Fiji
Fiji is comprised of a group of volcanic islands in the South
Pacific lying about 4,450 km. (2,775 mi.) southwest of Honolulu and
1,770 km. (1,100 mi.) north of New Zealand. Its 322 islands vary
dramatically in size. The largest islands are Viti Levu, about the
size of the "Big Island" of Hawaii, and where the capital and 70% of
the population are located, and Vanua Levu. Just over 100 of the
smaller islands are inhabited. The larger islands contain mountains
as high as 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) rising abruptly from the shore.
Heavy rains--up to 304 cm. (120 in.) annually--fall on the windward
(southeastern) sides of the islands, covering these sections with
dense tropical forest. Lowlands on the western portions of each of
the main islands are sheltered by the mountains and have a
well-marked dry season favorable to crops such as sugarcane.
The term "Fijian" has exclusively ethnic connotations and should
not be used to describe any thing or person not of indigenous Fijian
descent.
Most of Fiji's population lives on Viti Levu's coasts, either in
Suva or in smaller urban centers. The interior of Viti Levu is
sparsely populated due to its rough terrain.
Indigenous Fijians are a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian,
resulting from the original migrations to the South Pacific many
centuries ago. The Indo-Fijian population grew rapidly from the
60,000 indentured laborers brought from India between 1879 and 1916
to work in the sugarcane fields. Thousands more Indians migrated
voluntarily in the 1920s and 1930s and formed the core of Fiji's
business class. Native Fijians live throughout the country, while
Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the urban centers and in the
cane-producing areas of the two main islands. Nearly all of
indigenous Fijians are Christian; more than three-quarters are
Methodist. Approximately 80% of Indo-Fijians are Hindu, 15% are
Muslim, and around 6% are Christian.
Some Indo-Fijians have been displaced by the expiration of land
leases in cane-producing areas and have moved into urban centers in
pursuit of jobs. Similarly, a number of indigenous Fijians have
moved into urban areas, especially Suva, in search of a better life.
Meanwhile, the Indo-Fijian population has declined due to emigration
and a declining birth rate. Indo-Fijians currently constitute 37% of
the total population, although they were the largest ethnic group
from the 1940s until the late 1980s. Indo-Fijians continue to
dominate the professions and commerce, while ethnic Fijians dominate
government and the military. |
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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 1970
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
non-recognition of the Rabuka regime from foreign governments,
including Australia and New Zealand. On December 6, 1987, 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 interim Prime Minister, and Rabuka became
Minister of Home Affairs.
The new government drafted a new constitution, effective 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 5-year review of the
1990 constitution. A Constitutional Review Commission recommended a
new constitution that expanded the size of the legislature, lowered
the proportion of seats reserved by ethnic group, gave to the
unelected Council of Chiefs authority to appoint the president and
vice president, and opened the position of prime minister to all
races. Ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians were allocated communal seats
proportional to their numbers in the population at the time.
Twenty-five seats were "open" to all. Prime Minister Rabuka and
President Mara supported the proposal, while the nationalist
indigenous Fijian parties opposed it. The constitution amendment act
was unanimously approved by parliamentarians in July 1997. The new
constitution mandated the formation of a multi-party cabinet (each
party with 10% of members of Parliament was entitled to nominate a
cabinet minister). Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth.
The first legislative elections held under the new constitution took
place in May 1999. Rabuka's coalition was defeated by the Fiji Labor
Party (FLP), 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 then-president Mara due to his
inability to govern while a hostage. The Republic of Fiji military
forces abrogated the constitution, convinced President Mara to
resign, and brokered a negotiated end to the situation. Speight was
later arrested when he violated the settlement's 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. The Vice President, Ratu
Josefa Iloilo, was named President. The Court of Appeal in March
2001 reaffirmed the validity of the constitution and ordered the
President to recall the elected Parliament. However, the President
dissolved the Parliament elected in 2000 and appointed Qarase head
of a caretaker government to take Fiji to general elections that
were held in August. Qarase's newly formed Soqosoqo Duavata ni
Lewenivanua (SDL) party won the elections but did not invite into
the cabinet representatives of the FLP as required by the
constitution. 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. There has been little visible progress towards
election. In October 2008, the High Court ruled that President
Iloilo’s January 2007 appointment of Bainimrama as prime minister,
the granting of amnesty to coup perpetrators, and rule by decree,
was not unconstitutional. |
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