Great Council of Chiefs - Recent History of The Council

Recent History of The Council

From the late 1980s onwards, the Great Council of Chiefs was compromised by manipulation from the government. Following the coup of 2000, however, it worked, with mixed success, to regain its independence. In 2001 it dismissed 1987 coup leader and former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka from the chairmanship, in the midst of allegations about his possible involvement in the coup of 2000. It also cut its former ties with the Fijian Political Party (which it originally sponsored in the early 1990s), and declared its intention to eschew party politics in the future, although individual members of the Council would, of course, remain free to participate in politics as individuals.

In June 2004, the Great Council of Chiefs was plunged into crisis when the government decided not to reappoint Ratu Epeli Ganilau as one of its six representatives on the Great Council; the Cakaudrove Provincial Council did not give him one of their three seats either. These decisions had the effect of prematurely ending Ganilau's term as Chairman of the Council, as its regulations require the Chairman to be a member. It is thought that Ganilau's open disagreement with several senior government figures, including Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli and Information Minister Simione Kaitani, along with fears that he was undermining the neutrality of the Great Council to use it as a platform from which to advance his own political ambitions, were factors in the Cakaudrove Provincial Council's decision. He was replaced by Ratu Ovini Bokini, who was thought to be more sympathetic to the government. Bokini was reelected to a full three-year term on 27 July 2005, and Sakiusa Makutu of Nadroga-Navosa was chosen as his Deputy, succeeding Ro Jone Mataitini, who decided not to seek reelection.

Despite Fiji's membership at that time as a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, the Great Council recognized Queen Elizabeth II as its traditional Queen or paramount chief.

On 20 April 2005, the Fijian government announced plans to grant greater formal powers to the Great Council. This proposal was immediately opposed by Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who said it would lead to "dual government," in Fiji, and also drew criticism from Ratu Epeli Ganilau. The former Chairman of the Great Council, now the interim president of the National Alliance Party, said that he believed that the powers of the Council were already sufficient.

In a controversial move, the Great Council decided on 28 July 2005 to endorse the government's Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which aimed to establish a Commission empowered to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the 2000 coup. Opponents, including former Great Council Chairman Ganilau, said that it was just a legal device to free government supporters who had been convicted and imprisoned on coup-related charges.