Heads up – Embassy 36

Something’s cooking

There is nothing Fijian High Commissioner Solo Mara likes more than firing up a traditional lovo or ‘earth oven’ and cooking a meal in the backyard – even in the depths of a London winter.

“We’ve done it before,” he smiles. “Even if the lovo gets covered with ice and snow, when you open it up it’s cooking away.”

Which is a bit like Fijian diplomacy at the moment. The High Commissioner admits that since the bloodless coup in 2006, relations with Britain have iced over. And the regime’s decision to delay elections that were due in 2009 until 2014 also resulted in Fiji’s suspension from the Commonwealth.

So Mara’s mission in London is to break the ice and explain to his British and Commonwealth counterparts that there is a lot cooking in Fijian politics.

He’s just the man for the job, having served as Permanent Secretary for the past four years and been witness to the changes.

It’s also the sort of campaign the High Commissioner has succeeded in before. He was posted as a diplomat to the UK in 2000 during an earlier coup and after new elections, he and his colleagues helped persuade the Commonwealth to remove Fiji from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) list, a blacklist of countries that violate the organisation’s democratic principles.

Since 1987 Fiji has suffered four coups, and the archipelago’s divisive politics between ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians lies at the root of its instability, which is why the government postponed the elections, says Mara.

“The original deadline was unrealistic to bring about the huge social and political changes that were necessary. Had we gone ahead, we would have returned to the same old constitution that prescribes racial division and a corrupt electoral system that favours some regions over others and we’d probably end up with another coup in five years’ time. Prime Minister Bainimarama wants to end the cycle of coups by addressing the core issues that give rise to them.”

To allay fears that elections will be postponed again, the government has embarked upon a “roadmap to democracy and sustainable social and economic development”. This includes an intensive development programme from 2009-2012, followed by political dialogue in preparation for elections in 2014.

“The reason for the two phases is to ensure that the development agenda is completed so that infrastructure projects cannot be used as a political tool in the elections,” explains Mara.

With the political phase starting, Prime Minister Bainimarama recently launched a dialogue on the new constitution and lifted emergency laws. But observers remain concerned about restrictions placed upon the media and the churches.

“The government is trying to address those elements that incited political unrest in the past,” explains Mara. “Some fundamentalist Christian elements support segregation while the media, especially the radio stations, have been major offenders in inflaming racial tensions. It's a miracle that we didn't go down the route of inter-racial violence or bloodshed.”

The government has also enacted legislation aimed at creating unity and a single national identity to end centuries of mutual suspicion between Fiji’s main ethnic groups. “From now on all citizens are called Fijians – there is no distinction between ethnic-Fijians and Indo-Fijians,” explains the High Commissioner. “That one decision has taken away the wedge between the communities.”

This policy extends to his work in the UK where he wants to bring together all the members of the diaspora to explain the political developments in the country.

Promoting Fiji’s cultural identity in the UK is also an important aspect of the High Commissioner’s work and he is planning a major exhibition on Fijian culture in 2013, in collaboration with the British Museum and a number of universities in the UK who hold valuable collections of Fijian artifacts.

Linked with the exhibition will be a trade and investment drive. “We want to turn our main trade disadvantage – distance – into an advantage by marketing our products as ‘pure’,” says the High Commissioner, who has plenty of experience in trade talks, having spent  a year (2008-09) in Brussels negotiating market access for Fijian fish and sugar.

But Fiji’s major industries – fishing, tourism and sugar – are vulnerable to climate change and it will also have to accommodate climate refugees from smaller Pacific islands.

 “All we can do as small islands is raise our voices, explain the threats we face and hope that the big emitters will listen,” says Mara, who hopes to work with the UK government on this issue and other threats to the region.

He is encouraged by pledges made by the UK government to re-engage with the Pacific following years of withdrawal, but the High Commissioner now wants to see these words backed up by deeds.

And there will be many opportunities to bring the two island nations together, notably the Diamond Jubilee (Fijians have had a deep affection for the Royal Family ever since the islands were ceded to Queen Victoria), the 2012 Olympics and of course the Rugby World Cup in 2014.

So there’s a lot cooking in Fiji – but a seasoned diplomat like High Commissioner Solo Mara can definitely stand the heat.