HISTORY
Melanesian
and Polynesian peoples settled the Fijian islands some 3,500 years
ago. European traders and missionaries arrived in the first half
of the 19th century, and the resulting disruption led to increasingly
serious wars among the native Fijian confederacies. One Ratu (chief),
Cakobau, gained limited control over the western islands by the
1850s, but the continuing unrest led him and a convention of chiefs
to cede Fiji unconditionally to the British in 1874.
The pattern
of colonialism in Fiji during the following century was similar
to that in many other British possessions: the pacification of
the countryside, the spread of plantation agriculture, and the
introduction of Indian indentured labor. Many traditional institutions,
including the system of communal land ownership, were maintained.
Fiji soldiers
fought alongside the Allies in the Second World War, gaining a
fine reputation in the tough Solomon Islands campaign. The United
States and other Allied countries maintained military installations
in Fiji during the war, but Fiji itself never came under attack.
In April
1970, a constitutional conference in London agreed that Fiji should
become a fully sovereign and independent nation within the Commonwealth.
Fiji became independent on October 10, 1970. Post-independence
politics came to be dominated by the Alliance Party of Ratu Sir
Kamisese Mara. The Indian-led opposition won a majority of House
seats in 1977, but failed to form a government out of concern
that indigenous Fijians would not accept Indo-Fijian leadership.
In April 1987, a coalition led by Dr. Timoci Bavadra, an ethnic
Fijian supported by the Indo-Fijian community, won the general
election and formed Fiji's first majority Indian government, with
Dr. Bavadra serving as Prime Minister. Less than a month later,
Dr. Bavadra was forcibly removed from power during a military
coup led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka on May 14, 1987.
After
a period of deadlocked negotiations, Rabuka staged a second coup
on September 25, 1987. The military government revoked the constitution
and declared Fiji a republic on October 10. This action, coupled
with protests by the Government of India, led to Fiji's expulsion
from the Commonwealth of Nations and official nonrecognition of
the Rabuka regime from foreign governments, including Australia
and New Zealand. On December 6, Rabuka resigned as head of state
and Governor General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau was appointed the
first President of the Fijian Republic. Mara was reappointed Prime
Minister, and Rabuka became Minister of Home Affairs.
The new government drafted a new constitution that went into force in July 1990. Under its terms, majorities were reserved for ethnic Fijians in both houses of the legislature. Previously, in 1989, the government had released statistical information showing that for the first time since 1946, ethnic Fijians were a majority of the population. More than 12,000 Indo-Fijians and other minorities had left the country in the 2 years following the 1987 coups. After resigning from the military, Rabuka became prime minister in 1993 after elections under the new constitution.
Tensions
simmered in 1995-96 over the renewal of land leases and political
maneuvering surrounding the mandated 7-year review of the 1990
constitution. The Constitutional Review Commission produced a
draft constitution that expanded the size of the legislature,
lowered the proportion of seats reserved by ethnic group, and
reserved the presidency for ethnic Fijians, but opened the position
of prime minister to all races. Prime Minister Rabuka and President
Mara supported the proposal, while the nationalist indigenous
Fijian parties opposed it. The reformed constitution was approved
in July 1997. Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth in October.
The first
legislative elections held under the new constitution took place
in May 1999. Rabuka's coalition was defeated by the Fiji Labor
Party, which formed a coalition, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, with
two small Fijian parties. Chaudhry became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian
prime minister. One year later, in May 2000, Chaudhry and most
other members of parliament were taken hostage in the House of
Representatives by gunmen led by ethnic Fijian nationalist George
Speight. The standoff dragged on for 8 weeks--during which time
Chaudhry was removed from office by the then-president due to
his incapacitation. The Republic of Fiji military forces then
seized power and brokered a negotiated end to the situation. Speight
was later arrested when he violated its terms. In February 2002,
Speight was convicted of treason and is currently serving a life
sentence.
In July 2000, former banker Laisenia Qarase was named interim prime minister and head of the interim civilian administration by the military and Great Council of Chiefs. Ratu Josefa Iloilo was named President. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the validity of the constitution and ordered the Chaudhry government returned to power in March 2001, after which the President dissolved the Parliament elected in 2000 and appointed Qarase head of a caretaker government until elections could be held in August. Qarase's newly formed Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party won the elections. In May 2006, the SDL was re-elected to a majority in the Parliament, Qarase continued as Prime Minister and formed a multi-party cabinet, which included nine members of the FLP.
In the lead-up to the May 2006 election and beginning again in September, tensions grew between Commander of the Fiji Military Forces Commodore Frank Bainimarama and the Qarase government. Bainimarama demanded the Qarase government not pursue certain legislation and policies. On December 5, 2006 Bainimarama removed elected Prime Minister Qarase from his position and dissolved Parliament in a military coup d'état. Qarase was exiled to an outer island. On January 4, 2007, Bainimarama reinstated President Iloilo, who stated the military was justified in its behavior and promised them amnesty. The following day Iloilo appointed Bainimarama interim Prime Minister. Over the following weeks Bainimarama formed an "interim government" that included, among others, former Prime Minister Chaudhry and former Republic of Fiji Military Forces heads Epeli Ganilau and Epeli Nailatikau. On January 15, 2007, President Iloilo decreed amnesty to Bainimarama, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), and all those involved in the coup from December 5, 2006 to January 5, 2007, and he claimed to ratify all the actions of Bainimarama and the RFMF.
The coup was widely condemned by regional partners, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the European Union. In April 2007, the interim government suspended the Great Council of Chiefs after the council declined to appoint the interim government's choice as vice president. In October 2007, the interim government launched a People's Charter initiative, ostensibly to remove communal or ethnic voting and improve governance arrangements. The interim government has pledged itself to hold elections in March 2009, although the interim government's rhetoric continues to create uncertainty about the firmness of this commitment. A series of court cases challenging the constitutionality of the coup and its aftermath are pending.
