By
Graham Davis
–
June 22, 2012Posted in: All
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| Fiji chairs the UN General Assembly (Photo: UN) |
The sight of Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Peter Thomson, chairing the General Assembly is yet another reminder
that although Fiji is a relatively small country, it punches way above
its weight. This week, Peter has been Acting President of the General
Assembly, conducting the everyday business of the UN from the famous
podium that has produced some of history’s most memorable images – from
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat waving his pistol to
Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev banging his shoe. Along with hundreds of speeches from everyone from Che Guevara to Nelson Mandela, from the Queen to Frank Bainimarama.
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| Thirsty work: Peter Thomson (l) with his Fiji Water within reach (Photo:UN) |
It was especially apt that with Ambassador Thomson in the chair, the
General Assembly considered reports about the financing of UN
peacekeeping operations. This is what really makes Fiji an indispensable
member of the club of nations – its ability and willingness to provide
troops to wear the UN blue beret in some of the world’s toughest places.
All Fijians owe a great debt to the men and women of the military
who’ve given their unstinting service – and sometimes their lives – to
improving the lives of ordinary people in the Middle East and elsewhere
by protecting them from conflict. And for sending the money they earn
home to help support their communities in Fiji.
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| Fijian UN peacekeepers ( photo: UN) |
It’s made heroes in the most unlikely places of tough but softly
spoken people from island villages on the far side of the world. And
it’s given a country of which many would otherwise never have heard
gratitude and respect. Yes, Fiji gets an important source of revenue
from its peacekeeping operations. But it remains one of the few nations
able and willing to put its troops in the firing line to defend the UN
ideal of collective responsibility for all the world’s people.
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| Ambassador Semesa Sikivou (r) with UN Secretary General U Thant in 1970 ( Photo: UN) |
Graham Davis
"
Peter has worked tirelessly for the country’s interests, shifting the axis of its global relationships from its traditional western allies to a policy of being “a friend to all”. He has spearheaded the Bainimarama government’s Look North Policy, launched formal diplomatic relations with more than three dozen countries and organised its membership of the Non Aligned Movement[...]
Fiji gain the benefit of lining up with some of the biggest players of the Asia Pacific region, the global powerhouse of the 21st century. And it has moved these countries out from under the skirts of their “big brothers” Australia and New Zealand, which belong to an entirely separate UN bloc – the Western European and Others Group.
"
Peter Thomson is the latest in a long line of Fijians who’ve
represented the country in New York, starting with the late Semesa
Sikivou at the time of independence in 1970. He has had a remarkable
personal and professional history. The son of Sir Ian Thomson– one of
the most respected administrators of the colonial era who stayed on to
head the sugar industry and Air Pacific – Peter began his career as a
district officer in Fiji and was then a diplomat in Tokyo and Sydney. He
was Permanent Secretary for Information when – with a pistol on the
table – Sitiveni Rabuka forced him to write the formal announcement of
the first coup of 1987. Then, after he became permanent secretary to the
then governor-general, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, Peter became a target
of ethno-nationalist extremists in the second coup of the same year. He
was tracked down and thrown into a prison cell for several days before
being forced to leave the country altogether.
Peter effectively spent more than 20 years in exile, first in New
Zealand and then Australia, where he became a successful writer and
authored
Kava in the Blood, a compelling account of
his life in Fiji. Then out of the blue three years ago came a call from
Frank Bainimarama’s office. Would he agree to represent Fiji at the UN?
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| Ambassador Peter Thomson with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon ( Photo:UN) |
Would he ever. Grubsheet – an old friend – recalls the immense
satisfaction for Peter in being recalled to represent his country of
birth. It was as if his life had come full circle, the lifting of a
two-decade long punctuation mark in his career of service to Fiji.
In New York, Peter has worked tirelessly for the country’s interests,
shifting the axis of its global relationships from its traditional
western allies to a policy of being “a friend to all”. He has
spearheaded the Bainimarama government’s Look North Policy, launched
formal diplomatic relations with more than three dozen countries and
organised its membership of the Non Aligned Movement. He has vigorously
pursued Fiji’s interests in such areas as tackling global warming and
rising sea levels, preserving the maritime environment and, of course,
the peacekeeping operations that are so important to the country’s
economy and prestige. And he has played a vital role in batting off
attempts by Australia and New Zealand to have Fiji excluded from those
operations as punishment for the 2006 coup.
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| Frank Bainimarama addresses the UN (Photo:UN) |
Even more importantly, perhaps, Peter has taken steps to
fundamentally lift Fiji’s status in the global community. He was a prime
mover in the formation of the UN voting bloc known as the Pacific Small
Island Developing States (PSIDS), which gives Pacific nations a far
bigger voice in global affairs by acting in concert. PSIDS has succeeded
in joining the Asian Group at the UN, which is now officially known as
the Asian and Pacific Small Island Developing States Group. This means
countries like Fiji gain the benefit of lining up with some of the
biggest players of the Asia Pacific region, the global powerhouse of the
21
st century. And it has moved these countries out from
under the skirts of their “big brothers” Australia and New Zealand,
which belong to an entirely separate UN bloc – the Western European and
Others Group.
The strategic importance of such a re-alignment cannot be overstated.
It certainly underlines a fundamental truth about life in the global
village for small nations like Fiji. They may not have the ability to
project the same power and influence as their bigger neighbours. But in
the UN system, it’s numbers, not brawn, that really counts, except for
the five permanent members of the Security Council, who enjoy powers of
veto. Every other nation gets just one vote. And that is certainly
exercising the minds of the Australians right now as they mount a global
campaign to get a temporary Security Council seat. Given Canberra’s
present hostility towards Fiji, it certainly cannot expect to get Fiji’s
support.
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| An effective foreign minister: Ratu Inoke Kubuabola ( Photo:UN) |
Peter Thomson, of course, is a cog in the wheel of Fiji’s
international relationships, albeit a big one. His ultimate boss, Ratu
Inoke Kubuabola has been a successful foreign minister and the two
enjoy a close relationship as they work with other ambassadors and
diplomatic staff to further Fiji’s international ties. And they, in
turn, have the confidence of the Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama,
who’s become an effective advocate himself both for Fiji and the region
in global forums – most recently at the environment summit in Brazil.
However much the regime’s critics might decry Commodore Bainimarama’s
penchant for globe-trotting, a small country’s loudest voice will always
come from its leader and lower-level representation rarely has the same
impact. It’s simply a fact of life that for Fiji to be heard, the Prime
Minister needs to travel widely to properly put its case.
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| His Excellency in his previous incarnation as an author (Photo: Peter Thomson) |
It was Bainimarama who hand picked Peter Thomson for the UN job.
Their fathers had known each other in the 1960s when Thomson Senior was
Commissioner Western and Bainimarama Senior was the region’s Supervisor
of Prisons. Almost half a century on, Grubsheet is pleased to have
played a minor part in re-establishing the connection when – after an
interview with the Prime Minister- we talked about the old days in the
West and I mentioned that Peter and I got together regularly in Sydney
to
talanoa about Fiji. Bainimarama’s eyes lit up and while he
didn’t say so at the time, he evidently began mulling over the
possibility of using Peter in some senior role.
Soon afterwards, Peter
began a private mission – financed by veteran Fiji businessmen Mark
Johnson and Dick Smith – to try to bridge the gap between Fiji and its
Australian and NZ critics. He went to Port Moresby to enlist the support
of the PNG leader, Sir Michael Somare, and the initiative produced the
first meeting of the respective parties for some time.
That was in 2009. Three years on and Ambassador Thomson is chairing
the United Nations General Assembly. It’s a triumphant personal story,
the
Kai Valagi (European) civil servant removed at gunpoint and
forced to leave Fiji now sitting as moderator and adjudicator at the
pinnacle of global affairs. But it’s also one of the triumphs of
Bainimarama’s determination to use the best people- irrespective of race
– to present Fiji’s face to the world. To see my old mate sitting there
on the UN podium – Fiji Water bottle by his side – fills me with pride,
as it surely must others who hope that Fiji’s best days as a united,
prosperous, multiracial nation lie ahead.
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