Fiji Islands

D

Coup in 1987

Claiming that political power must be returned to Fijians, Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka of the Fiji Military Forces led a bloodless military coup on May 14, 1987. Dissatisfied with the immediate results, Rabuka staged a second coup in September. He declared Fiji a republic, appointed the governor-general, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, as president of a new government, and Ganilau appointed Mara as Fiji’s prime minister for a second time.

The UN denounced the Rabuka coup and demanded that the former government be returned to power; the Commonwealth of Nations ejected Fiji from membership; and Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States suspended aid. Tourism came to a halt, and Indian farmers refused to harvest their sugarcane crops. Thousands of skilled and educated Indians fled the country. The loss of international support and skilled labor devastated the Fijian economy, which did not improve until the early 1990s.

E

Extending Political Rights

In 1992 Rabuka became prime minister; he was reelected in 1994. Ganilau died in December 1993, and in January 1994 Mara was chosen by the Great Council of Chiefs as the new president. In July 1997 the Fijian constitution of 1990 was amended to remove institutionalized racism. The presidency became the only office reserved for an ethnic Fijian and non-Melanesian Fijians gained the right to serve as prime minister and in other high offices. Parliamentary seats were redistributed, giving the Indian population greater political power.

As a result of these moves, Fiji was formally readmitted to the Commonwealth on October 1, 1997. The new constitution, which came into force in July 1998, also introduced a new voting system that guaranteed a multiracial cabinet and established the first human rights commission among Pacific island states. The Indian-led Fiji Labour Party won the May 1999 general elections, and Mahendra Chaudhry became Fiji’s first prime minister of Indian descent. However, opponents voiced their dissatisfaction, especially in demonstrations on the first anniversary of the election.

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F

Overthrow of Chaudhry

On May 19, 2000, ethnic Fijian nationalist gunmen stormed parliament, taking Chaudhry, his cabinet ministers, and many legislators hostage. The gunmen demanded the resignation of Chaudhry and the suspension of Fiji’s 1997 constitution, which had increased the political rights of ethnic Indians.

The military took control of the country, imposed martial law, and installed Laisenia Qarase, an ethnic Fijian merchant banker, as interim prime minister. The gunmen, led by hardline nationalist George Speight, released the last of their hostages, including Chaudhry, in July 2000. That same month, Fijian hereditary chief Ratu Josefa Iloilo was named the country’s new president. New legislative elections in 2001 brought Qarase’s Fijian United Party to power, and Qarase was officially sworn in as prime minister. In defiance of the constitution, Qarase appointed a Cabinet with no Indian members.

In 2003 Fiji’s Supreme Court declared the government of Qarase illegal. Qarase was instructed to include ethnic Indians in the government and duly offered posts to 14 Indian legislators but not to the former prime minister, Chaudhry. This proved a stumbling block, and the Indians refused to accept the offer. In March 2006 Iloilo was reelected president and in May Qarase’s party narrowly won the general election.

G

Coup in 2006

Tension mounted between Qarase and the military in 2006 over the prime minister’s plans to grant amnesty to planners of the 2000 coup that overthrew Chaudhry. The head of the military, Josaia Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama, had helped put down that coup. In December 2006 Bainimarama seized control of the government. He soon reinstated Iloilo as president, and Iloilo in turn swore in Bainimarama as prime minister. As a consequence of the coup the Commonwealth suspended Fiji’s membership.

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