Fiji’s president pardons coup prisoners - No threat to ‘established order’, expert says

The presidential pardoning of three high profile prisoners in Fiji convicted for their part in the 2000 military coup and mutiny does not "pose any threat" to the country, an expert in Melanesian politics says.

On Wednesday, President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere granted pardons for Naitasiri high chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, Timoci Silatolu and Josefa Nata.

According to the Fiji government, the Mercy Commission had received 14 applications and 12 individuals were pardoned.

Ratu Inoke was convicted in 2011 for inciting mutiny at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in 2000 while Silatolu and Nata were convicted of treason for their parts in the coup that preceded it.

The trio were among 12 convicts who were granted clemency at the State House in Suva on the recommendation of the Mercy Commission.

The leader of the 2000 coup, George Speight, is still serving a life sentence for treason having received a commutation of his original death sentence in 2002.

"They have been in prison a hell of a long time and I don't really think they pose any threat to the established order or the [Fiji] military," Victoria University of Wellington professor in comparative politics Jon Fraenkel told RNZ Pacific.

"And I suspect that these are these releases will have been canvassed with the military. One can't be certain, but that's likely."

Professor Fraenkel, who was in Fiji when the events of 2000 occurred, said there has been talk about the release of the 2000 coupists in recent months since the new Rabuka-led coalition came into office, including talk about releasing Speight.

"These three prominent figures from the 2000 coup; Rata Inoke Takiveikata is a high chief who was found guilty of inciting the mutiny in November 2000 at the Queen Elizabeth barracks.

"I lived very close to that...all hell broke loose on that day and Bainimarama, the military commander [at the time] escaped across the cassava patch very famously. So, that was a major disruption in Fiji."

Silatolu was a Fijian Association MP - one of the parties that was actually in coalition with Mahendra Chaudhry, who was the PM that was ousted.

"But he went across and joined the insurrectionists and was sort of Speight's right hand man," he said.

He said Speight remains in jail because his situation "is slightly different".

"His situation is slightly different to the others because these three and other people are now receiving pardons from the prerogative of Mercy commission, but George Speight already received such a pardon because he was sentenced to death...I was in court on that day when the judge put the handkerchief on his head and pronounced the death sentence...which was quite a shocking kind of moment.

"And very shortly after that he was, he was pardoned, and sent to prison rather than sentenced to death. So the argument about George Speight is he's already had a pardon from the prerogative of Mercy commission, therefore he can't receive a second pardon."

He said the military have made clear that they they were not keen on his release.

"For the military, George Speight is hugely symbolic...the military defined itself by its suppression of the 2000 coup and the mutiny. So it's very important symbolically for the military that to remember that experience."

In a Facebook post, the People's Alliance Party said: "Timoci Silatolu disclosed that his lengthy incarceration prompted reflection and personal growth. Apologising for the pain inflicted on fellow Fijians, he humbly seeks forgiveness vowing to embark on a path of positive change.

"Similarly, Josefa Nata has announced a fresh start and extended heartfelt apologies for past transgressions. He envisions contributing constructively to society and embracing opportunities for positive change in the future," it added.

Coup convicts' release was expected

Chaudhry, the leader of the Labour Party, said the release of coup prisoners was expected under Rabuka's leadership, "who set the coup culture rolling by executing Fiji's first coup on 14 May 1987".

"In fact, Rabuka had foreshadowed the release of George Speight and other coup convicts in a political rally at the Nasinu Primary School just days before the 2022 general elections," he said via a statement.

"It was also a campaign promise by Sodelpa. Steps to release the political prisoners were taken up as early as January this year through the process of appointing a Mercy Commission.

"The prisoners have served very long sentences and are showing remorse for their treasonous acts.

"I hope they will assist the Truth and Reconciliation Commission when it is set up to establish the truth of the events leading to the 2000 coup and the real faces behind it," Chaudhry said. He was held hostage for 56 days at gunpoint in Parliament along with members of his government, as a result of the coup.

FijiFirst rebrand

Meanwhile, Professor Fraenkel said Fiji's opposition, FijiFirst Party, will need to start to reconstitute itself if it hopes to do well at the next election.

The Peoples Alliance-National Federation-Social Democratic Liberal Party coalition government led by Sitiveni Rabuka has 29 MPs, and the opposition FijiFirst - still the largest single political party in parliament - has 26 MPs.

But several key senior MPs resigned from parliament not long after their defeat - including former PM Frank Bainimarama, after copping a suspension, and his right-hand-man and former attorney-general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

He said the former ruling party had always been dominated by the agenda of Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum - who prioritised obedience above all else while they were in power.

"So now shorn of its key leaders who probably are not coming back will FijiFirst be able to reconstitute itself in such a way as to prove an effective force at the next election? I doubt it personally because there was certainly no sign of it."