Former Fiji PM Chaudhry joins interim govt

“The constitutionality or otherwise of the government that I pledged to serve is yet to be determined,” Chaudhry told reporters after being sworn in as minister for finance, national planning, the key sugar industry and public enterprises.

“What is more important at this stage, in view of the serious decline of the economy and the problems associated with such an economy, is to get back to rebuilding the nation as quickly as possible,” he said.

Chaudhry was the opposition Labour Party leader before Bainimarama seized power on December 5, ousting nationalist Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase after a long feud.

Among key disputes between Bainimarama and Qarase was the government’s plans to offer pardons to plotters in the 2000 coup that saw armed gunmen storm parliament and take then-Prime Minister Chaudhry and other legislators hostage for 56 days before Bainimarama negotiated a settlement.

Chaudhry is a divisive figure in Fiji, providing a focus for indigenous Fijian resentment toward the large Indian minority who are the descendants of indentured workers from British colonial times. Many say ethnic Indians should have fewer rights than native islanders.

He was finance minister in 1987 when Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka overthrew the government in the first of two coups in Fiji that year, which were also fueled by ethnic disputes.

Bainimarama, who is an ethnic Fijian but describes himself as a guardian of all Fijians’ rights, says he ousted Qarase in part because the coup plotters bill and other legislation that would have handed lucrative ownership of coastal land exclusively to native Fijians were racist.

The commander, who was sworn in as prime minister last week, has promised to call elections to restore democracy after “cleaning up” alleged corruption connected to Qarase’s administration. He has set no timetable.

Chaudhry and five other officials were sworn in Tuesday by reinstated President Ratu Josefa Iloilo in a ceremony broadcast live on Fiji’s national radio.

Two of the appointees were ministers in Qarase’s government and one is Chaudhry’s deputy opposition leader.

Finance and sugar reform are two of the most important portfolios in Fiji’s government.

The sugar industry—which is dominated by Indian farmers and supports one in four people in this South Pacific country—has been in steady decline over recent years due to inefficient production and high labour costs.

The screws are set to tighten further as the European Union—which imports most Fijian sugar and provides aid to the industry worth up to $80 million a year—shrinks subsidies by 39 percent over the next four years, according an Asian Development Bank report released last year.

–PITA LIGAIULA