Fiji coups of 1987
Encyclopedia
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fiji
an Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup, in which Bavadra was deposed, took place on 14 May 1987; a second coup on 28 September ended the Fijian Monarchy, and was shortly followed by the proclamation of a republic
on 7 October. Both military actions were led by Lieutenant Colonel
Sitiveni Rabuka
, then third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces
. Depending on perspective, one may view the event either as two successive coups d'état
separated by a four-month intermission, or as a single coup begun on 14 May and completed with the declaration of the republic.
in 1970, tensions between the indigenous Fijian
and Indo-Fijian ethnic groups (comprising an estimated 46% and 49% of the 1987 population, respectively) continually manifested themselves in social and political unrest. Parliamentary elections
in April 1987 resulted in the replacement of the indigenous-led Conservative government of Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
with a multi-ethnic Labour
-led coalition supported mostly by the Indo-Fijian plurality, and Rabuka claimed ethnic Fijian concerns of racial discrimination as his excuse for seizing power. Many authorities doubt the veracity of this, however, given existing constitutional guarantees.
and subdued the national legislature, which had gathered there for its morning session. Rabuka, dressed in civilian clothes, approached Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
from his position in the public gallery and ordered the Members of Parliament to leave the building. They did so without resisting. The coup was an apparent success, and had been accomplished without loss of life.
The matter was not settled there, however. As a Commonwealth Realm
, Fiji's Head of State was the Queen of Fiji, Elizabeth II. The Fijian Supreme Court
ruled the coup unconstitutional, and the Queen's representative, Governor-General
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
, unsuccessfully attempted to assert executive power. He opened negotiations known as the Deuba Talks with both the deposed government, and the Alliance Party
, which most indigenous Fijians supported. These negotiations culminated in the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which provided for a government of national unity, in which both parties would be represented under the leadership of the Governor-General. Fearing that the gains of the first coup were about to be lost, Rabuka staged a second coup on 25 September.
and New Zealand
, the two nations with foremost political influence in the region, were somewhat disquieted by the event, but ultimately took no action to intervene. They did, however, establish a policy of non-recognition regarding the new government, suspending foreign aid in concert with the United States
and the United Kingdom
.
The Australian labour movement, taking the ousting of a Labor Party
-led government as an affront to the worldwide labour movement, instituted an embargo against shipments to Fiji. As Australia was Fiji's largest foreign trading partner, this resulted in a large diminution in Fiji's international trade.
immediately denounced the coup, demanding that the former government be restored. On 7 October the new regime declared Fiji a republic, revoking the 1970 constitution; the Commonwealth
responded with Fiji's immediate expulsion from the association.
A new constitution was ratified in 1990, in which the offices of President
and Prime Minister, along with two-thirds of the Senate
, a substantial majority of the House of Representatives were reserved for indigenous Fijians. These discriminatory provisions were eventually overturned by a constitutional revision
in 1997.
The coups triggered much emigration by Indo-Fijians (particularly skilled worker
s), making them a minority by 1994. Today,however, though Fiji struggles economically, the country has been able to slowly recover from this loss of necessary skills.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup, in which Bavadra was deposed, took place on 14 May 1987; a second coup on 28 September ended the Fijian Monarchy, and was shortly followed by the proclamation of a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
on 7 October. Both military actions were led by Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
, then third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces
Military of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
. Depending on perspective, one may view the event either as two successive coups d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
separated by a four-month intermission, or as a single coup begun on 14 May and completed with the declaration of the republic.
Background
Both before and after Fiji gained its independence from the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1970, tensions between the indigenous Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
and Indo-Fijian ethnic groups (comprising an estimated 46% and 49% of the 1987 population, respectively) continually manifested themselves in social and political unrest. Parliamentary elections
Fiji election of 1987
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history...
in April 1987 resulted in the replacement of the indigenous-led Conservative government of Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
with a multi-ethnic Labour
Fiji Labour Party
The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is...
-led coalition supported mostly by the Indo-Fijian plurality, and Rabuka claimed ethnic Fijian concerns of racial discrimination as his excuse for seizing power. Many authorities doubt the veracity of this, however, given existing constitutional guarantees.
Coups d'etat
On the morning of 14 May, a section of ten masked, armed soldiers entered the Fijian House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
and subdued the national legislature, which had gathered there for its morning session. Rabuka, dressed in civilian clothes, approached Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
from his position in the public gallery and ordered the Members of Parliament to leave the building. They did so without resisting. The coup was an apparent success, and had been accomplished without loss of life.
The matter was not settled there, however. As a Commonwealth Realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
, Fiji's Head of State was the Queen of Fiji, Elizabeth II. The Fijian Supreme Court
Supreme Court (Fiji)
The Supreme Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court is declared to be "the final appellate court of the State" - in other words, there is no judicial authority higher than the...
ruled the coup unconstitutional, and the Queen's representative, Governor-General
Governor-General of Fiji
Fiji became a British Crown Colony in 1874, and an independent dominion in the Commonwealth in 1970. Queen Elizabeth II remained the Head of State, holding the title of Queen of Fiji until 1987, when she formally abdicated following two military coups...
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
Penaia Ganilau
Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau, GCMG, KCVO, KBE, DSO was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993...
, unsuccessfully attempted to assert executive power. He opened negotiations known as the Deuba Talks with both the deposed government, and the Alliance Party
Fijian Alliance
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation...
, which most indigenous Fijians supported. These negotiations culminated in the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which provided for a government of national unity, in which both parties would be represented under the leadership of the Governor-General. Fearing that the gains of the first coup were about to be lost, Rabuka staged a second coup on 25 September.
International involvement
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the two nations with foremost political influence in the region, were somewhat disquieted by the event, but ultimately took no action to intervene. They did, however, establish a policy of non-recognition regarding the new government, suspending foreign aid in concert with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The Australian labour movement, taking the ousting of a Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
-led government as an affront to the worldwide labour movement, instituted an embargo against shipments to Fiji. As Australia was Fiji's largest foreign trading partner, this resulted in a large diminution in Fiji's international trade.
Aftermath
The United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
immediately denounced the coup, demanding that the former government be restored. On 7 October the new regime declared Fiji a republic, revoking the 1970 constitution; the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
responded with Fiji's immediate expulsion from the association.
A new constitution was ratified in 1990, in which the offices of President
President of Fiji
The President of the Republic of Fiji is the head of state of Fiji. The President was appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution. The Great Council of Chiefs is constitutionally required to consult the Prime Minister, but...
and Prime Minister, along with two-thirds of the Senate
Senate (Fiji)
The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...
, a substantial majority of the House of Representatives were reserved for indigenous Fijians. These discriminatory provisions were eventually overturned by a constitutional revision
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
in 1997.
The coups triggered much emigration by Indo-Fijians (particularly skilled worker
Skilled worker
A skilled worker is any worker who has some special skill, knowledge, or ability in their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Or, a skilled worker may have learned their skills on the job...
s), making them a minority by 1994. Today,however, though Fiji struggles economically, the country has been able to slowly recover from this loss of necessary skills.
External links
- Colour, Class, and Custom: The Literature of the 1987 Fiji Coup (online version of the book of the same name, ISBN 0-7315-1474-2)
- 1990 Constitution of the Republic of Fiji