Richard Naidu, the well known lawyer who is always willing to risk speaking about the political situation in the country was finally taken in by the bullies. Let’s hope it doesn’t shut him up like it has done to others who were detained by the military. (Easy for me to say, as I write this in anonymity).

But what Richard was talking about goes to heart of the problem in the current political state of the country. He has questioned the legality and rightness of Ratu Iloilo’s position as the president. He has labeled the current presidency as a Military President, as he was appointed by the military following the coup. It’s obviously true however you look at it. Call it a “clean-up campaign” or a military coup, whatever happened on December 5th was not right under the constitution nor in the minds of the majority.

Many in Fiji have somehow gone ahead to accept Ratu Iloilo as the legitimate president of the country. It however remains a fact that he was not elected by the right authorities, therefore his tenure in that position is questionable.

A lot of people in Fiji also have gone on to accept the position maintained by the military that the constitution was not abrogated. It maybe true, but the appointment under the current constitution did not follow proper procedures. For that matter much of what has gone on since December 5th and even after the swearing in the so called interim government, has been extra-constitutional. For instance the the state of emergency decree, the firing of senior civil servants and the detention of members of the public by the military. What constitutional basis does it have? There was nothing in the country prior to December 5th that warranted an unconstitutional removal of an elected government. Whatever happened was plain and simple illegal.

All those in the current so called interim government have been elected someone who has authority only through the barrel of the gun. With the power of the gun, anything can be made to look legal. It does not make it right however.

I can’t finish this post by quoting a hollow statement which shows the indifference of the current regime to the opinions of the learned and right thinking citizens of the country. This is what the current illegal Attorney General had to say in response to Richard Naidu’s comments: “…I can advise people to treat those sorts of comments with a pinch of salt.”

Labels: constitution, Iloilo, Richard Naidu