2006 Fijian coup d'état

The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which has been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis. The conflict between the government and military of the Republic of the Fiji Islands reached crisis point in early December 2006. The catalyst for the unrest were two bills passed before Fijian parliament, one of which would offer pardons to some of the people who participated in Fiji coup attempt of 2000. Nineteen demands were handed down from Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase largely pertaining to this bill. Bainimarama gave an ultimatum to Qarase to concede to these demands or to resign from his post by Friday 1 December. This was then deferred to Monday 4 December.

After weeks of preparations by the Military, on 4 December a well orchestrated military presence made itself known in Suva by setting up strategic road blocks, making public demonstrations of their presence and seizing weapons from opposing factions including the police. On 5 December many key government ministers and chief executives were placed under house arrest and President Ratu Josefa Iloilo signed an order dissolving Parliament, though he later made a press statement denying having done so. So far the coup d'état has been bloodless.

Background

The current crisis has its origins in the Fiji coup of 2000, though its genesis may be traced to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état. 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 Fijian general election, 2001 and Fijian general election, 2006, and has since began to take actions that have provoked the displeasure of the military. Perhaps the most significant of these has been a planned bill to grant an amnesty to those involved in the coup of 2000.

Despite the truce brokered by Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi on January 16, 2006, relations between the government and the military remained strained, and publicly surfaced again on September 22, when the Military Commander, Frank Bainimarama attacked government policies in a speech at Ratu Latianara Secondary School. According to the Fiji Village news service, 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 attacked the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, Fiji's largest Christian denomination, for supporting the government.

The following day, Qarase branded the Commander's latest statements as unconstitutional, and announced his intention to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for a judgement on the proper role of the military. The Methodist Church also reacted strongly to the Commander's suggestion that government policies could take Fiji back to paganism and cannibalism, with Rev. Ame Tugaue, the General Secretary of the Church quoted in the Fiji Sun as saying that the Commander appeared to be ignorant of the fact that it was the influence of Christianity that had abolished cannibalism in Fiji.

Major Neumi Leweni, a military spokesman, said that on September 25 the government's proposed court action was a threat to the nation, and that the military was united in its resolve to prosecute persons implicated in the 2000 coup, and in its opposition to legislation proposing amnesty for such offenders. He also reiterated the opposition of the military to the "Qoliqoli Bill", which proposed to hand control of seabed resources to Fijian tribes.

The Fiji Sun quoted Bainimarama on September 25 as saying that his speech at Ratu Latianara Secondary School had been based on the advice of United States General John Brown. The same afternoon, however, United States Ambassador Larry Dinger told the Fiji Village that Bainimarama had misunderstood Brown's intentions. The military must never challenge the rule of a constitutional government, Dinger insisted.

Fijian military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni called on the Qarase government to resign on October 6, 2006, saying that the government had lost all semblance of credibility, integrity and honesty as the country sank into an economic and financial abyss. On October 17, 2006, Bainimarama issued an ultimatum to the government to drop the contentious legislation within three weeks, or resign.

The military staged exercises around Suva and closed off the city's army barracks on October 31, 2006. The military said that the exercises were not threatening. Qarase and President Ratu Josefa Iloilo attempted to sack Bainimarama, who was in Iraq inspecting Fijian peacekeeping troops, but their nominee for his replacement declined the position and Major Neumi Leweni said the Army remained loyal to Bainimarama. Bainimarama in response repeated his call for the government to step down. ABC News in Australia reported claims that Qarase had told Iloilo that the government would step down if Bainimarama was not removed. The Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was a real risk of a coup in Fiji.

Australia sent naval ships to Fiji to assist in the evacuation of Australian citizens should a coup occur. On November 4, Qarase dropped amnesty provisions for the leaders of the 2000 coup from the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill, saying that the provisions were unconstitutional.

Escalation

The crisis came to a head when, on November 26, Bainimarama called up 1,000 reserve troops to the Fijian Army, and reiterated his intention to topple the Fijian government, during a private trip to New Zealand. This came shortly after police revealed that he would soon be charged with sedition.

Qarase flew to New Zealand on November 28 to meet with Bainimarama. The night before the meeting, Bainimarama said "It's very simple. He [Qarase] comes with a yes or a no to our demands, full stop." "He's going to be wasting his time debating issues with me. The meeting's going to be the shortest meeting he's ever attended in his life." The meeting lasted two hours, but no resolution was reached. Both men returned to Fiji after the meeting.

On November 30, Qarase promised to suspend the three bills that the military were objecting to, and to drop them altogether if a review found them unconstitutional. He recognised that the 2000 coup had been illegal, as the military had demanded, and agreed to accept any decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions not to lay sedition charges against military leaders. He also agreed to review the position of the Police Commissioner, Andrew Hughes, who has criticised the military. Bainimarama rejected this compromise and gave the government an ultimatum of accepting all demands by noon the following day or be overthrown by the military.

After the deadline passed on December 1, Qarase said that the deadline had been extended until December 3, due to the annual rugby game played between the National Police and the military, but Bainimarama denied that there was an extension. He said he intended to begin a "clean up" campaign of government. Qarase and his government moved to secret locations.

On December 3, Bainimarama announced that he had taken control of Fiji, but Qarase emerged from hiding and said he was still in charge. Radio New Zealand reported on December 3 that Fiji's civil service was still taking its instructions from the civilian administration, and quoted Stuart Huggett, the head of the civil service, as anticipating no change to that.

Coup and deposition of the government

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 armoury.

Acting Police Commissioner Moses Driver said the military action was unlawful and unnecessary. . Military commander Bainimarama was quoted as saying that the military had taken this action as "we would not want to see a situation whereby the police and the military are opposed in an armed confrontation".

Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was stopped while trying to enter government house in the afternoon by a military roadblock set up there. Military personnel were checking vehicles travelling on the road between the Suva and the province of Naitasiri, 30 miles northeast of Suva. Qarase avoided the military roadblocks by travelling using helicopter to return to his home in the centre of Suva after attending a provincial council meeting in this province.

On December 5 though a cabinet meeting was called by Qarase at government house to discuss the 19 demands of military, the Prime Minister and other ministers did not turn up at Government House.

The President Ratu Josefa Iloilo signed an order dissolving the Parliament, and had called on the Prime Minister to follow the military's demands or resign. This action of the military, in placing the President and Prime Minister in this position, nevertheless constitutes an illegal act - necessity, the ostensible legal grounds on which the President's order was based - not being a sufficient justification for acting contrary to the Constitution. More importantly, while the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, is entitled to act in an emergency situation, where his actions are necessary for the good of the country, there is no legal justification for the action of the military leadership. Imposing its will upon the legitimate government in this way constitutes high treason.

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 12pm, and were trying to force their way in. The police are reported to be trying to negotiate with them.

After meeting with Commodore Bainimarama on the morning of December 5, Iloilo signed a legal order dissolving Parliament, citing the doctrine of necessity, paving the way for the formation of an interim administration. In a subsequent press release, however, Iloilo said that he had not endorsed the coup and that its perpetrators were acting against his orders.

Many government officials have been placed under arrest with a view to holding them on Nukulau Island prison.

Bainimarama announced on December 6 that the military had taken control of the government.

International response to crisis

There has been considerable international concern about the situation in Fiji, and active involvement by other goverments to try and prevent a coup.The Australian and New Zealand governments and media in particular have strongly condemned the coup.

In November an eminent persons group of Pacific Foreign Ministers was formed to try and defuse the situation. On the 28th of November the New Zealand Government brought Qarase to New Zealand in order to negotiate with Bainimarama, at a meeting hosted by New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters. No agreement was reached. Bainimarama has warned the New Zealand and Australian Governments that any military intervention would be strongly repelled.

The New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has described the current crisis as a coup, and a "creeping siege on democratic institutions". New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said that the Fijian constitution only allowed the President to request the dissolving of Parliament if the Prime Minister no longer had the confidence of the Parliament and that this was clearly not the case. . The New Zealand Government has also stated those taking part in the coup will be banned from entry to New Zealand, and that aid and military ties will be cut. Helen Clark has said in the NZ Herald that she would consider sanctions against Fiji.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said that the military were "slowly trying to take control" and pressure the PM to resign . Other notable Australians have also commented on the situation such as Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Other international media have commented on the strong attitudes of these two other pacific countries over the Fijian political situation.

United Kingdom, United States and the United Nations, have all expressed concern at the situation. With Kofi Annan having made a public statement and personally having spoken to both President Iloilo and Prime Minister Qarase. These international entities are particularly concerned about the economic repercussions of further political unrest.