Is Bainimarama Qarase's Creation

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity and it was the avariciousness of it from the one entrusted to lead that has set the course of this country towards calamity. 

It was the 25^th of April, 2005 when Laisenia Qarase in one of his speeches said that the concept of racism was alien and abhorrent to him and that his government was working on building an inclusive society where the views and opinions of every community is taken into account. Just a month earlier, he had reacted rather sturdily to a U.S. State Department report critical of racial discrimination in Fiji, and of the racial divide between Fiji's two main political parties. He had rebuked the United States for interfering in Fiji's internal affairs.

A year later in the 2006 general elections, having secured 81% of the indigenous Fijian votes it was going to take a statesmanlike approach from him to build his envisioned inclusive society – gain support of Indo-Fijians who had just a mere 2% supporting him in the elections incidentally due to what they perceived as Laisenia Qarase being an epitome of racism.

Laisenia Qarase in reality had a totally different vision and on his part did not disappoint the Indo-Fijians instead cementing their perception about him by introducing 3 legislative bills, Land Tribunal Bill, Qoliqoli Bill and Reconciliation and Unity Bill – straight out of a xenophobe’s wish list. 

Unwittingly he was setting the stage for one of the greatest plays that would later unfold in Fiji. Laisenia Qarase was not a dictator in a democratic society. In actuality he abused the privileges afforded though a democratic system – a ‘foreign flower’ that was not suited to Fiji’s climate as he preferred to call it.

Qarase squeezed the democratic system like a ripe orange and extracted every drop of government and legislative apparatus available in his bid to introduce and enshrine his racist policies. He made complete use of independent justice system and its loopholes wherever it benefited him and his cronies – extra mural release of prominent people specifically associated with his government became a signature of his government.

Laisenia Qarase under an impression that he had learnt from the mistakes of his predecessors made each of his political moves just as a chess grandmaster would make. Alas, he just wasn’t one. He appeased the fundamentalists, the chiefs, the business community and every other entity he thought would have any bit of vested interest in carrying out a coup against his government. 

But most of all he appeased his own ego and in the process disappointed the only person and the institution that had been responsible for all of the previous coups. That gross error in judgment caused by his ego set this great island nation on the path of demise.

In simple words, Laisenia Qarase had the best chance of taking Fiji forward at an express speed towards a vibrant, economically developed country but he fucked up.

His 3 racist legislative bills became a pretext; a prologue to the epic 3-Act play that the military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama had been waiting for. Bainimarama had become a jilted lover who after taking his partner to the heights of success was not only ditched but sodomized. The only problem was that this ditched lover had a gun. Actually he had and entire fully armed military force behind him.

 It is really important to tread on your relationship with such a lover with extreme caution especially if there is something much bigger than yourself at stake – in this case it was the country.

Bainimarama for all he had done for Qarase got a mutiny attack at his own barracks, a law suit from the family of dead CRW soldiers killed during the mutiny, a possible criminal investigation into the mystery surrounding the then President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara’s surprise resignation, a surcharge on blowing the RFMF budget. 

In hindsight all that Bainimarama wanted was Qarase's undivided attention and became bitter along time when none of it came his way as Qarase failed to display sufficient appreciation and gratitude towards the man who placed him in power. 

It would have been naïve to remotely assume that Bainimarama was unaware of Qarase’s ideologies before he handed Qarase the reign of this country after the 2000 coup. Bainimarama did not care about Qarase and his ideologies or racist policies.

Bainimarama wanted his back scratched by Qarase forever. Its not that there wasn’t any appreciation by Qarase towards Bainimarama – there most certainly was, but the following general election and the support that Qarase received from the I-taukei was like a celestial message for him that Bainimarama can go to hell.

Embalmed in the mirage of popular support and backing, Laisenia Qarase ignored the dynamics and the culture of coups in Fiji. What he failed to grasp or perhaps ignored was one dreadful truth - it was always the military that had been responsible for all the coups. The welfare of this country or being the guardian or savior of this country was secondary to the military officers. Their loyalty was to their commander.

Laisenia Qarase guided by his ego took his relationship with that military’s commander to the tallest summit of acrimony from where the only thing that seems to be falling down is this country. 

And the passiveness of this country’s population is highlighted by a saying, ‘when choosing between two evils; I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.’

Next we will talk about Bainimarama’s 3-Act play.