Fiji Expels Australian Academic

Fijian-born Australian academic Brij Lal was subjected to verbal abuse by the Fijian authorities and then forced to leave the country, where he has spent several months conducting research. The expulsion comes days after Fiji expelled the top envoys from Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian National University professor has told reporters that he suffered ‘intense verbal abuse, foul language and explosive anger’ from the interrogating officer during the three hours in which he was detained. He was told in no uncertain terms to leave the country.

Lal, a Professor of Pacific and Asian History at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, was arrested at his home in the Fijian capital Suva following media interviews in which he commented on the current political situation in the country. He was spending several months in the island state conducting research for a forthcoming book on squatter settlements.

The historian has expressed hope that this is a ‘temporary setback’. The expulsion comes during an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Fiji and Australia with commissioners being expelled from both countries. In an interview with ABC Radio in Australia he referred to his comments on the expulsion of the High Commissioners as ‘the breaking point’ for the Fijian authorities.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

During the 1990s Lal was involved with the Constitutional Review Commission whose report helped to establish the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. He condemned Frank Bainimarama’s military coup d’état in 2000 which deposed the then Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.

Following a ruling by the Fijian Court of Appeal that his second military coup in 2006 was illegal, Bainimarama stepped down as Prime Minister on 10 April 2009. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo later announced the abolishment of the constitution and the sacking of the judiciary and reappointed Bainimarama as prime minister 24 hours later.

Bainimarama has declared plans to hold democratic elections in 2012 after a reformation of the voting system and the creation of a new constitution. The country’s refusal to hold elections in 2010 led to its suspension from the Commonwealth on 1 September 2009.

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Alert - Fiji Islands

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