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he respondent in Fiji's constitutional case, Muainaweni farmer Chandrika Prasad, feels confident he will attain another victory when the Fiji Court of Appeal finally makes a ruling on Justice Anthony Gates' decision to uphold the 1997 multiracial constitution, the Fiji Sun reports. Flanked by Fiji Human Rights Commission officials, internal refugee Prasad, who does not speak "a word of English", was in a pensive mood yesterday as he reflected on the reasons why he took the interim government to court. Human rights officials did not want him to speak to the media. So much so that they have appointed former University of the South Pacific lecturer Sudesh Mishra to be his public relations officer. Mishra said that Prasad only attained three years of basic primary school education. Prasad, 62, currently resides at a refugee camp at Lautoka with his three children, who before the events of May 19 lived and farmed with him in Muainiweni in Naitasiri, near Suva on the main island of Viti Levu. When asked about how it feels to be a respondent in the biggest case in the history of Fiji, if not the South Pacific, a teary eyed Prasad said: "How can I put my feelings to words? "I lost everything when violence and looting broke out in the tranquil Muainaweni farming community. My family lost everything. Our belongings, farm animals and livestock, crops ... everything was taken away from me. I did not have a bowl to drink tea in." Prasad said he wanted to fight his case for the many families of Muainaweni, who lost their belongings as a result of the political upheaval on May last year when houses were set on fire, farms raided, farm animals slaughtered, and household items and farming equipment carted away. There were also cases of physical assault on residents. Crimes were committed without fear of prosecution, Prasad said. Prasad said toiling the land of Muainaweni for the past four decades was painstaking and being forced out of their homes after all these years was very sad and "mentally disturbing". A stockily built Prasad described the post-May 19 coup experience as one in which "civilisation had come to an end" in a community that boasted a previously harmonious co-existence between ethnic Indians and indigenous Fijians. Prasad has three sons aged between 34 and 28. He has been a farmer all his life and had planted mainly dalo and other cash crops for export. Prasad took the interim regime to court arguing that no administration could take away his fundamental human right to equality, as enshrined in the 1997 constitution. He claimed that the 1997 constitution remained in place, effectively safeguarding his right to be free from unfair discrimination. Court Stage Set The stage is set for the Court of Appeal sitting that will decide the future of Fiji in the wake of failed businessman George Speight's attempted coup last May. The court will rule on Justice Anthony Gates' judgement last November which declared the 1997 multiracial constitution was still the supreme law of the country and called for the elected Parliament to be reconvened to form a legal government. Five expatriate judges who will make up the court arrived in the country yesterday under tight security, the Sunday Post reported. The five judges are: Sir Maurice Casey, a retired New Zealand Court of Appeal judge, who will head the panel. Sir Mari Kapi, Deputy Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. Sir Ian Barker, a retired New Zealand Court of Appeal judge. Justice Gordon Ward, the Chief Justice of Tonga. Justice Ken Handley, of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. A High Court source told the Sunday Post all necessary preparations had been done to ensure a smooth start for the appeal hearing. "The five judges who make up the panel are qualified, experienced and well versed with Pacific culture. One good example is Justice Gordon Ward who has served in Fiji in the 1980s as chief magistrate and who later served as chief justice in the Solomons and now comes from Tonga," the source said. "We have to be patient and let them do their job, let the law take its due course." The legal team representing Indo-Fijian cane farmer refugee Chandrika Prasad who filed the original case based on the abrogation of citizens' human rights, have also arrived in Fiji. Leading British human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, QC, and another English lawyer, Sadakat Kadri, have flown in from London. They join Professor George Williams from Australia who led the successful constitutional challenge against the purported abrogation of the 1997 constitution in the wake of the coup. They will be assisted by two Fiji lawyers, Anu Patel and Neel Shivam who have represented Prasad since last July. A spokesperson for Prasad's team, Sudesh Mishra, said they were confident of victory. "Any regime that interferes with the rights of citizens must be held to account in a court of law," he said. "And the arms of the state ought to protect and defend the human rights of all its citizens. This case is about the rule of law which underpins democracy and human rights in Fiji, and the rest of the world." He said the issues raised by the human rights case were relevant to all Fijians, regardless of ethnicity. Robertson has defended death row prisoners in the Caribbean and challenged abuses of government power in several countries. He is the author of books such as The Justice Game and Crimes Against Humanity. Williams in the Anthony Mason Professor Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and author of Human Rights under the Australian Constitution. According to the Sunday Post, interim Attorney-General Alipate Qetaki remained tight-lipped about state lawyers but said everything was set for the hearing. National security forces were also confident of their operation Sasabai to monitor and control security in the country. Security has been stepped up in the capital, and throughout the rest of the country. Army spokesman Lieutenant Ilaisa Tagitupou said yesterday heavily equipped soldiers and police had been stationed around the old Supreme Court building and the capital. "Security remains paramount. The military and police are working together to ensure that everything remains under control," he said. .
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