Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
away National Federation Party won a historic victory in the April elections. Headed by
Dr
Timoci Bavadra
, a chief from the west of Viti Levu, this new-look government seemed to
promise a bright and harmonious future. Unfortunately, this hope proved premature, and the
government was dogged by the insecurities of the Fijian chiefly system, which opposed the
political power of both Indians and the western chiefs. Influenced by the fascist Taukei Move-
ment, which sanctioned a “Fiji for Fijians only” policy, and encouraged by the authoritarian
Methodist Church,
Sitiveni Rabuka
, a little-known colonel from the military, stormed par-
liament on May 14, 1987, and took over the country in a
bloodless coup
. He handed power
to the Governor General,
Ratu Penaia Ganilau
, high chief of Cakaudrove.
To Rabuka's surprise, Ratu Ganilau, a strong supporter of parliamentary democracy, ruled
the military takeover unconstitutional and attempted to form a government of national unity
comprising both parties. In response Rabuka staged a
second coup
on September 23, 1987.
He proclaimed Fiji a
republic
, with the intention to serve only the interests of the Fijian
people and to sever all links with the Commonwealth. Under a new
constitution
legalized in
1990 government seats were allocated solely along racial lines and heavily weighted towards
Fijians. Rabuka won the nominally democratic elections which followed in 1992. Flushed
with victory, he now set himself above the chiefly hierarchal system that he had initially in-
tended to uphold.
Internal conflict led to Josefata Kamikamica walking out of Rabuka's government with his
five seats, causing Rabuka to lose his majority. Elections were forced in 1994 and this time,
failing to homogenize the Fijian voters, Rabuka made a coalition with the independent Gen-
eral Voters Party promising a new constitution removing the ethnically biased voting system.
Subsequently, Fiji was
readmitted to the Commonwealth
in 1997.
Speight and the third coup, 2000
Whilst Fijian politicians bickered over provincial power struggles,
Mahendra Chaudhry
,
the grandson of an indentured labourer, rallied the Indians into a combined force under the
Fiji Labour Party and won a resounding victory in the 1999 elections. Aware of the ethnic
tension that could result, Chaudhry appointed eleven of the eighteen cabinet posts to indigen-
ous Fijians. Unfortunately, even this was not enough to appease the extreme right.
On May 19, 2000,
George Speight
, a failed Fijian businessman, stormed parliament with
a gang of armed thugs and took Chaudhry and his government hostage. Whether Speight
worked alone in the coup remains uncertain, but it is unlikely. Ratu Mara, at that time pres-
ident, tried to assume control over the country in a coup within a coup, but was removed by
the army commander,
Frank Bainimarama
, on the advice of his colleague and 1987 coup
perpetrator Sitiveni Rabuka. Rabuka claimed that it was Ratu Mara who had instigated the
Speight coup in the first place. Ratu Mara in turn accused Rabuka of being behind Speight.