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FIJI: Double murder tragedy drives gripping new film, 31 March 2008
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The fallout from the George Speight coup in 2000 continues in Fiji, now enduring its fourth putsch. A new film casts the spotlight on the murders of John Scott and Greg Scrivener in the Speight coup aftermath, reports Claire Rorke.
The tensions of post-colonial Fiji drive a new documentary by New Zealand filmmaker Annie Goldson.
An Island Calling, which premiered in Auckland yesterday, is centered on the brutal 2001 murders of John Scott and Greg Scrivener in their home in Suva.
John Scott … killing a Scott was “a bit like shooting Princess Diana”. Photo: An Island Calling |
Scott, a fourth-generation European-Fijian whose family had lengthy and celebrated ties with the country, was the director of the Fiji Red Cross at the time of his murder.
In that capacity, he played a starring role as a mediator between hostages, their captors and the outside world, in the drama of George Speight’s failed coup in 2000.
Goldson says the murders were followed closely by Fiji Islanders and local and international media, which created a steamy stir of speculation and innuendo.
“Killing a Scott over there is a bit like shooting Princess Diana,” says Goldson.
The filmmaker has tackled the dirty and treacherous past of the Asia-Pacific region before.
Her 1999 film Punitive Damage focused on the death of a young New Zealander at the hands of Indonesian forces in East Timor.
An Island Calling is based on the book Deep Beyond the Reef, by Owen Scott, younger brother of the murdered John.
Along with co-writing the script, Owen Scott narrates the very personal story of his family ties to Fiji, and the sudden and violent death of his brother.
Post-colonial shroud
The film seeks to unravel Fiji’s post-colonial shroud that New Zealanders only glimpse periodically and momentarily – once the guns have been drawn.
Goldson says New Zealanders, while inclusive of Pacific people in our own country, are ignorant of the socio-political environment in Fiji and the Pacific region.
“New Zealanders do care a lot. We increasingly have Pacific Islanders in our families and communities.
“But I think there is a lack of understanding and a lack of historical context.”
One of the film’s central ideas is that Sitiveni Rabuka’s coup of 1987 ignited a wave of religious extremism and anti-democratic politics.
These have played out as coercive and repressive agents in Fijian society in the years since.
Rabuka was a Methodist preacher and regularly invoked God as being the hand that guided him to oust the Fiji Labour Party-led government with strong Indo-Fijian support in favour of indigenous Fijian interests.
Asia Down Under journalist Bharat Jamnadas says many Fijians are ardent churchgoers and evangelical influence extends from the pulpit through to Parliament.
‘God is everything’
“God is everything, they say. God told us to commit the coup. It’s God’s will to do this.
“Some Fijians believe that they can commit as much sin as possible, but if they go to church on Sunday wearing their finest clothes, they think they have been forgiven.”
Goldson believes that religious fundamentalism in Fiji is an impediment to an open, pluralistic society.
As the film explains, living standards in Fiji have dropped considerably since the first coup.
As economic disparities have widened, political disenfranchisement, particularly among indigenous Fijians, has grown.
It is under these conditions that Fijians turn to God through evangelical churches.
“There is no doubt that since Rabuka there has been swing right - a swing towards fundamentalism.”
Jamnadas agrees,
“There is a new kind of religious fundamentalism in Fiji; there is a new brand of Christian.”
Gay couple
John Scott and Greg Scrivener were living together as an openly gay couple at the time of their deaths.
Apete Kaisau was found to be culpable for the murders and was later pronounced not guilty by reason of insanity.
It is accepted that at some time Scott and Scrivener had a relationship with their eventual killer, the exact nature of which has been extensively trawled over posthumously.
Homosexuality in Fiji is, arguably, an “open secret”.
Pacific Radio News journalist Christine Gounder believes that many Fijians “shun” homosexuals in accordance with their Christian beliefs, and there are a number of non-government organisations in Fiji promoting gay rights.
“Gays are made fun of and their opinions are not taken seriously; but this is slowly beginning to change.”
However, Jamnadas believes it is more complex than an outright rejection.
There is an acceptance, and even celebration, of aspects of the “gay lifestyle” in Fiji, while gay Fijians in high-profile public positions remain closeted.
Police commissioner’s remarks
The film shows file footage of the police commissioner in charge of the murder investigation making anti-homosexual and disparaging remarks about Scott and Scrivener’s lifestyle.
Such remarks, and unfounded claims about drug use and pornography at the victims’ residence, added to the media hype over the incident.
Gounder recounts that the commissioner made “contradictory and confusing comments” without reason or evidence.
“The media went to town reporting on the murders and published everything from hearsay, rumours and unverified facts.”
Owen Scott says, “truth is a moveable feast in Fiji”, while Goldson describes the New Zealand media coverage of the murders as “appalling.”
An Island Calling certainly looks to examine the people behind the salacious headlines.
Goldson interviewed friends and family of John Scott, including his elderly mother who she describes as a “great survivor.”
“Owen really did have the responsibility of the families on his shoulders while we were making this film.”
Family connection
While spending around five weeks in Fiji to film the documentary, Goldson formed a relationship with the family of Apete Kaisau.
She believes they have suffered additionally because of the stigma attached to homosexual relationships.
“It was hard on the family, although I realized that they’d probably never been given the chance to debrief at all.”
At one stage she met Apete, who is receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital, but chose not to interview him because of her concerns about his ability to give “informed consent”.
“In a way they still have their son around, but they have lost him.”
Goldson hopes to have a public screening of the film in Fiji at some point, although is weary of its inflammatory potential.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who was at the premiere, praised Goldson for making the film and providing context to the murders of Scott and Scrivener.
“New Zealand is a South Pacific nation, Fiji is a neighbour. What happens in Fiji matters to us.”
Claire Rorke is a Graduate Diploma in Journalism student at AUT University studying on the Asia-Pacific Journalism paper.
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