« What Would You Take to a Deserted Island? | Home | Cleaning up your Private Island Beach »
By Islomaniac | July 17, 2007
Fiji, a name that exudes images of the private island experiences is a favorite among island enthusiasts. Recently however there was a coup in Fiji. Naturally when this happens there is a lot of concern about what that means for foreigners in the nation. In the case of private islands there is a lot of concern over what the coup means for island owners and potential island buyers. I thought I would clear things up a little bit with information that I have found. I try to stay out of political debates so I have presented the facts as I found them. I invite you to inform yourself and develop your own opinion. Click below to read more about the coup and what it means for private island owners.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama
Image source:
Coup’s are not new to Fiji. Fiji has seen four definitive coups in the past two decades all primarily related to conflict between ethnic Fijians who primarily belong to the Methodist church and the Natives which are Hindu. The Fijian coup d’état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d’état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis.
The current crisis has its origins in the Fiji coup of 2000. The 2000 coup was aimed at the multi-ethnic Government led by Mahendra Chaudhry. The proponents of the coup were an armed faction not closely associated with the military, who opposed their actions. After Bainimarama declared martial law and resolved the crisis by force, an interim government was sworn in, headed by current Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. The Prime Minister was democratically elected in elections in 2001 and 2006, and has since begun to take actions that have provoked the displeasure of the military.
On September 22, 2006, Military Commander Frank Bainimarama attacked government policies in a speech at Ratu Latianara Secondary School. News service Fiji Village reported that he claimed that government leniency towards perpetrators of the 2000 coup had created a culture of disrespect for the law, to which he attributed the increasing incidents of rape, homicide, and desecration of Hindu temples. He also criticized the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, for supporting the government.
The next day Prime Minister Qarase accused the Commander’s statements of being unconstitutional, and announced his intention to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for a judgement on the proper role of the military.
On October 16, 2006, Bainimarama issued a three week ultimatum for the government to meet nine demands, or resign.
The nine demands mainly center around: the 2000 coup proponents being brought to justice; withdrawing any political machinations which would potentially further economic inequality based on racial grounds; denying intervention by foreign authority (mentioning by name Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, an Australian national); dropping the court proceedings regarding the military’s statements from earlier in the year and formally addressing concerns about government spending and internal governance.
The crisis came to a head when, on November 26, during a private trip to New Zealand, Bainimarama called up 1,000 reserve troops to the Fijian Army, and reiterated his intention to topple the Fijian government. This came shortly after police revealed that he would soon be charged with sedition
Fijian troops confiscated arms at the headquarters of the armed police division in Nasinu on December 4. Troops later surrounded the Nasova Police Academy in Suva and removed weapons from the armory.
On the morning of the 5th, armed troops surrounded the offices of government ministers and began taking their cars. Laisenia Qarase has stated that the coup is “virtually underway”, but that he will not resign, and he still has control of the country. The military forces said that all ministers would be under house arrest, and all ministers’ vehicles and mobile phones seized by the end of the day. The military were reported to have surrounded Qarase’s house at around 12 p.m., and were trying to force their way in. The police are reported to be trying to negotiate with them.
Fortunately unlike the 2000 coup, which was marked by looting and burning of businesses, no significant protests or violence occurred in Fiji during this coup.
Fiji’s newly-appointed caretaker prime minister, Jona Senilagakali, a 77-year-old military doctor, was sworn in on December 5 to replace former prime minister Laisenia Qarase. The figurehead appointee said he had no choice but to take the job after being ordered to do so by military chief Voreqe Bainimarama. Fresh democratic elections in Fiji could however be “12 months to two years” away. On January 4, 2007, Bainimarama restored Ratu Josefa Iloilo to the Presidency. The President made a broadcast endorsing the actions of the military. The next day, Iloilo formally appointed Bainimarama as the interim Prime Minister, indicating that the military was still effectively in control.
International reaction to the coup has been largely negative, with the American government withholding aid money and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters describing the current crisis as a coup and a “creeping siege on democratic institutions.”
So what does this mean for island owners? Well the outlook is good, there have been no changes to real estate laws so islands are still available for purchase the same as they were before. In addition, no islands have been confiscated. A person who owned an island before the coup still owns an island today. As far as safety is concerned it is reassuring to know that there has been little violence. As someone who has traveled a great deal over the years I think the most important thing you can do is to do your homework. Political stability can change quickly so when you have concerns contact your government and they can update you on the political situation in a country. In addition, I would suggest not relying heavily on the media for information on a political situation. The media tend to sensationalize findings and can often make a situation seem much worse than it is.
Share This
Subscribe to This Blog
Topics: Islands and Politics |
Site Feed (RSS)
Comments