Group Against Racial Discrimination (Fiji)
Encyclopedia
The Group Against Racial Discrimination (GARD) was formed in Fiji
in 1990 to act as a pressure group against the unilateral imposition of a discriminatory constitution
by the military Government controlled by Major General
Sitiveni Rabuka
.
’s NFP-Labour Coalition
government in 1987, the country was still in a state of political uncertainty in 1990. It had been declared a Republic
by Rabuka soon after his second coup in September 1987, but after two attempts at finding a Constitution acceptable to all sections of Fiji's community, success was still elusive. Fiji was ostensibly being ruled by an interim government with Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
as President
and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
as Prime Minister
. The military
, however, still held a strong grip on the affairs of the nation, and called all the shots.
After the failure of the interim government in having two versions of its proposed Constitution accepted by all people of Fiji, the country was in a political stalemate
. The announcement on the night of the 25 July 1990 by the President of Fiji of a new Constitution came as a complete shock to the people of Fiji as it had happened without any prelude.
Initially, those opposed to the imposition of the new constitution, and brave enough to express their views, began expressing their opposition to the new constitution through letters to the media. But the interim government was adamant that the constitution was there to stay. And it did everything in its power to create an impression that the unilaterally-imposed Constitution had been accepted by all citizens of Fiji.
(USP) academics, who had the common desire to see the restoration of a democratic government in the country after the 1970 constitution had been abrogated by Major-General Rabuka. Their main aim was to bring the plight of the people of Fiji to the notice of the free world through letters and other means of communication. Efforts towards the local campaign quickly became ineffectual after the media began refusing to publish the letters.
Festival, also known as the festival of lights, celebrated by Hindu
s.
The protest was implemented on Thursday, 18 October 1990 in Suva
. After a short speech by Dr. Anirudh Singh
, a USP lecturer, a copy of the constitution was burnt. The protest was duly reported in the Daily Post
the next day, with the front-page headline saying “Hindus burn constitution”. The interim government called an emergency cabinet meeting. It condemned the protest, and released a statement calling the action “treasonous and despicable”. It asked the police to investigate.
In the week that followed, plain-clothes policemen visited USP to obtain statements from some of the members of the protest group. Members of GARD, including the Chair-person, Dr. Anirudh Singh, were taken to the Police Headquarters in Suva for questioning. During the week, a member of GARD who worked for the media informed GARD members that they were under surveillance by the army. The group feared receiving the same type of punitive treatment that some of their USP colleagues had received soon after the 1987 coups at the hands of the military. They had been taken captive and detained by the military for extended periods of time, during which they had been subjected to physical and psychological torture and interrogation.
for medical treatment.
On 22 November 1990, five members of the Special Operations Security Unit of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces pleaded guilty to the abduction and torture of Dr Singh and were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 15 months. The army denied that the five had acted on its orders and even sent them on peace keeping duties overseas.
ruled in favour of Dr Singh. In his judgement, Justice R.J. Coventry said "I do find that there were tortious acts as pleaded in the Statement of Claim committed by the first five defendants. I do not find that the defence under section 52 of the Royal Fiji Military Forced Act is available to the five defendants nor consequently the sixth defendant. I find that the tortious acts committed by the five defendants were so closely connected with their employment and in particular the functions and purposes of the Special Operations Security Unit that the sixth defendant, representing the State, is vicariously liable for those tortious acts.”
Dr Singh, speaking to Fiji Live
said he has finally found closure as the matter has been in the judicial system for 13 years. "People have been asking me, is it about the money? Money is not important. What's important is the fact that we have proved ourselves that we were right. Today's ruling has set a precedent and is clearly a landmark case that will definitely have positive ramifications. There are many others that were tortured during the period after the 1987 coup.”
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
in 1990 to act as a pressure group against the unilateral imposition of a discriminatory constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
by the military Government controlled by Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
.
Imposition of new constitution on people of Fiji
After the two coups executed by Major General Sitiveni Rabuka against Timoci BavadraTimoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
’s NFP-Labour Coalition
NFP-Labour Coalition (Fiji)
NFP-Labour Coalition was the coalition of the National Federation Party and Fiji Labour Party under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra, formed in 1987 to contest that year's general election. The coalition won the election with 28 seats in the House of Representatives to the Alliance Party's 24...
government in 1987, the country was still in a state of political uncertainty in 1990. It had been declared a Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
by Rabuka soon after his second coup in September 1987, but after two attempts at finding a Constitution acceptable to all sections of Fiji's community, success was still elusive. Fiji was ostensibly being ruled by an interim government with Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
Penaia Ganilau
Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau, GCMG, KCVO, KBE, DSO was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993...
as President
President of Fiji
The President of the Republic of Fiji is the head of state of Fiji. The President was appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution. The Great Council of Chiefs is constitutionally required to consult the Prime Minister, but...
and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Fiji
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister was appointed by the President under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution....
. The military
Military of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
, however, still held a strong grip on the affairs of the nation, and called all the shots.
After the failure of the interim government in having two versions of its proposed Constitution accepted by all people of Fiji, the country was in a political stalemate
Stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
. The announcement on the night of the 25 July 1990 by the President of Fiji of a new Constitution came as a complete shock to the people of Fiji as it had happened without any prelude.
Initially, those opposed to the imposition of the new constitution, and brave enough to express their views, began expressing their opposition to the new constitution through letters to the media. But the interim government was adamant that the constitution was there to stay. And it did everything in its power to create an impression that the unilaterally-imposed Constitution had been accepted by all citizens of Fiji.
Formation of GARD
To co-ordinate efforts against the imposition which was regarded as unjust, it was decided to form a pressure group, known as Group Against Racial Discrimination (GARD). This was a loose grouping of like-thinking individuals, most of who were University of the South PacificUniversity of the South Pacific
The University of the South Pacific is a public university with a number of locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. It is an international centre for teaching and research on Pacific culture and environment. USP's academic programmes are recognised worldwide, attracting students...
(USP) academics, who had the common desire to see the restoration of a democratic government in the country after the 1970 constitution had been abrogated by Major-General Rabuka. Their main aim was to bring the plight of the people of Fiji to the notice of the free world through letters and other means of communication. Efforts towards the local campaign quickly became ineffectual after the media began refusing to publish the letters.
Burning of Constitution
GARD decided that a better way to demonstrate its opposition was by burning copies of the constitution. This had been tried a couple of times earlier, however, these actions had been largely ineffective as they had failed to gain any publicity. To gain widespread publicity in Fiji, and internationally, it was decided to carry out the protest during celebrations for the DiwaliDiwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
Festival, also known as the festival of lights, celebrated by Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s.
The protest was implemented on Thursday, 18 October 1990 in Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
. After a short speech by Dr. Anirudh Singh
Anirudh Singh
Dr Anirudh Singh is a Fiji Indian academic who has undertaken research on muon implantation in solids but is best known for the stand he has taken on national issues, in particular those relating to social inequities in Fiji, resulting from the 1987 military take-over of the Fiji Government.- Early...
, a USP lecturer, a copy of the constitution was burnt. The protest was duly reported in the Daily Post
Daily Post (Fiji)
The Fiji's Daily Post is a newspaper that was formed by Wame Waqanisanini JR in Oct 1987, who owned 50 percent of the shares. Taniela Bolea was the original publisher. The majority shares were later owned by the Fijian government. The government now has 44.70 percent of the shares while Australian...
the next day, with the front-page headline saying “Hindus burn constitution”. The interim government called an emergency cabinet meeting. It condemned the protest, and released a statement calling the action “treasonous and despicable”. It asked the police to investigate.
In the week that followed, plain-clothes policemen visited USP to obtain statements from some of the members of the protest group. Members of GARD, including the Chair-person, Dr. Anirudh Singh, were taken to the Police Headquarters in Suva for questioning. During the week, a member of GARD who worked for the media informed GARD members that they were under surveillance by the army. The group feared receiving the same type of punitive treatment that some of their USP colleagues had received soon after the 1987 coups at the hands of the military. They had been taken captive and detained by the military for extended periods of time, during which they had been subjected to physical and psychological torture and interrogation.
Chairperson of GARD abducted
Despite precautions by members of the group, on the morning of Wednesday, 24 October 1990, Dr Anirudh Singh was abducted while on his way to work. Dr Singh was blind-folded and taken to a forest in hills outside Suva called Colo-i-Suva. He was gagged and severely beaten and interrogated for 12 hours. His captors then left him in the dark and disappeared. Somehow, Dr Singh made his way to a road and was driven to safety by a passing taxi. He had incurred sever injuries to his face and hands and needed to travel to AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for medical treatment.
On 22 November 1990, five members of the Special Operations Security Unit of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces pleaded guilty to the abduction and torture of Dr Singh and were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 15 months. The army denied that the five had acted on its orders and even sent them on peace keeping duties overseas.
High Court of Fiji rules in favour of GARD chairperson
Dr Singh sued the five and the Attorney General and after a thirteen-year delay, on 1 November 2006, the High Court of FijiHigh Court (Fiji)
The High Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of Fiji—the others being the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Constitution empowers Parliament to create other courts; these are subordinate to the High Court, which is authorized to oversee all...
ruled in favour of Dr Singh. In his judgement, Justice R.J. Coventry said "I do find that there were tortious acts as pleaded in the Statement of Claim committed by the first five defendants. I do not find that the defence under section 52 of the Royal Fiji Military Forced Act is available to the five defendants nor consequently the sixth defendant. I find that the tortious acts committed by the five defendants were so closely connected with their employment and in particular the functions and purposes of the Special Operations Security Unit that the sixth defendant, representing the State, is vicariously liable for those tortious acts.”
Dr Singh, speaking to Fiji Live
Fiji Live
Fijilive is an online newspaper and business and cultural directory in Fiji. The site is owned by the Future Group of Companies owned by Fiji entrepreneur Yashwant Gaunder....
said he has finally found closure as the matter has been in the judicial system for 13 years. "People have been asking me, is it about the money? Money is not important. What's important is the fact that we have proved ourselves that we were right. Today's ruling has set a precedent and is clearly a landmark case that will definitely have positive ramifications. There are many others that were tortured during the period after the 1987 coup.”