Former 2000 coup convict Jo Nata has urged the Cabinet Special Committee on the Constitution Amendment Bill not to use the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion as an excuse to retain constitutional immunity provisions for past coups.
Making his submission during public consultations in Nadi yesterday, Nata said the committee must consider the long-term consequences of retaining immunity and the message it would send to communities affected by Fiji’s history of political upheavals.
“I ask this Special Committee not to use the advisory of the Supreme Court as excuse to retain the immunity,” Nata said.
“A leading local jurist stated not too long ago that the decision of the Supreme Court was advisory.”
He appealed to committee members to place the country’s future and the interests of all communities above political considerations.
“We are dealing with the future of our Fiji and every ethnic grouping who now call Fiji home. And we appeal to your sense of doing what is right for the country and for the people.”
Nata warned that retaining constitutional immunity would undermine efforts to address Fiji’s coup culture and could reinforce fears among Indo-Fijians, particularly descendants of indentured labourers.
“I believe that retaining constitutional immunity has the effect of telling Fijians of indentured ancestry that Fiji is no longer a safe place for you and must leave.”
He said coups carried out purportedly in the name of indigenous Fijians had particularly affected descendants of Girmitiyas.
“As coups supposedly done in the name of indigenous Fijians were targeted towards descendants of Girmitiyas, refusal to remove immunity is a refusal to acknowledge their anxiety, fears and insecurity.”
Nata argued that proceeding with the Constitution Amendment Bill in its current form would signal a lack of commitment to preventing another military takeover.
“To put to Parliament for the third reading the Constitution Amendment Bill in its current form is a clear message that we, as a nation, are not serious enough about doing everything possible to prevent future coups.”
However, he acknowledged that removing immunity provisions alone would not guarantee an end to Fiji’s coup culture.
Nata said the country must also confront historical grievances, perceived inequalities and economic imbalances that had contributed to divisions between communities.
“To deal with the coup culture we need to address the historical issues, perceived imbalances, that had divided us, especially so the gripe of economic imbalance by the taukei.”
He said Fiji needed to examine the historical relationship between its communities rather than focusing exclusively on periods of political upheaval.
Nata also questioned the scope of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), referring to concerns he had raised in an earlier submission.
He said the commission’s lack of disclosure-based immunity and subpoena powers meant Fiji might have lost an opportunity to address longstanding national divisions comprehensively.
“In my submission to the TRC I said, as it was not tooled with disclosure-based immunity and the power of subpoena, we may have lost the opportunity to deal comprehensively, seriously and decisively with the issues and challenges confronting the nation.”
Nata said he considered the commission’s mandate too restrictive because it focused primarily on political upheavals and risked portraying indigenous Fijians as aggressors and Indo-Fijians as victims.
“We have all been aggressors and we have all victims. We needed to go back to the time we started to live together.”
He maintained that Fiji needed to address both constitutional immunity and the underlying causes of political instability if it genuinely wanted to prevent future coups.
“Getting rid of the immunity clause alone does not guarantee the end of coups, addressing attendant issues meaningfully is equally important.”
Nata concluded by urging the committee to take every possible measure to ensure Fiji never experienced another coup.
“We must do everything possible within our powers to make it almost impossible to carry out another coup,” he said.
