Ariddia
04-10-2007, 13:51
The court case initiated by Laisenia Qarase (deposed in a non-violent military coup last December) has begun in Fiji. It must decide whether or not the coup can be considered legitimate.
The alleged dismissal of the Qarase government in December 5, 2006 was ultra vires and void.
This was the conclusion of Defence lawyer Queens Counsel Nye Perran.
Perran told the court that in no view at all does the Constitution allow the Military Commander to dismiss the Prime Minister.
He said the actions of the Commander of the Military Forces when he established executive power was invalid and void.
The Australian Queens Counsel went on to say that the Constitution did not allow the Commander to exercise the powers of the President. [...]
The proceedings will continue tomorrow.
(article here (http://www.radiofiji.com.fj/fullstory.php?id=4431); see also a Radio New Zealand article (http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35558).)
The coup was widely condemned by the international community.
In most recent developments, coup leader and current "interim Prime Minister" Voreqe Bainimarama addressed the United Nations (http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/62/2007/pdfs/fiji-en.pdf) a few days ago to explain his actions and seek international understanding and support.
Also, a report commissioned by the Fiji Human Rights Commission (which supported the coup) has listed "irregularities" in the election which brought Qarase to power, which instances of alleged vote-buying, ballot box stuffing, and impediments to Indo-Fijian voters (most of whom tend to vote for Qarase's opponents, the Labour Party). In some constituencies, ethnic ballots for Indo-Fijians arrived late, and an Indo-Fijian voters' register disappeared, disenfranchising voters; in several places, Indo-Fijians were registered in the wrong constituency, and were unable to vote. Prior to the election, government-provided information in Hindi instructed Indo-Fijian voters to tick their ballots in such a way that would render the ballots void; instructions in Hindi also gave incorrect information on the date limit for voters' registration.
Qarase's party (the SDL) has rejected the report, pointing out that international observers from the EU and the Commonwealth had proclaimed the election "free and fair".
The alleged dismissal of the Qarase government in December 5, 2006 was ultra vires and void.
This was the conclusion of Defence lawyer Queens Counsel Nye Perran.
Perran told the court that in no view at all does the Constitution allow the Military Commander to dismiss the Prime Minister.
He said the actions of the Commander of the Military Forces when he established executive power was invalid and void.
The Australian Queens Counsel went on to say that the Constitution did not allow the Commander to exercise the powers of the President. [...]
The proceedings will continue tomorrow.
(article here (http://www.radiofiji.com.fj/fullstory.php?id=4431); see also a Radio New Zealand article (http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35558).)
The coup was widely condemned by the international community.
In most recent developments, coup leader and current "interim Prime Minister" Voreqe Bainimarama addressed the United Nations (http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/62/2007/pdfs/fiji-en.pdf) a few days ago to explain his actions and seek international understanding and support.
Also, a report commissioned by the Fiji Human Rights Commission (which supported the coup) has listed "irregularities" in the election which brought Qarase to power, which instances of alleged vote-buying, ballot box stuffing, and impediments to Indo-Fijian voters (most of whom tend to vote for Qarase's opponents, the Labour Party). In some constituencies, ethnic ballots for Indo-Fijians arrived late, and an Indo-Fijian voters' register disappeared, disenfranchising voters; in several places, Indo-Fijians were registered in the wrong constituency, and were unable to vote. Prior to the election, government-provided information in Hindi instructed Indo-Fijian voters to tick their ballots in such a way that would render the ballots void; instructions in Hindi also gave incorrect information on the date limit for voters' registration.
Qarase's party (the SDL) has rejected the report, pointing out that international observers from the EU and the Commonwealth had proclaimed the election "free and fair".