Solomon Islands PM hails Rabuka's return to power in Fiji

Wednesday, 4 January 2023

Manasseh Sogavare is confident Solomon Islands and Fiji can work together. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

Under fire Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says his government stands ready to work with new Fijian leader Sitiveni Rabuka.

Sogavare has been under intense scrutiny after he signed a security agreement with China earlier last year.

The deal, criticised by New Zealand, Australia and United States, allows Sogavare to call on Beijing at anytime for security and policing assistance.

He congratulated Rabuka last week saying Fiji and the Solomons could work together ‘to advance the common aspirations of our Pacific family.”

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World leaders have been reacting to Rabuka’s victory on Christmas Eve.

Many, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, have offered their congratulations and expressed hope for stability after a “turbulent” few weeks in the Pacific nation.

Rabuka’s Peoples Alliance party (21 seats), the National Federation Party (5) and Social Democratic Liberal Party or Sodelpa (3) formed the coalition government when no one won the majority 28 seats or more in the December 14 election.

The coalition secured 29 seats of the 55-member Parliament – the move ended 16 years of Frank Bainimarama and his FijiFirst Party in power.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Solomons Islands foreign minister Jeremiah Manele speak after their bi-lateral meeting at Parliament on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa said Rabuka’s election as leader “demonstrates the confidence and trust of your people in your deep-rooted leadership.”

“I look forward to working closely to further enhance and strengthen the friendship, co-operation and partnership between our two countries as well as advancing regionalism in our Blue Pacific continent through the 2050 Strategy,” Fiamē said.

Japan, under heavy criticism for its decision to discharge nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Power Plant next year, also congratulated Rabuka.

In a statement, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said both Japan and Fiji had built co-operative relations as friends connected by the Pacific Ocean as well as important partners in the international arena over the past 50 years.

“The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting has been the keystone for Japan’s diplomacy towards the Pacific countries. The situation in the region is changing drastically. I look forward to working with Rabuka,” Kishida said.

Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “strengthening the strong and warm relations between Tonga and Fiji and that of the Pacific family.”

Rabuka, a former military commander who couped the elected government of Timoci Bavadra in May 1987, had served as prime minister from 1992-1999.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) said Rabuka’s successful election to lead Fiji again was a “testimony of the high regard with which the people of Fiji attach to his leadership.”

The group includes the Solomons, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia.

MSG director-general Leonard Louma said it did signify, in an emphatic way, a desire by the Fijian people for change “which Rabuka so eloquently championed during his election campaign.”

“Like other countries in the region, Fiji continues to encounter its own share of challenges as a nation. The onset of Covid-19 and its attendant ramifications have exacerbated these challenges,” Louma said.

“I am confident Fiji will build on the successes so far and will be able to address these challenges effectively.”

Following the swearing-in of MPs on December 24, Rabuka announced policy changes to the economy, rule of law and human rights, among other things.

Under the government’s first 100 days in office, he hoped to see four key areas addressed: the constitution and legal reform, the economy, defence and national security, and a forensic examination of the spending of Bainimarama’s government.

A border alert was issued on Friday for former attorney-general and minister of economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum who is being investigated for allegedly “inciting communal antagonism,” police said.

Sayed-Khaiyum, who was also minister for economy, had travelled to Sydney on Boxing Day – two days after the coalition government was sworn in.