Mutinies of Fiji coup of 2000
Encyclopedia
Two military
mutinies
took place in connection with the civilian coup d'état
that rocked Fiji
in 2000, the first while the rebellion instigated by George Speight
was in progress, and the second four months after it had ended.
, the largest town on the northern island of Vanua Levu
. Besides seizing the barracks, these soldiers harassed ordinary Indo-Fijian citizens of Labasa, kidnapping bus commuters, ransacking homes, and seizing crops. Indo-Fijian women were also raped.
Deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
, an Indo-Fijian, condemned a number of businessmen, also Indo-Fijians, as "traitors to their people" for having financed and fed the mutineers in a rebellion ostensibly aimed at promoting nationalistic indigenous Fijian
political interests. Chaudhry has made these allegations in court papers, as well as on his party's website.
's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, was led by Captain Shane Stevens. It left four dead. In the aftermath of the failed attempt to depose the Military
Commander, Commodore
Frank Bainimarama
, four of the rebels were beaten to death by loyal soldiers. A total of 42 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit
were subsequently convicted of involvement in the mutiny.
, who had himself instigated two military coups
in 1987. In an interview with the Fiji Times
on 12 November 2000, Commodore Bainimarama charged that while the revolt was in progress, Rabuka had visited the barracks with his army uniform in the car, ready to take over command of the army. He also allegedly started issuing orders to soldiers, telling them to obey his orders. "Rabuka's words to one of my colonels at the height of the shootings raised my suspicions," Bainimarama said. "He said the Colonel should listen to his instructions. He also criticised my leadership." Bainimarama accused Rabuka of leading soldiers astray by using "confusing" and "deceiving" words.
Bainimarama also accused Rabuka of having "politicized" the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) unit, which he had founded as a bodyguard in 1987, to favour both the mutiny and the earlier takeover of parliament
in May. Members of the CRW were involved in both the May coup and the November mutiny.
Bainimarama's version was supported by Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula
, who led the counteroffensive to put down the mutiny. On 13 November 2000, he said that rebels interrogated by the military had implicated Rabuka. He accused Rabuka of trying to take civilians into the barracks to act as human shields for the mutineers, and stated that Rabuka's intention was to "claim military leadership and ultimately overthrow the Government of the day."
Rabuka, a retired officer, denied supporting the mutiny, but refused to comment on an accusation from Bainimarama that he had called a meeting of senior officers loyal to him to depose Bainimarama. Despite his continued protests of innocence, the allegations continued to dog Rabuka, and thwarted his intended appointment as Fiji's Ambassador
to the United States
. On 14 May 2005, Commissioner of Police
Andrew Hughes
said the police were close to making a decision on whether to formally charge a number of unnamed individuals, one of whom the New Zealand Herald believed to be Rabuka.
of New Zealand
publicly accused Lieutenant Colonel
Filipo Tarakinikini, who had served as the Military's principal spokesman during the main events of the coup, of complicity in the mutiny of 2 November. According to Goff, the rebels' plan was to depose Commodore Bainimarama in favour of Tarakinikini. The next day, Tarakinikini angrily denied the charges, and said that in the light of the Military's decision to investigate, he was reconsidering his career with the Army.
Shortly after the allegation were made, Tarakinikini left Fiji for New York
to take up a post as a security adviser at the United Nations
, a post he continues to hold as of November 2005. His resignation from the Army, handed to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo
in 2002, was rejected by the President at the request of Commodore Bainimarama, who has continued in his efforts to have Tarakinikini deported to face a court martial for his alleged role in the mutiny and in the coup itself.
Tarakinikini is fighting the President's refusal of his resignation in the courts. The trial was supposed to begin on 12 September, but was postponed because Tarakinikini's lawyer, Samuela Matawalu, was recovering from a minor stroke
. On 30 November, High Court
Justice Gerald Winter scheduled a hearing for 22 February 2006 and ordered Matawalu to file submissions by 16 January, and the President's Office to reply by 17 February.
Inoke Takiveikata
, the Qaranivalu
, a senior chief of Naitasiri Province and a Senator
and former Cabinet Minister
, had visited the barracks during the mutiny to offer moral and practical support, which included supplying the mutineers with cellphones. On 23 November, Takiveikata was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment
for his role in the mutiny.
On 16 August 2005, the Fiji Court of Appeal
delivered a landmark ruling, ordering a retrial of 20 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRW) who had been convicted in a court martial of participating in the 2000 coup and in a subsequent mutiny in November 2000, and sentenced to prison terms of between three and six years. Various legal technicalities have resulted in several adjournments in the court martial retrial since the naming of the court martial panel, under Judge Advocate Graeme Leung
, on 5 October.
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...
mutinies
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
took place in connection with the civilian coup d'état
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
that rocked Fiji
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...
in 2000, the first while the rebellion instigated by George Speight
George Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
was in progress, and the second four months after it had ended.
The Sukunaivalu Barracks mutiny (7 July 2000)
On 7 July 2000, rebel soldiers supporting George Speight overran the Sukunaivalu Barracks in LabasaLabasa
Labasa is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007.Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a delta formed by three rivers - the...
, the largest town on the northern island of Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu , formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located 64 kilometres to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of 5,587.1 km² and a population of some 130,000.- Geography :...
. Besides seizing the barracks, these soldiers harassed ordinary Indo-Fijian citizens of Labasa, kidnapping bus commuters, ransacking homes, and seizing crops. Indo-Fijian women were also raped.
Deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
, an Indo-Fijian, condemned a number of businessmen, also Indo-Fijians, as "traitors to their people" for having financed and fed the mutineers in a rebellion ostensibly aimed at promoting nationalistic 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...
political interests. Chaudhry has made these allegations in court papers, as well as on his party's website.
The Queen Elizabeth Barracks mutiny (2 November 2000)
The second mutiny, which took place on 2 November 2000 at SuvaSuva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, was led by Captain Shane Stevens. It left four dead. In the aftermath of the failed attempt to depose the Military
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...
Commander, Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Frank Bainimarama
Frank Bainimarama
Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, CF, MSD, OStJ, Fijian Navy, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Ratu , is a Fijian naval officer and politician. He is the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces and, as of April 2009, Prime Minister...
, four of the rebels were beaten to death by loyal soldiers. A total of 42 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit
Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (Fiji)
The Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit or CRWU was the common name for the First Meridian Squadron, the unit's formal name, which had been disbanded in 2000...
were subsequently convicted of involvement in the mutiny.
Rabuka accused
Accusations were leveled against former Prime Minister Sitiveni RabukaSitiveni 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...
, who had himself instigated two military coups
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
in 1987. In an interview with the Fiji Times
Fiji Times
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....
on 12 November 2000, Commodore Bainimarama charged that while the revolt was in progress, Rabuka had visited the barracks with his army uniform in the car, ready to take over command of the army. He also allegedly started issuing orders to soldiers, telling them to obey his orders. "Rabuka's words to one of my colonels at the height of the shootings raised my suspicions," Bainimarama said. "He said the Colonel should listen to his instructions. He also criticised my leadership." Bainimarama accused Rabuka of leading soldiers astray by using "confusing" and "deceiving" words.
Bainimarama also accused Rabuka of having "politicized" the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) unit, which he had founded as a bodyguard in 1987, to favour both the mutiny and the earlier takeover of parliament
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
in May. Members of the CRW were involved in both the May coup and the November mutiny.
Bainimarama's version was supported by Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula
Viliame Seruvakula
Viliame Seruvakula is a former Fijian military officer who played an instrumental role in the aftermath of the Fiji coup of 2000.He attended Ratu Sukuna Memorial, Queen Victoria and Lelean Memorial Schools...
, who led the counteroffensive to put down the mutiny. On 13 November 2000, he said that rebels interrogated by the military had implicated Rabuka. He accused Rabuka of trying to take civilians into the barracks to act as human shields for the mutineers, and stated that Rabuka's intention was to "claim military leadership and ultimately overthrow the Government of the day."
Rabuka, a retired officer, denied supporting the mutiny, but refused to comment on an accusation from Bainimarama that he had called a meeting of senior officers loyal to him to depose Bainimarama. Despite his continued protests of innocence, the allegations continued to dog Rabuka, and thwarted his intended appointment as Fiji's Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On 14 May 2005, Commissioner of Police
Commissioner of Police (Fiji)
Fiji has a unified national police force, the Fiji Police, whose motto is Salus Populi.The Fijian Commissioner of Police title had been held by Australian police officer Andrew Hughes since 2003 but after the 2006 takeover of the Government the post has been reserved for a local.The Commissioner is...
Andrew Hughes
Andrew Hughes (police)
Andrew 'Andy' Hughes is a senior officer of the Australian Federal Police who, until recently, served as the Chief Police Officer for the Australian Capital Territory . The CPO position is similar to the role of Australian Commissioners of Police, that is, the chief executive of the ACT Policing...
said the police were close to making a decision on whether to formally charge a number of unnamed individuals, one of whom the New Zealand Herald believed to be Rabuka.
Tarakinikini investigated
On 5 November 2000, Foreign Minister Phil GoffPhil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff is the current Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. During the Fifth Labour Government, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and...
of 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...
publicly accused 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...
Filipo Tarakinikini, who had served as the Military's principal spokesman during the main events of the coup, of complicity in the mutiny of 2 November. According to Goff, the rebels' plan was to depose Commodore Bainimarama in favour of Tarakinikini. The next day, Tarakinikini angrily denied the charges, and said that in the light of the Military's decision to investigate, he was reconsidering his career with the Army.
Shortly after the allegation were made, Tarakinikini left Fiji for New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to take up a post as a security adviser at the United Nations
United 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...
, a post he continues to hold as of November 2005. His resignation from the Army, handed to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo
Josefa Iloilo
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...
in 2002, was rejected by the President at the request of Commodore Bainimarama, who has continued in his efforts to have Tarakinikini deported to face a court martial for his alleged role in the mutiny and in the coup itself.
Tarakinikini is fighting the President's refusal of his resignation in the courts. The trial was supposed to begin on 12 September, but was postponed because Tarakinikini's lawyer, Samuela Matawalu, was recovering from a minor stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. On 30 November, High Court
High Court (Fiji)
The High Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of Fiji—the others being the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Constitution empowers Parliament to create other courts; these are subordinate to the High Court, which is authorized to oversee all...
Justice Gerald Winter scheduled a hearing for 22 February 2006 and ordered Matawalu to file submissions by 16 January, and the President's Office to reply by 17 February.
Takiveikata convicted
Stevens later testified that RatuRatu
Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...
Inoke Takiveikata
Inoke Takiveikata
Ratu Inoke Takiveikata is a Fijian high chief and politician. Since 1997 he has held the title of Qaranivalu, a senior chiefly title in Naitasiri Province...
, the Qaranivalu
Qaranivalu
The Qaranivalu is a senior Chief of Naitasiri Province in Fiji. The Qaranivalu since 1997 is Ratu Inoke Takiveikata. He had played the role of facilitator of the Muanikau Accord between the Fiji Military and coup leader George Speight and his group in July of 2000 that ended the 58 day parliament...
, a senior chief of Naitasiri Province and a Senator
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...
and former Cabinet Minister
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
, had visited the barracks during the mutiny to offer moral and practical support, which included supplying the mutineers with cellphones. On 23 November, Takiveikata was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for his role in the mutiny.
Court Martial
- See main article: Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Court Martial, FijiCounter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Court Martial, FijiThe mutiny that took place at Fiji's Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva on 2 November 2000, resulted in the death of four loyal soldiers. Four of the rebels were subsequently beaten to death after the rebellion had been quelled...
On 16 August 2005, the Fiji Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal (Fiji)
The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitution came into effect; the other two courts predated it...
delivered a landmark ruling, ordering a retrial of 20 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRW) who had been convicted in a court martial of participating in the 2000 coup and in a subsequent mutiny in November 2000, and sentenced to prison terms of between three and six years. Various legal technicalities have resulted in several adjournments in the court martial retrial since the naming of the court martial panel, under Judge Advocate Graeme Leung
Graeme Leung
Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former President of the Fiji Law Society. He was also Chairman of the Electoral Commission, and was named as Judge Advocate of a Court Martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000, but a number of complications...
, on 5 October.