Conservative Alliance (Fiji) - A New CAMV?

A New CAMV?

CAMV members objecting to the merger with the SDL included Ropate Sivo, the former General Secretary. He told Fiji Village that he was seeking legal advice on whether the vote to dissolve the party had been conducted legally. He had visited Metuisela Mua, Eroni Lewaqai and Viliame Sousouwai in prison (where they are serving for coup-related offences) and had been advised by them to pursue legal action, he said. George Speight and the former leader, Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure were also adamantly opposed to the merger, he claimed.

Sivo reiterated his opposition to the merger on 27 February, saying that it breached the constitution of the party. Only the management board could authorize a dissolution, and Tailevu was the only Province represented at the meeting, the Fiji Sun quoted him as claiming. The move was a private agreement between the SDL and Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, he said, adding that many who disagreed with the merger were remaining silent only because of their traditional obligation to Lalabalavu as a Paramount Chief. He made a strong attack on Prime Minister Qarase, calling on him to resign, and mooted the establishment of a new party under the old CAMV label.

Sivo rejected claims made by General Secretary Ratu Josefa Dimuri that the party had begun in the north of the country and largely built by Lalabalvu, Isireli Leweniqila, and himself. On the contrary, Sivo claimed that the groundwork had been laid by Vakalalabure, his brother Ratu Tevita, and himself; Sivo had provided part of his own restaurant in Suva for a party office, he claimed. "These people joined the bandwagon when it was up and running. That is why they don’t have the foresight to complete the work we have started, and that is to fulfill the aspirations of the Fijian people and the release of our brothers in jail," the Fiji Sun (1 March) quoted him as saying. He accused Dimuri of failing to read a letter at the meeting held to dissolve the party; Dimuri countered by saying that no such letter had been received. Sivo affirmed his belief in the ideals articulated by the Speight-led Taukei Cabinet on 19 May 2000, saying that they would never die.

Countering Sivo's version, the Fiji Times (2 March) quoted Dimuri as saying that the meeting to dissolve the party had been attended by over four hundred cadres and that the decision to join the SDL had been nearly unanimous. He rejected Sivo's claims about the origins of the party, saying that he personally had registered the party in Labasa. He also denied that George Speight had opposed the decision, saying that if he had objected to the dissolution of the party, he would have informed his brother and CAMV Cabinet Minister Samisoni Tikoinasau, who visited him regularly in prison.

Fiji Live quoted a Fiji Sun report on 13 June 2006 as saying that Sivo had announced plans to revive the party, with a view to campaigning for the release of George Speight and other parties to the 2000 coup.