now totally 
different from 2003, when a full-scale war was imminent.  The 
RFMF also noted that the UN has endorsed the Coalition's 
efforts to combat the insurgency and reconstruct Iraq. 
Korovavala told us June 26 that the Cabinet has called for a 
review of Fiji's  participation in Iraq and the Sinai, and 
that a report to the Cabinet is due at the end of August. 
 
Military Will Not be Downsized 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C)  Korovavala and Teleni said a "defense white paper," 
which media articles have suggested contains a plan to 
dramatically downsize the military, was also discussed at the 
meeting.  Korovavala said virtually all reporting on the 
white paper has been wrong, confusing the as-yet-unwritten 
defense paper with an already completed "security white 
paper."  Contrary to public perception, he said, the security 
paper does not talk about military personnel levels.  Teleni 
chimed in, stating that the government has sent word to the 
RFMF that personnel levels will be maintained.  (Note:  In a 
statement June 7, RFMF spokesman Neumi Leweni said that 
Vosanibola had informed the RFMF that the proposed defense 
white paper has been set aside.  Leweni also referred to 
 
SUVA 00000255  002 OF 003 
 
 
statements by the Prime Minister during the election campaign 
stating that there would be no reduction in RFMF strength.) 
 
Funding Request for "Peacekeeping Center" 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  Korovavala and Teleni made a joint pitch for the 
U.S. to help fund a planned "peacekeeping center" at Black 
Rock in western Fiji.  Both spoke of Fiji's need to provide a 
centralized training center for troops engaged in 
peacekeeping activities around the world, and referred to 
previous U.S. expressions of support for the concept.  The 
Ambassador and DATT said the United States would carefully 
consider Fiji's request for funds and equipment, noting the 
extensive assistance we give to the RFMF to help train Fiji 
peacekeepers.   We are helping send a large Fijian contingent 
to Mongolia to participate in PKO exercises in August. 
Korovavala said Fiji is very grateful for U.S. military 
assistance, and he asked for updated dollar figures and 
details that he could share with the Cabinet and the public. 
The Ambassador tasked the DATT to provide all appropriate 
information. 
 
Commander Bainimarama Downplays Meeting with Home Affairs 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶7.  (C)  In contrast to the upbeat reports from RFMF senior 
officers, Commodore Bainimarama downplayed the significance 
of the RFMF-Home Affairs meeting in a conversation with the 
Ambassador on June 24.  Bainimarama grumbled that, after two 
years, Vosanibola still knows almost nothing about the 
front-burner issues that affect the military.  Thus, he was 
not prepared to respond to the RFMF on any important items, 
including the RFMF's desire to join the coalition in Iraq. 
Bainimarama complained yet again that Vosanibola relies far 
too much on CEO Korovavala for policy and decision-making 
guidance, an inappropriate role for a CEO, who should be more 
of a conduit for information exchange and dialogue. 
Bainimarama said the appointment of former RFMF Chief of 
Staff, Home Affairs CEO, and High Commissioner to Australia 
Jioji Konrote as Minister of State for Immigration within the 
Ministry of Home Affairs is positive.  Konrote helped 
organize the June 23 meeting and participated in it. 
Bainimarama expressed disappointment that Konrote wasn't 
picked to replace Vosanibola as Home Affairs Minister. 
 
Displeasure with NZ Minister Goff 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Bainimarama indicated that part of his pique with 
Vosanibola related to the Minister's meeting with New Zealand 
Trade and Defense Minister Goff on June 22.  Bainimarama said 
he participated sincerely in the reconciliation ceremony with 
Vosanibola, only to hear afterward from others that on the 
day before Vosanibola and Goff had endorsed a move by PM 
Qarase to seek a Supreme Court opinion on the proper role of 
the military under the Fiji Constitution.  Bainimarama 
clearly felt betrayed, and he asked the Ambassador 
plaintively: "Why does the government think that is 
necessary?"  He suggested that the notion of asking for a 
Supreme court ruling "doesn't make sense."  When the 
Ambassador referred to Bainimarama's numerous public 
statements suggesting the RFMF has a major role to play in 
the governance of Fiji, including to remove the sitting 
government if necessary, and arguing that Fiji's Constitution 
mandates such an active political role for the military, 
Bainimarama denied ever suggesting the RFMF might remove the 
Qarase government.  He then acknowledged having said the RFMF 
might have to "take over" if the government continued to 
advocate passage of the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity 
Bill (RTUB). 
 
Support for Police Commissioner Hughes 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  Interestingly, Bainimarama suggested to the 
Ambassador that recent media criticism of Police Commissioner 
Hughes (including a full-page article in the June 24 Fiji 
Post) was very unfair.  Bainimarama said Hughes, an Aussie, 
has done an excellent job in improving the police force, but 
Qarase Government policies, like the RTUB bill, foster an 
atmosphere of lawlessness that undermines the police. 
(Comment:  As recently as March, Bainimarama and his RFMF 
spokesman strongly criticized Hughes for allegedly taking 
part in an Australian-led effort to shrink the size of Fiji's 
 
SUVA 00000255  003 OF 003 
 
 
military (reftel).  We hear that when Bainimarama was in 
Australia for defense talks in mid-June, Australian senior 
officials made crystal clear their displeasure about 
Bainimarama's critical remarks.  End comment.) 
 
Comment:  Reason for Optimism? 
------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (C)  The new-found spirit of cooperation between the 
RFMF and the government can be a very positive development. 
Just about everyone in Fiji, except perhaps for Commodore 
Bainimarama, has felt very nervous about a situation in which 
the military commander and the government have not been not 
on speaking terms.  If personalities don't get in the way, 
and especially if Fiji's new multiparty cabinet holds, a real 
opportunity exists for the government and military to 
establish the groundwork for a much more stable and positive 
relationship. 
DINGER