Fiji's peacekeepers ... stopping their recruitment for international duties is "not the only form of stupid sanctions". Photo: UN

Pacific.Scoop
Opinion – By Scott MacWilliam in Canberra

In its most recent editorial supporting the Australian government’s “smart” sanctions policy toward the Fiji government, the Canberra Times (5 November 2009) encourages a continuation of one particular policy.

The newspaper praises Australian efforts to have Fijian soldiers barred from employment in United Nations peacekeeping forces.

The reasoning employed by the paper’s editorial writer needs further examination. It is claimed that:

“The loss of this work may well impact significantly on the military morale, on its capacity to maintain its numbers, its training programmes and its equipment, and, perhaps, on its confidence in its commanders.”

Leaving aside the obvious hesitancy in the language employed –”may”, “perhaps” – consider the logic of the proposition.  Will Fiji be better off if the morale and capacity of the military is lower and the respect of the other ranks for officers reduced?

The sanctions policy is not merely clutching at straws, when so far interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been able to travel outside the country without any evidence of loss of support.

It is an especially unintelligent basis for trying to enlarge democracy in Fiji.

While one South Pacific leader seems to have thought that Fiji would be better off if sections of the military rose up in revolt against its current leader, few people with experience of such splits seriously believe such a course of action would improve the prospects of democracy in Fiji.

Civil war risk
Civil war is a far more likely, undesirable outcome.

As even the staunchest critics of the behaviour of the military in Fiji acknowledges, it is the most professional, as well as largest, force in the South Pacific, outside Australia and New Zealand.

Even when there were serious divisions within the military, as during the 2000 takeover of Parliament and the subsequent mutiny, discipline held firm over the bulk of the troops.

Most of the time, resentment was contained to private expressions against “the traitors” parading at the parliamentary compound.

International service as well as training in other countries has been central to the development of Fiji’s armed forces. This development means that many in the Fiji military are as uncomfortable with their current role “in politics” as are their critics.

Cutting the military off from further contact with troops and civilian populations from other countries, especially democracies, will reduce the importance of that experience for how serving Fijians see their role at home.

Socialising benefits
As significant as the economic benefits of remittances are to military families and the national economy, the socialising experience of international service is even more important. Travel, as the popular saying rightly notes, broadens the mind.

Stopping the recruitment of Fijian soldiers for international duties is not the only form of stupid sanctions, of course.

Discouraging Sri Lankan judges from travelling to take up appointments in the Fiji judiciary is not very clever either. Nor is acting against Fijians who take up appointments in other government and administration positions.

When keeping the country open to international influences is absolutely vital, these measures too push Fijians inward, more defensive and also reduce the potential of those who could work for reform.

Like it or not, it is the military which now holds power and treating all its members as pariahs rather than humans with the capacity to learn and adjust through life’s experiences is not smart.

Australia and New Zealand, in particular, should be thinking of ways to broaden the experience of those who hold power in Fiji. Corraling Fiji’s soldiers and civilians is reactionary not educative.

Scott MacWilliam is an academic with the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, and formerly of the University of the South Pacific and the University of Papua New Guinea.