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"I think most dictators have a great capacity for self deception and he may be suffering from that. I doubt if he has read the Constitution - he just repeats what his Attorney General tells him to say, and those are his words." Professor Yash Ghai

23/10/2013

11 Comments

 

Ghai says clauses on immunity were included in his Draft Constitution because of pressure from Aiyaz Khaiyum and Frank Bainimarama

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The Yash Ghai interview video
An expert whose draft for Fiji's Constitution was scrapped by the interim government says he doubts interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has read his government's replacement version.

In January, the Fijian government scrapped the draft constitution drawn up by an independent commission led by Professor Yash Ghai.

A replacement version was signed into law in September.

Professor Ghai has told Australia Network's Newsline program Commodore Bainimarama's comparisons between the commission's draft and the final product have been flawed.

"I think most dictators have a great capacity for self deception and he may be suffering from that," he said.

"I doubt if he has read the Constitution - he just repeats what his Attorney General tells him to say, and those are his words."

"He has made various statements about our Constitution which are inaccurate in his criticism [and] he has said many things in praise of their Constitution which are inaccurate."

The new document will replace the 1997 constitution that was set aside by the military regime four years ago.

It includes reforms to the electoral system, a clause on free speech and a Bill of Rights.

Professor Ghai says while parts of the final version borrow from his work, they are undermined by other alterations or omissions.

"For example, they have taken a fair bit from our Bill of Rights, but they have an over-arching sort of provision whereby it'd be very easy for Parliament to disregard a human right, whereas in our case there was an article dealing with limitations," he said.

"The whole scheme of a Bill of Rights can come to nought if they declare an emergency [and] there are no safeguards that we had built into the scheme for declaring an emergency.

"So now they have a carte blanche basically to, to de-supply or set aside the whole Bill of Rights."

Electoral system


Professor Ghai says he's also disappointed with the changes to the electoral system from the draft version.

Under the new system, individual regional constituencies have been abolished in favour of one national constituency - a change which the government says will force politicians to adopt a national focus.

Professor Ghai says the changes favour larger parties because they have to secure five per cent of the vote.

He says the use of an 'Open List' system - where the number of candidates elected for each party is based on the party's overall vote - also adds to the complexity.

"In an Open System...you can cross out the ordering of the party and change the order - which is a good thing, it gives people, the voters the power not to have to stick to the list drawn by the party," he said.

"Then they can add other names too - they can put somebody down there who is not even on the list.

"It means that the ballot paper could be very long, huge - I know that people in Fiji are used to quite complex electoral systems but this one is going to be very hard to cope with for most people."

Rights groups have raised concerns about the constitution's inclusion of a clause giving immunity to those behind the 2006 coup.

Professor Ghai says clauses on immunity were included in his draft because of pressure from the attorney-general and the prime minister.


He says the original version would have forced those seeking immunity to apologise.

"The immunity we gave, requires a prior oath by the people who seek its benefit to apologise for what they did, to say they would never, ever again do things like this, only then does the immunity come.

"Many, many people told us that: 'If they apologise, if they show that they are sorry and acknowledge that they have broken somebody's sacred rules, we will of course give them immunity'.

"But they wanted some recognition on the part of these people that they did something wrong and they would never, ever again do something like that."

Professor Ghai says there are also concerns with the difficulty in changing the constitution, and that several Decrees by the current government will remain in force after the elections.

He says he remains hopeful that Fiji may still be forced by pressure from the international community to adopt his version of the constitution. Source: Australia Network News

11 Comments
United States ambassador Larry Dinger
23/10/2013 04:38:04 am

“A psychiatrist would have a field day with Bainimarama”.

Reply
Dictatorship Leads to Revolution
23/10/2013 04:11:15 pm

The problem with all dictatorship is it will always lead to a revolution in 90% of the cases.
The interest of everyone is to take Fiji to a free fair election to release the pressure on the people and calm things down bring it to normal.
The risk of revolution is too high when dictatorship and coup leaders hold power for too long.

Reply
Puppet Yash Ghai
23/10/2013 04:44:25 am

You have conmfirmed your constitution draft was influenced by Khaiyum and Bai.

This shows you bending backwards was percuniary conflict of interest, thus you taking to draft a constitution while 1997 constitution was set aside, but remained valid legal document was unlawful.

So both your version and aiaz's version both are corrupt.

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Yasa Qai
23/10/2013 08:38:54 am

What this idiot Yash Ghai doesnt realise that he will get slaughtered and ripped apart the moment he tries to poke his nose into Fiji's affairs. He cried like a baby when stopped at the printers. He should retire peacefully and stop showing that he is way past his use-by date. He looks so stupid to admit he was influenced which goes to show that what he produced was not the will of the people. He must also admit that he was influenced by Micky Mouse Beddoes, Tupeni Veilecayaki Baba and others in the used-by category. It is better to remain silent Yasa Qai. Qai laivi sara yani, sega na isa.

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desperately seeking validation
23/10/2013 12:01:57 pm

Ghai had similar issues in Kenya and Cambodia.

In Kenya he walked off the job, leaving the Constitutional amendment process over there in tatters after he had conflict with the Government over there.

In Cambodia he ended up organising anti government protest marches after he had conflict with the Government over there.

And now in Fiji, having left the country under a cloud of uncertainty with a Constitutional draft where he determined in his draft Constitution that a group of NGO's and non elected persons would have the final oversight as a "representative assembly" over any laws proposed by an elected Parliament he has now resorting to the International media to validate himself (and perhaps resurrect his personal and professional pride).

Perhaps his admission that he was "pressured" into inserting the immunity clause into his draft Constitution is an adequate insight into the moral character and integrity of Professor Ghai - as now by his own post facto and unequivocal admission, his Constitutional Commission appears to have been hardly "Independent".

Perhaps it was all about the money after all.

Certainly his spat with the Kenyan Government which led to the derailment of the Constitutional process he had been working on over there was all about money (funding for his Commission).

Doesn't look good on the CV.

One has to wonder what other hapless State Professor Ghai will now seek to peddle his wares to ?

Reply
abc
30/10/2013 09:41:09 pm

Hey Professor desperate whatever your name is...
you know when you have done well and right when an illegal government throws you out...the prof does not need validation...Fiji does and will always do unless you Fijians begin to know the difference between the legal and the illegal.

Rajesh
23/10/2013 12:10:48 pm

Vinaka Ghai
Auss/NZ/USA/EU/UK/OTHERS should read and know Frank/Kahiyum are dictators and never will give in power..bunch of crooks running fiji.
Fijian have to stand up fight for democracy /freedom and above all 1997 Constitution.
BKC need to be thrown out the window .
NO Free and Fair Election will happen.

Reply
Puppet Yash Ghai
23/10/2013 01:58:16 pm

How much more of your draft was not will of the people but will of those rogue political parties that continues to support your draft version ahead of Khaiyum's version?

You have confirmed your commission was rogue and let us now see if these new political parties still support your version as well consultated document or will now run away from it, or will be as bad as you, your commission and Khaiyum.

One of your commissioners already had conflict of interest as was a commissioner who cleared Chaudhry of any wrong doing in tax enquiry, but now he is charged shows her as bias commissioner who also was part of the Fiji Human Rights Commission team to declare 2006 elections invalid due to SDL but failed to pick invalid processes and candidacy of FLP, and Mick Beddoes also.

This shows you all are the same .... all abuses of processes thus 1997 Constitution remains a valid lawful document under which 2001 and 2006 elections were invalid and Presidential rule has overstayed his term as interim govt.

None is wiser than the other and four fingers point towards each of you period.

Notwithstanding Mr Yash Ghai you failed to put all submissions on the webb so that you made up your own draft and not will of the people.

This is as corrupt as it can get and no better then your masters as you also cut short the consultation process after starting late and finishing early when you confirmed earlier of seeking extension due to late start!

This means despite your 7000 submissions, none were debated on to counter views leaving a rogue draft thus an invalid draft afterall.

Reply
Ghai drafted the 1997 Constitution too didn't he ?
23/10/2013 04:04:14 pm

But wasn't the 1997 Constitution drafted with input by Ghai too ?

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Burntheconstitution
29/10/2013 08:12:03 pm

Looks like the blog about Ghai is hurting somebody...well the truth hurts!!

Good or Bad...legal or illegal, the 1997 is still the valid document and this will send these coupsters to prison.

I believe that Ghai is not a problem here as we are now shooting the messenger. The problem here is the regime who picked him to come and design a new constitution keeping a blind eye on his CV but when Ghai swayed outside their Terms of Reference, regime came up with another lie and burn the constitution.

Its all lies from 2006 and will continue.

Reply
All Lies
1/11/2013 04:08:34 am

It is all lies ever since 2001. 2006 is a result of that and much more.

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