The only way to end coup culture

There’s been a lot of talk about what we need to do to prevent coups.

Some see a strongly written constitution as the answer. If we define ‘coup’ carefully enough, so no-one can pretend that they’re not committing a coup (like Bainimarama in 2006) or add in the death penalty, then no-one will be able to stage a coup. I’m not sure if anyone really believes that the coup in 2006 was not illegal under the laws of the day, but even if they do, what about 2009? How can that be anything other than treason?

Others say we’ve got to end ‘coup culture’, whatever that means. Bainimarama himself is one of the people claiming that there must be an end to coup culture, and that’s just what he says he’s doing. Anyone smarter than him would see how ridiculous that is.

If coup culture means anything, it means that some people think treason is OK if you’re cause is good. And Banimarama has given out strong hints that if the voters don’t return a government committed to his ‘reforms needed to end coup culture’ he might be ‘forced’ to takeover again. So much for what he means by ending coup culture.

By now everyone but the few people with their snouts in the regime trough is heartily sick of coups. With the exception of a few diaspora people still twisted out of shape by the trauma of 1987 and the years following, the regime has alienated everyone – the Methodist Church, the sugar industry, the legal profession, the media, the tourism industry and the trade union movement.

The only support base the regime has is the military, their families and assorted hangers-on, all with with shady dealings based on access to the regime’s control of the levers of government.

The regime’s control of government is based solely on the military’s monopoly of armed force and unless we find a way to end this there will be no change. If the military want to intervene, what can we do to stop them? They have the guns, we don’t. If ending coup culture means anything it means changing the culture of the military.

Reading Victor Lal’s article about the Defence White Paper on Fiji Leaks yesterday, the answer finally dawned on me. We need to change the culture of the RFMF and the way to do that was contained in the White Paper – affirmative action to get a little more ethnic balance in the ranks.

It needs to be understood that affirmative action doesn’t mean lowering the fitness requirements (though heavens knows what they are when we look at the big bellies like Tikoitoga). It means removing obstacles of all kinds to recruitment and retention of of people who are not iTaukei or part iTaukei.

Indo-Fijians have always been free to join the military, but few do because the experience of those who do is so off-putting. It’s brutal in a way that even soft urban iTaukei might struggle to cope with. The culture is that of nineteenth century British traditions amplified through the prism of iTaukei culture. And it’s hard to escape the suspicion that the rigours of this system might be turned up a notch or two for the new Indo-Fijian recruit (for motives that are probably mixed, but could easily include a hint of racism).

The RFMF’s standard answer has long been to say Indo-Fijians all want to be officers and drop out if they aren’t accepted into officer training, but this is a cop-out. There are many Indo-Fijians who are able and willing to serve in the RFMF, as officers and other ranks.

A truly non-racial military would enrich the culture of the RFMF. The streak of authoritarianism that runs through the RFMF culture would be balanced by more diverse values. It would no longer have the feel of a closed club responsible only to itself.

We have long had a culturally diverse police force. So why can’t we have a diverse military? Bainimarama could have taken steps to achieve this, but he didn’t and the reason is not hard to work out. A culturally diverse military would not serve so easily as Bainimarama’s coup machine ready to follow him without question and throw out any elected regime that threatens to remove him or hold him responsible for his crimes.

The way to end coup culture is to change the culture of the RFMF.