Fijileaks: We often throw down the gauntlet to the Fiji Times to publish our correctives to the PAP-NFP LIES, but the propagandists refuse to do so. Anyway, we are not surprised. After the PAAPI's 1987 coups, the Fiji Times had agreed to publish under partial censorship, whereas old Fiji Sun had refused and was shut down permanently by the THUG
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HATCHING A COUP IN FIJI: It was in 1977 that the 'Sushi nibbling chua' and NFP leader BIMAN PRASAD's current political husband, the PAAPI Sitiveni Rabuka, had thought of the possibility of staging a coup when the NFP had won the election but had failed to form the government because of political and religious bickering in the party. Rabuka was then studying at India's Defence Staff College in the southern Indian state of Tamil Naidu. Later, he expanded and finalised his plans. After the 1987 Rabuka coups, NFP's Deputy leader Mrs Irene Jai Narayan defected from the party and became the racist's interim Minister for Indian Affairs. Later, two other leaders - Jai Ram Reddy and Biman Prasad - crawled into the political bed with the Father of Coups in Fiji - SITIVENI RABUKA
 Ramrakha |  Mrs Narayan |  Reddy |  Koya |
1977: NFP Hibiscus v Dove Factions
SIDDIQ Koya accused JAI RAM Reddy and Mrs Irene Jai Narayan of having sown seeds of discord in the Indo-Fijian community and alleged that they had deliberately set out to destroy his faction by setting Hindus against Muslims. JAI RAM REDDY on SIDDIQ KOYA in 1977:
* I am not frightened of Koya. I can face one thousand Koyas.
* This general election will throw the Leader of Opposition, Mr Siddiq Koya, in such a place that he will never be able to come back to the political arena again. The man changes tune according to the crowd. How can they rely on him?
*Mr Koya had been taken for a cheap ride by Ratu Mara during the constitutional conference. People who got fooled by others should leave the field and get out.
ON 4 April 1977 about 20,000 Fijians (i-Taukei) voted for the radical FNP (Fijian Nationalist Party, led by Sakeasi Butadroka). For the first time in the country's political history the Alliance Party had been defeated. This defeat paved the way for the NFP (National Federation Party) to form Fiji's next government with the first Prime Minister of Indian (Indo-Fijian) origin: Siddiq Moidean Koya. But this event did not take place. Instead, Fiji entered into an epoch of political instability and confusion.
| EXCERPTED from Chapter Four, 'The 1977 Elections and the Constitutional Crisis', Victor Lal, Fiji: Coups in Paradise The dissolution of Parliament, whereby the Governor-General justified his action with the statement that 'the Constitution provides that the Governor-General may dissolve Parliament at any time, but so doing, he shall act in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister' inevitably tore the parties apart. In the September 1977 elections the NFP was beleaguered by factionalism splitting the supporters into rival political groups. The conflict revolved around the three old rivals: Narayan-Ramrakha-Koya. (Irene Jai Narayan, Karam Ramrakha and Siddiq Koya). |  |
The two groups also fiercely fought for the custody of the NFP's traditional mango tree symbol, only to be told by the Supreme Court to choose a new symbol.The Narayan-Ramrakha group chose the hibiscus flower and became known as the 'Flower' or 'Hibiscus' faction; the Koya group chose the dove and became know as the 'Dove' or 'Bird' faction. Briefly, the September 1977 election, in which the two factions fielded parallel candidates, became a Hindu-Muslim contest. As the Caribbean political analyst Ralph Premdas remarked later, it would be no exaggeration to report that the Hindu-Muslim theme dominated the factional struggle. The evidence clearly indicates that large number of Indians (Indo-Fijians), who had no desire to be embroiled in the religious implications of the NFP internal strife, simply did NOT vote.
Since both Ramrakha and Mrs Narayan were Hindus, 'in the minds of some NFP supporters the Hibiscus faction was the Hindu group, while the Koya-led Dove faction was the Muslim group. The Hibiscus faction charged that Koya, as leader of the NFP, had sold out Indian rights at the London Constitutional Conference; he should have accepted the ALTO Act; he lacked the will to lead the country; was a divisive leader, could not get along with Ratu Mara; was a part-time leader; and that he promoted racial disharmony in the country.
In turn, the Dove faction accused the Hibiscus group of deliberately using anti-Muslim campaign tactics against them; that it was purely a Gujerati party; and that it was power hungry. The campaign revealed that far from reflecting a genuine desire to challenge the Alliance, the Indian candidates shamelessly displayed a clear and outspoken commitment to destroy each other at the polls.
The Hibiscus faction's sole objective was to politically crush Koya at all costs. It chose Reddy (Jai Ram), who was tipped to become the next NFP leader, to fight Koya for the Lautoka Indian communal seat. Reddy's opinion of Koya and the climate of the contest between the two factions can best be illustrated by the following statement by Reddy:
* I am not frightened of Koya. I can face one thousand Koyas.
* This general election will throw the Leader of Opposition, Mr Siddiq Koya, in such a place that he will never be able to come back to the political arena again. The man changes tune according to the crowd. How can they rely on him?
*Mr Koya had been taken for a cheap ride by Ratu Mara during the constitutional conference. People who got fooled by others should leave the field and get out.
Others also joined in the personal attack on Koya. Mrs Narayan charged that he 'should be defeated in such a way that his political career will be buried so deep that even his ghost cannot come out'. The Hibiscus group's campaign, seen by some as open collaboration with the Alliance Party, added political punch when Ratu Mara confirmed publicly that 'I'd rather step down than work with Koya again'. (Fijileaks: Our Founding Editor-in-Chief's paternal uncle, the former Lord Mayor of Suva, was Alliance Party's candidate against Mrs Narayan in the Suva Indian communal seat).
Since both Ramrakha and Mrs Narayan were Hindus, 'in the minds of some NFP supporters the Hibiscus faction was the Hindu group, while the Koya-led Dove faction was the Muslim group. The Hibiscus faction charged that Koya, as leader of the NFP, had sold out Indian rights at the London Constitutional Conference; he should have accepted the ALTO Act; he lacked the will to lead the country; was a divisive leader, could not get along with Ratu Mara; was a part-time leader; and that he promoted racial disharmony in the country.
In turn, the Dove faction accused the Hibiscus group of deliberately using anti-Muslim campaign tactics against them; that it was purely a Gujerati party; and that it was power hungry. The campaign revealed that far from reflecting a genuine desire to challenge the Alliance, the Indian candidates shamelessly displayed a clear and outspoken commitment to destroy each other at the polls.
The Hibiscus faction's sole objective was to politically crush Koya at all costs. It chose Reddy (Jai Ram), who was tipped to become the next NFP leader, to fight Koya for the Lautoka Indian communal seat. Reddy's opinion of Koya and the climate of the contest between the two factions can best be illustrated by the following statement by Reddy:
* I am not frightened of Koya. I can face one thousand Koyas.
* This general election will throw the Leader of Opposition, Mr Siddiq Koya, in such a place that he will never be able to come back to the political arena again. The man changes tune according to the crowd. How can they rely on him?
*Mr Koya had been taken for a cheap ride by Ratu Mara during the constitutional conference. People who got fooled by others should leave the field and get out.
Others also joined in the personal attack on Koya. Mrs Narayan charged that he 'should be defeated in such a way that his political career will be buried so deep that even his ghost cannot come out'. The Hibiscus group's campaign, seen by some as open collaboration with the Alliance Party, added political punch when Ratu Mara confirmed publicly that 'I'd rather step down than work with Koya again'. (Fijileaks: Our Founding Editor-in-Chief's paternal uncle, the former Lord Mayor of Suva, was Alliance Party's candidate against Mrs Narayan in the Suva Indian communal seat).
Butadroka Responding, Koya accused Reddy and Narayan of having sown seeds of discord in the Indian community, and alleged that they had deliberately set out to destroy his faction by setting Hindus against Muslims. The Alliance greatly benefitted from this protracted struggle between the two factions. Its chances at the polls were further enhanced with the imprisonment of Sakeiasi Butadroka (jailed for six months under the Public Order (Amendment) Act of 1976 for inciting racial antagonism) who was fighting for his seat from behind the prison bars. Consequently, the Alliance was this time free to conduct a 'nationalistic' campaign among the native Fijians aimed at rallying them behind the party. Some of its candidates privately equated Fijian survival with dominance. The alternative to dominance, the Fijians were told, was domination by an Indian-dominated NFP government.
The election results were, therefore, a foregone conclusion. The Alliance Party won 36 seats in the House of representatives, compared to only 24 in March. The NFP's strength was slashed from 26 to 15 seats, of which 12 went to the Hibiscus faction and only three to the Dove faction. Ratu Osea Gavidi retained his seat. A total of approximately 196,000 votes were cast, out of which the Alliance obtained about 47%, the combined NFP vote 45% and the FNP only 9.2%. Interestingly, a good deal of the change in Indian votes was within the factional groups.
There were however two surprising results in this election: Koya was defeated by Reddy in the Lautoka Indian communal seat and Butadroka lost his seat, the FNP's only one in Parliament. Three other notable NFP veterans in addition to Koya-Chirag Ali Shah, M.T.Khan and Apisai Tora-were also defeated. While Fijians celebrated Alliance's victory, for the Indians it was an occasion of political mourning. To be continued.
The election results were, therefore, a foregone conclusion. The Alliance Party won 36 seats in the House of representatives, compared to only 24 in March. The NFP's strength was slashed from 26 to 15 seats, of which 12 went to the Hibiscus faction and only three to the Dove faction. Ratu Osea Gavidi retained his seat. A total of approximately 196,000 votes were cast, out of which the Alliance obtained about 47%, the combined NFP vote 45% and the FNP only 9.2%. Interestingly, a good deal of the change in Indian votes was within the factional groups.
There were however two surprising results in this election: Koya was defeated by Reddy in the Lautoka Indian communal seat and Butadroka lost his seat, the FNP's only one in Parliament. Three other notable NFP veterans in addition to Koya-Chirag Ali Shah, M.T.Khan and Apisai Tora-were also defeated. While Fijians celebrated Alliance's victory, for the Indians it was an occasion of political mourning. To be continued.
Fijileaks Editor-in-Chief: "In 1985 I had interviewed Siddiq Koya, Jai Ram Reddy, Mrs Irene Jai Narayan and other key players who were embroiled in the 1977 political and constitutional crisis for the study that I was writing on Fiji (later published as a book) under Sir David Butler's supervision at Oxford. I had been on personal terms with all the NFP leaders for years, and was also privy to the views and thoughts of the native Fijian chiefly leaders, including the then Governor-General Ratu Sir George Cakobau, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, for whom my family had long campaigned during the elections. In particular, I was very good friends with the colourful but eccentric Sakeiasi Butadroka, the leader of the Fijian Nationalist Party. He was more than happy to grant me an interview. I still vividly remember the shock my father, as president of the Alliance Party Tailevu branch, and my uncle who had just lost to Mrs Narayan in the Suva Indian Communal seat as Alliance candidate, felt when we learned the Alliance Party had lost the April 1977 election to the National Federation Party. I was still in the counting hall, nervously watching the recount my uncle had requested, when I was told of the devastating news. Rest is history.
'HINDUS and Muslims are PAGANS who must be CONVERTED to Christianity. For if not, we will all become pagans.' - COUPIST Rabuka
The importance of the observance of the Prophet’s Birthday to be marked with a national public holiday can be rightfully credited to former NFP Leader Siddiq Moidin Koya, who in 1974 negotiated with the then Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara for public holidays for the celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday and Diwali.
This was stated by the National Federation Party as they wished Fiji’s Muslim community a blessed celebrations as it observes the birthday of the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad.
NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says it is pleasing to see the Muslim community conforming to the Prophet’s principles, particularly his social and religious teachings.
Professor Prasad says Prophet Muhammad’s political principles are admirable as he espoused peace, harmony and tolerance.
He says they wish the Muslim community a blessed celebration of their Prophet’s birthday in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation.
This was stated by the National Federation Party as they wished Fiji’s Muslim community a blessed celebrations as it observes the birthday of the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad.
NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says it is pleasing to see the Muslim community conforming to the Prophet’s principles, particularly his social and religious teachings.
Professor Prasad says Prophet Muhammad’s political principles are admirable as he espoused peace, harmony and tolerance.
He says they wish the Muslim community a blessed celebration of their Prophet’s birthday in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation.
