Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2008

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2008 Reviews of Vanuatu and West Papua are not included in this issue. Fiji Fiji's military-backed government dug in its heels during 2008, defying pressure to hold elections. At home, interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama courted popular backing for a "People's Charter" and sought to restructure the Great Council of Chiefs (gcc). Externally, relations soured further with Australia and New Zealand over the breach of the commitment to hold elections by March 2009, several death threats directed at Australian High Commissioner James Batley, and the expulsion of additional journalists and diplomats. The economy fared poorly, despite the recommencement of gold mining at Vatukoula and some recovery in tourist arrivals. The inner circle around Bainimarama tightened after the Fiji Labour Party (flp) ministers--including party leader Mahendra Chaudhry--left the cabinet. In October, a panel of three judges sitting on the high court in the Qarase v Bainimarama case ruled that post2006 coup presidential decrees were lawful, thus legitimizing the actions of the interim government. In January 2008, the National Council for Building a Better Fiji (ncbbf) held its first meeting. Opening the proceedings, Catholic Archbishop Petero Mataca echoed the position of his co-chair Frank Bainimarama by rejecting calls for a speedy http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Contemporary Pacific University of Hawai'I Press

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2008

The Contemporary Pacific , Volume 21 (2) – Aug 29, 2009

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-hawai-i-press/melanesia-in-review-issues-and-events-2008-K5s0BBfyf0

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © University of Hawai'I Press
ISSN
1527-9464
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Reviews of Vanuatu and West Papua are not included in this issue. Fiji Fiji's military-backed government dug in its heels during 2008, defying pressure to hold elections. At home, interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama courted popular backing for a "People's Charter" and sought to restructure the Great Council of Chiefs (gcc). Externally, relations soured further with Australia and New Zealand over the breach of the commitment to hold elections by March 2009, several death threats directed at Australian High Commissioner James Batley, and the expulsion of additional journalists and diplomats. The economy fared poorly, despite the recommencement of gold mining at Vatukoula and some recovery in tourist arrivals. The inner circle around Bainimarama tightened after the Fiji Labour Party (flp) ministers--including party leader Mahendra Chaudhry--left the cabinet. In October, a panel of three judges sitting on the high court in the Qarase v Bainimarama case ruled that post2006 coup presidential decrees were lawful, thus legitimizing the actions of the interim government. In January 2008, the National Council for Building a Better Fiji (ncbbf) held its first meeting. Opening the proceedings, Catholic Archbishop Petero Mataca echoed the position of his co-chair Frank Bainimarama by rejecting calls for a speedy

Journal

The Contemporary PacificUniversity of Hawai'I Press

Published: Aug 29, 2009

There are no references for this article.