Fiji Time – that wonderfully elastic concept which makes a mockery of Western schedule fetish – doesn’t apply to the country’s politics. Events there seem to run at warp speed.

On Thursday April 9, the Fiji Court of Appeal ruled that the 2006 coup that installed Commodore Frank Bainimarama as leader was illegal. The next day, Fijian President (and Bainimarama ally) Ratu Josefa Iliolu sacked the Appeal Court judges, installed himself as head of State and abolished the constitution. He also ruled out any elections until 2014, thus cementing Bainimarama’s rule as Prime Minister. Fiji has had four coups in 20 years, and this is the second time the 1997 constitution has been displaced.

The Australian government is not happy about this state of affairs; the question is, what should we do about it? Institute trade sanctions? Refuse visas to Fijians associated with the army or government? Kick Fiji out of the Commonwealth? Oh wait; we’ve done all those things before and they didn’t work.

Now, I’m not one of those people who believe democracy and human rights aren’t relevant to any society outside our own. The current Fijian government has shown its contempt for the people and helped cripple its economy way before the current recession hit everyone for six. Police and military brutality are rampant and the institutional racism against Indo-Fijians is disturbing (though, strangely enough, Bainimarama has championed the Indo-Fijian cause). 

Australia should condemn Iliolu and Bainimarama’s actions in the strongest terms. Treating Fiji as THE delinquent of the Asia-Pacific block is another matter, which I think is hypocritical and counterproductive.

We’ve hung out with bad boy dictators before and been happy to overlook their behaviour as long as they acknowledged us (President Suharto of Indonesia). We’ve sucked up to dictators who have ruled out having any elections ever (Chinese premier Hu Jintao, probably Kevin Rudd’s real political soulmate). For years we pledged to follow to the ends of the earth a President (George W Bush) who thought his country’s constitution was pretty expendable. Why should Fiji be a special case?

Maybe the Australian government got jealous of New Zealand’s status as self-appointed conscience of the Pacific. Maybe Queensland – which, like Fiji, produces idyllic islands, sugar and synapse-melting rum – lobbied to get rid of the competition.

Or maybe we have just decided that one badly-behaved country needs to be made an example of, and it might as well be one without natural resources or a large market for Aussie products.

I reckon this is a shame, because Fiji also has some qualities that could make it more receptive to the carrot than the stick. Compared to some of the neighbouring countries, it’s peaceful. For a poor country, Fiji has relatively high levels of education, literacy and skills. Lastly, it has cultural and sporting ties to Australia.

Hell, they really like Australia; no matter how many travel warnings we issue about them, visas we deny them or drunken expats we exile to their shores in return for superior rugby players.

Here’s my fantasy alternate reality Fiji foreign policy: demand elections now and reinstate the constitution, and in return they get

• favoured regional trading partner status.
• large-scale, official Australian government partnerships to train them in policing, infrastructure and health
• Aus government grants for Fijian manufacturing industries. If we aren’t going to have a manufacturing industry any more, I’d like to see it go somewhere close and mutually beneficial
• a chance to get dual citizenship (of course, the Fijian government would have to allow this too!)
• guaranteed Australia-wide distribution of Fiji Bitter beer. I’m happy to volunteer my services now to promote this excellent endeavour.

Seriously, wouldn’t it be better to engage with the government and political system they have, rather than the one we’d like them to have? Surely that would be better than having to send troops in once the country has degenerated into a failed state.

Guest blogger Carolyn Ride spent one month in Fiji in 2008, which here on Weston Culture qualifies her as the resident Fiji expert. Hey, that still makes her more qualified than Eddy Groves was to run hundreds of childcare centres Australia-wide.

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