Is democracy as we know it a realistic expectation for Fiji?
In a recent interview with Paul Holmes, Helen Clark posed the question whether it was always necessarily appropriate to expect to be able to drop a developed country’s model on a developing one?*
While Fiji has long had a tradition of democracy, are the regular coups a sign that the democratic model needs some adaptation?
Bainimarama comes to the current situation – of his own making – from quite a different cultural background to most of us, one that’s somewhat feudal and patriarchal. Is this the nub of the issue?
Until now we have gone to Fiji for our family’s annual winter warm-ups, and felt entirely comfortable that the coup-phase was a transition stage and because I did not want the people at the resort we visit to suffer the consequence of tourists not going. But what now? Is my presence helping or hindering them?
The other dimension of Fiji’s current situation is that it is a text book case of how not to communicate. As one of my colleagues said not one of the parties is listening to or acknowledging the other. There will therefore be no movement unless someone is able to offer a compromise.
There are some who say that Bainimarama is being backed into a corner and the media have had a role to play in this. In order to give him some room to move don’t we need to offer an alternative solution, and perhaps in doing so, acknowledge that our model of democracy may need some serious adaptation for Fiji?
That said, the Pacific still supports a monarchy. New Zealand recently participated in the Tongan King’s birthday celebrations, a man who is said to be out of touch with the needs of his people and lives his life at the cost to others, quite literally.
Why do the Australian and NZ governments not offer some appropriately credentialed expert to assist Fiji to work out a realistic solution? And maybe we can step back from the stand over tactics and threats in favour of agreeing on an acceptable timeframe to help them develop a solution.
But then I have been known to be called Pollyanna. And no I am not trying to find a reason to justify this year’s trip to Fiji.
*See six minutes into this interview http://tinyurl.com/crarhg
Tags: democracy, Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, Helen Clark, Paul Holmes
April 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
There was an interesting discussion on the media censorship issue in Fiji on Media 7 last night http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/497100/1596964 which helped inform my opinion on the situation. There is genuine concern for the safety of journalists who speak their mind. You’d better watch out what you blog about Jane – you may not be allowed into the country for that much earned break this year!
April 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Clark is right. One form or view of democracy can not just be dumped into an entirely different context. Democracy takes different paths. One of the key features in the UK’s path to parliamentary democracy was the emergence and development of a powerful (read rich) “middle-class” who paid large sums in tax and expected more political say. Arguably in China we are seeing with the growth of its “middle class” small but continual concessions being made to private property rights and democratic freedoms – and most expect/accept that in time China will adopt its own unique democratic form.
The point is that if NZ or Australia want to help over the long-term the last thing they should be doing is sending in another expert on democracy. Instead, send in economic and community development experts, target our aid to these types of activities, send officials to help establish strong institutions, think about options like the micro-loan type initiatives, and over time this should slowly shift Fiji’s political culture to one which demands democratic values (and will not accept an overly involved and powerful army).
So keep taking those holidays – it’s for democracy.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Exactly right Jordan was not meaning an expert on democracy perse. Someone who has ability to understand their culture and the unique politics that exist there.