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RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000435 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO EAP PDAS GLYN DAVIES, EAP/ANP, AND INR/EAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL FJ
 
SUBJ: RE-INVENTED FIJIAN OPPOSITIONIST CALLS ON AMBASSADOR 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Mahendra Chaudhry, one of Fiji's leading opposition 
figures who until recently served with the interim government, 
called on Embassy Suva to explain to Ambassador his newfound 
opposition to the interim government's electoral reform proposals, 
support for a new election timetable, skepticism regarding recent 
attempts at political dialogue, despair for Fiji's economic future, 
and concern for Fiji's continued participation in the Pacific 
Islands Forum.  End summary. 
 
ON ELECTIONS AND ELECTORAL REFORM 
 
¶2.  (U) Ambassador Steven McGann met for nearly two hours with 
Mahendra Chaudhry on November 10.  Chaudhry, a former prime minister 
who was deposed by a civilian putsch in 2000, resigned in August as 
the interim government's finance minister to reclaim his leadership 
role of the Fiji Labour Party (FLP).  The FLP is one of the two 
largest and most important political parties in Fiji. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Throughout the cordial meeting Chaudhry repetitively 
called for elections and election reform, but with a different 
timetable and different reforms than those proposed by the interim 
government (IG).  As a cabinet member, he strongly supported the 
IG's proposed common role system.  He now sees it as doomed to 
failure, noting that under his understanding of the current 
proposal, the ballot would contain an unwieldy 112 candidates. 
Chaudhry believes strongly in a reform that combines two-thirds 
common role representation and one third communal representation, 
not unlike that proposed in the 1996 Reeves Commission report. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Despite his recent close proximity to decision makers, 
Chaudhry is baffled by how the IG will make elections work 
logistically.  He was emphatic that the country could not hold 
elections by the end of March 2009--as promised to the Pacific 
Islands Forum by Bainimarama in 2007--as first there must be an 
agreement on reform, then boundaries need to be determined and 
agreed to, and time must be set aside to consider electorate 
objections.  Chaudhry felt, however, that elections could 
comfortably be held before the end of 2009, and suggested late 
November and early December as an excellent time, because school is 
out for the long southern hemisphere school break, and school 
facilities make for ideal polling stations. 
 
ON POLITICAL DIALOGUE 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ambassador emphasized the need for an inclusive engagement 
and discussion on elections that results in clear agreed-to 
timelines and benchmarks.  Chaudhry agreed that timelines must be 
fixed, but worried that the proposed President's Political Dialogue 
Forum (PPDF) might not happen as there has been no recent response 
from either the Commonwealth or United Nations.  Chaudhry then 
quipped: "I don't know when we will talk seriously about 
elections." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Ambassador noted that neither women nor nongovernmental 
organizations were represented in the recent preliminary political 
dialogue and asked Chaudhry for his evaluation of "interlocutors" 
Sitiveni Halapua and Robin Nair.  Chaudhry said Robin Nair was too 
tainted by his association with the Charter but worked well with 
Halapua.  He liked working with the more effective Halapua, as he 
understood the "Pacific way."  He would like Halapua to communicate 
with Bainimarama and play a stronger, more facilitative and 
aggressive role.  Chaudhry nonetheless felt that the preliminary 
political dialogue is nothing but a delaying tactic by Bainimarama 
to avoid discussing the real issues that need to be taken to the 
PPDF. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Chaudhry strongly felt that the PPDF needs to happen as 
soon as possible.  He worried that the inclusion of women's and 
civil society organizations in the PPDF would be a big mistake that 
would drastically delay the process of getting to elections.  He 
urged that the PPDF focus solely on election reform and not include 
Charter discussions, which should be kept to the side. 
 
ON THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER 
 
¶8.  (SBU) When asked about his views on the People's Charter, 
Chaudhry responded that the FLP has six main objections to the 
Charter, but of those six, two for him are paramount: electoral 
 
SUVA 00000435  002 OF 002 
 
 
reform as proposed and the role of the military as nebulously 
defined in the Charter.  In his view, the military needs to 
downsize, as there is no external threat to Fiji.  He stated that 
the Charter is not a panacea, that the 11 pillars of the Charter are 
nothing new, that the inherent ideas have been proposed by political 
leaders in the past, many in the FLP's own manifesto.  Chaudhry does 
not believe the Charter cannot be enacted or observed on a de facto 
basis without first being approved by a legally elected parliament. 
 
ON THE ECONOMY 
 
¶9.  (SBU) With regard to the economy, Chaudhry feels the situation 
will continue to spiral downward, especially without the 
once-promised $350 million of EU sugar money.  Chaudhry appeared 
almost angry that so much of the national budget is spent on the 
military when there are such critical needs in health, education and 
other sectors.  Ambassador cautioned that the IG must be careful 
with economic policies, warning that if Fiji loses a company like 
Fiji Water, it will send a terrible, irreversible signal to 
potential investors.  (Chaudhry's ill-considered imposition of new 
and extraordinary taxes on Fiji Water nearly caused the company to 
close shop and was said to be the proximate cause of Chaudhry's 
dismissal as finance minister.) 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Chaudhry and FLP leaders have traveled and consulted 
widely throughout Fiji over the last several months.  Chaudhry found 
that people want elections, feel they are living in a "vacuum," and 
that without members of Parliament to turn to, they despair of 
achieving any real progress.  He discerned that young people 
frequently talk privately about the political situation but dare do 
so publicly.  Chaudhry implied that many of his constituents have 
given up on Fiji and postulated that Indo-Fijians would decrease to 
25 percent of the population within 20 years. 
 
ON THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Chaudhry urged the Ambassador to work with the 
international community to take a position on electoral reform, be 
more assertive, and to collectively act through the Pacific Islands 
Forum Secretariat (PIFS) to make clear exactly what is expected of 
the interim government.  Ambassador responded that he is not here as 
a proconsul and that the U.S. position is clear: until we have 
significant progress toward the return of democratic governance in 
Fiji, sanctions will remain in place, there will be no expansion of 
Fijian participation in peace keeping operations, we will not 
consider any notion of exceptionalism, and we have and will continue 
to work through the PIFS. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Chaudhry wondered what will result from Joint Forum 
Working Group scheduled to discuss Fiji on November 20, the 
Ministerial Contact Group proposed for later this month, and the 
special meeting of PIF leaders to be hosted by Prime Minister 
Michael Somare next month in Papua New Guinea.  Chaudhry seemed 
genuinely concerned with whether the PIF would suspend Fiji from the 
PIF and noted that Bainimarama made a grave mistake by not going to 
Niue for the Leaders meeting in August. 
 
¶13.  (U) Ambassador suggested that they should meet regularly. 
Chaudhry was clearly interested and suggested that they should meet 
after he returns from India next month. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Chaudhry seemed comfortable in his return to the role of 
political opposition leader.  He has clearly changed his views since 
departing the IG in order to be more in tune with that of his 
constituents but seemed to be struggling with how far he could push 
his new-found views without seeming hypocritical.  He is a seasoned 
political survivor with his finger on a larger social and political 
pulse.  While the subject was not explicitly discussed, Chaudhry 
implied that there is much dissatisfaction in the Indo-Fijian 
community.  To tap into that dissatisfaction while simultaneously 
assuaging both Bainimarama and the concerns of the indigenous 
community will require Chaudhry to use all of his considerable 
skills as a political chameleon.  End comment. 
 
MCGANN