SUVA, Fiji (29 June 2001) -- Amnesty International has condemned Fiji's caretaker government for launching a counter-attack at a leading NGO that has been challenging the government's legitimacy. The Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF) was suddenly deregistered as a charitable organisation by the caretaker government last week, and international organisations have joined in the local condemnation of the move. Several NGOs in Fiji are unhappy with the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, which was installed in the wake of the May 19th coup last year, and there is a lot of tension between them. The CCF is bringing a court case challenging the legitimacy of the caretaker government, which, if successful, could call into question the holding of elections in August. The NGO has been a thorn in the caretaker government's side since it gave its support to Indo-Fijian farmer Chandrika Prasad's constitutional case earlier this year. The CCF's court challenge to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's re-appointment of the caretaker government in March apparently strengthened its resolve to abolish the organisation. Being deregistered as a charitable organisation would have a negative impact on the CCF's fundraising, as donations would no longer be tax exempt. But the real danger is that by deregistering the organisation, the government could now argue it has no legal status and cannot take it to court. Other NGOs in Fiji have seen the move as a threat to other groups opposed to the caretaker government, or who want a quick return to parliamentary democracy. The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre and the Fiji Women's Rights Movement have both condemned it as a heavy-handed tactic aimed at trying to silence a persistent critic of the overthrow of the democratically elected government last year. CCF chief executive, Reverend Akuila Yabaki, has accused Fiji's Attorney General, Alipate Qetaki, and his permanent secretary, Sakiusa Rabuka, as being behind the plot to cancel their registration. | | Military-installed government He pointed to the statements by the Registrar of Charitable Trusts, Sashimendra Lochan, who said "he was only acting under instruction" to cancel CCF's permit. And international organisations are now weighing in on the issue. Amnesty International's Pacific researcher, Heinz Schurmann-Zeggel, says the move won't impress the international community, and is likely to backfire domestically. "In the current climate it is very difficult to separate politics from human rights and constitutional rights from other human rights, but I think those trying to shut up the CCF should bear in mind that in the experience of Amnesty International in 40 years is that such attempts at silencing dissent usually don't pay in the long term". And the World Council of Churches echoes that concern, with Anglican Bishop of Polynesia, Jabez Bryce, who is one of WCC's eight regional presidents, saying "It seems that the decision was based on a very narrow interpretation of the Charitable Trusts Act." He said that the WCC supports the struggle for peace and justice and therefore support the works of the CCF. CCF spokesman Jone Dakevula says the deregistration won't affect their efforts, and they're trying to get it overturned. "They will not stop us from pursuing a case in court. They might remove the charitable status of the CCF, but we as members of the CCF still have our individual right to take matters to court and that's how we are pursuing it". SOURCE - Amnesty International |
