the chiefs of Vanua Levu, Naitasiri, and Tailevu - the areas where the party has the most support. The party executive called on all indigenous-led parties to follow their lead and unite under the banner of the SDL, in order to present the electorate with a united front to guarantee continued indigenous national leadership. Lalabalavu said that the party was concerned about continued imprisonment of persons convicted of the Fiji coup of 2000, many of them CAMV supporters, but considered that the SDL-led government was addressing that matter through its Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill. The Fiji Live news service claimed on 19 February that financial considerations may have played a role in the decision to disband the CAMV. The SDL had reportedly donated F$15,000 to pay the legal fees of prominent citizens, many of them CAMV supporters, who were implicated in the 2000 coup a point highlighted at the CAMV meeting. The party leader, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, was also quoted as telling opponents of the merger that their failure to contribute to the party's coffers had left it with insufficient funds to continue as a viable party. Party treasurer Jone Kauvesi concurred, saying that the CAMV bank account of F$36,351.07 on 26 May 2004 had been boosted to F$50,713.36 on 7 July by the SDL donation, but by February 2006 his had been depleted and only F$3235.31 remained. The bulk of the fund - over F$31,000 had gone in legal fees, Kauvesi said, with the Abhay Singh and Associates legal firm alone being paid F$7,400. Travel, funeral expenses, advertising in newspapers, byelection campaigns, and meetings had accounted for the rest. The SDL appeared to see the merger from a different point of view from the CAMV. According to a Radio New Zealand report on 18 February, SDL campaign director Jale Baba said that the CAMV had dissolved of its own accord and joined the SDL, not that the two parties had merged. "In fact there’s a misconception that there’s a merger between the two parties. What has happened is that the CAMV has decided to wind up that party and for them to become members of the SDL party," Baba said. Reaction to the merger The Fiji Sun quoted former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as hailing the merger as "the way forward for the Fijian people." Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party general secretary Viliame Savu, however, condemned the merger.