Transcript
Fiji's parliamentary term reopened with the usual pomp and ceremony, the military band and naval officers arriving and standing at attention as the Prime Minister and MPs were kept waiting for the arrival of the President, Jioji Konrote. But the president's tardiness was overshadowed by the absence of the NFP MPs Biman Prasad and Prem Singh. Mr Prasad had spent the weekend in police custody.
"Ending up in a police cell is never dignified stuff, but we were treated well by the police officers. And we've been told that the files have been sent to the director of public prosecutions office for a decision on whether we'll be charged or not. "
The possible charges relate to a gathering last week to discuss the constitution, to coincide with Fiji's Constitution Day. Police have alleged it was a public meeting, held without a permit and thus in contravention of the Public Order Decree. The first man to be taken in on Saturday was Attar Singh, the union leader. He wasn't a speaker at the event, but a member of the audience.
"Well the allegation against me is that I participated in a meeting that was unlawful because there was not a permit obtained so that's the allegation they've made, I've denied the allegation and I stand by that. In terms of what the law really is, I think there's a debate about that."
The President of the National Federation Party Tupou Draunidalo says the government has never clarified which of its many decrees it enacted after the 2006 coup are still current. She says the democracy that Fiji purports to uphold is a farce. Others detainees like Sitiveni Rabuka and Biman Prasad faced a line of questioning about their comments at the meeting - some of which were deemed to be against national security. Biman Prasad says he has spoken openly in the parliament about his concerns over the constitution - concerns the United Nations has also raised when it encouraged Fiji to review it. He says the constitution isn't strong enough when military decrees trump the constitution's own bill of rights.
"I have called for an allocation of funds in the last budget session to get the law reform commission to review some of these decrees to ensure that these decrees are consistent with the provisions of the constitution."
Mr Singh says he will lodge a complaint with the International Labour Organisation as he says Fiji agreed at the last review to ensure that the provisions of the public order decree would not be applied to trade unions, and he says this draconian action by the police broke that promise.
"It shouldn't be happening at all, we are surprised it's still happening after the 2014 elections, the expectation was that after the 2014 elections when the government has a complete control of governance that it would act in a more relaxed manner."
Attar Singh says he can't understand why the authorities are so concerned about people getting together to discuss important issues in Fiji. In his speech for the opening of Parliament, the President Jiojie Konrote told the house that in this second half of the parliamentary term the government would review several laws including the Public Order Decree. If the men are charged they will be ruled out of running for the 2018 election.
