Fiji police conducted a midnight raid at the home of the vice-chancellor of the prestigious University of the South Pacific and deported him briefly on the instructions of the prime minister, in a move that students describe as a ‘coup’ and by staff compare. to “gestapo tactics”.
Up to 15 immigration, police and military officials forced their way to Pal Ahluwalia’s house in Suva on Wednesday night, revoked his work permit and escorted the vice-chancellor and his wife, Sandra Price, to Nadi International Airport. He was then forced into a military-protected flight to Australia on Thursday.
Ahluwalia’s previous exposure to allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement among previous university administrations has angered the Fijian government.
“It’s a classic case of beating the bell ringer,” Ahluwalia told the ABC.
The University of the Southern Pacific (USP) has for decades been a sham in the region where the best and brightest from around the islands have been studied. Collectively owned by 12 Pacific countries – with campuses in total – it has produced generations of regional leaders and has been the melting pot of political movements regarding independence and democratization.
Ahluwalia, a Canadian-born Canadian, was appointed USP in 2019 with a mandate to modernize and reform the institution, and has written a report outlining allegations of widespread financial mismanagement, abuse of rights and millions of dollars being misappropriated spent under previous administrations, and which angered the government in Fiji, where the university’s main campus is located.
Price said Wednesday night police and immigration officials threatened to tear down doors that surrounded the house from the front and back.
‘I was instructed to get dressed and they confiscated all electronic devices including our phones, iPads, laptops, watches and passports. I was not left alone to change or even use the laundry room. Where were my moral and human rights? There were at least 15 people in our house after evening clock. ‘
The couple were on a flight to Brisbane less than twelve hours later, with a letter declaring that Fiji’s immigration minister, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, had declared ‘banned immigrants’.
Photos posted on social media showed the couple boarding a flight around 11 a.m. under police surveillance.
Ahluwalia’s conduct, according to his deportation notice, is considered ‘detrimental to peace, defense, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, safety or good governance of the Fiji Islands’. The Fiji government said the couple had been deported for unspecified ‘repeated violations’ of immigration law and their visa conditions.
There was a police presence at the USP’s Laucala campus in Suva shortly after the news of the deportation became known, which is widely seen as an intimidation tactic to hold student and staff protests.
The USP staff union and unions led the chorus of criticism to the move, accusing the Fiji government of using “gestapo tactics” and “non-Pacific behavior” to remove the vice-chancellor, in a “violation of human rights and due process ”.
Former USP economics professor Biman Prasad, now the leader of Fiji’s oldest political party, the National Federation Party, said the government was behaving like “bullies and thugs” and that Bainimarama “should revoke the deportation order immediately”.
A staff member told the Guardian on condition of anonymity: “This is nothing more than a coup by the Fiji government on the USP and its VC. It is the government that is forcibly imposing its will on USP staff and students who overwhelmingly support this VC. ”
Ahluwalia’s 2019 report on the USP alleges widespread financial mismanagement within the university, misuse of rights, undeserved promotions and millions of dollars improperly spent among former governments, considered a political ally with the Bainimarama government.
The allegations of improperness are rejected by former university officials who deny.
Ahluwalia’s report was leaked in public, prompting an intensive investigation into the university and an independent investigation by BDO into New Zealand.
The 114-page BDO report, which also leaked, substantiated some of the allegations, saying further investigation was needed, along with greater oversight by the university council.