Foreign Policy In Focus - Self-Determination - Regional Conflict Profile

Self-Determination Regional Conflict Profile x

Fiji (Republic of the Fiji Islands)

By Abid Aslam

History

Tension between ethnic Fijians and "Indo-Fijians" dates back to the nineteenth century, when Britain, the colonial power, imported indentured laborers from India to work the land. In 1909, ownership was officially restricted to indigenous Fijian clans, ethnic Polynesians, and Melanesians, who today retain 80% of the land. The indigenous and Indian populations dominate Fiji's multi-ethnic society and have been at growing odds since Fiji won independence in 1970.

In 1987, an Indo-Fijian-led Labor National Federation Party coalition defeated Prime Minister Ratu Kamisese K.T. Mara's Alliance Party. This prompted Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka to lead two coups, citing Indo-Fijian domination of government and commerce. Rabuka reinstated the defeated Alliance government, enabling Ratu Mara to return as PM. This, plus a 1990 constitutional revision favoring native control, led to large-scale Indo-Fijian emigration, giving ethnic Fijians a 51% majority of the population. In 1992, Rabuka became prime minister. In 1993, Ratu Mara became president.

A new constitution passed in 1997 and effective in 1998 led to the first "open" (not racially prescribed) elections. In 1999 Mahendra Chaudhry, who headed a Labor Party coalition, became the first Indo-Fijian prime minister and replaced Rabuka. Ratu Mara supported the coalition despite dissatisfaction among some ethnic Fijians.

In 2000, businessman George Speight, claiming indigenous support and backed by armed rebels including some soldiers, took over parliament and held Chaudhry and lawmakers hostage in a 56-day standoff with the military. Ratu Mara stepped down, allowing martial law. Military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama assumed power, abrogated the 1997 constitution, and appointed merchant banker Laisenia Qarase to head an interim government including Speight nominees. Speight freed his hostages in exchange for immunity but was later arrested for treason. Former vice president Ratu Josefa Iloilo was appointed president. The new interim government announced plans to enact a new constitution by December 2001.

However, Lautoka High Court Justice Anthony Gates upheld the 1997 constitution and ruled the interim government illegal. The interim government appealed and Qarase established the National Council for Reconciliation and Unity, which he heads. Chaudhry set up a "government in exile" in Australia and started raising funds.

In 2001, the Fiji Court of Appeals began hearing the interim government's appeal of the High Court ruling. Speight remained in prison, awaiting trial.

Main Actors

Fiji Court of Appeals international panel of judges: Sir Maurice Casey, Sir Ian Barker, Sir Mari Kapi, Justice Gordon Ward, Justice Kenneth Handley.

Major political parties:
- Fijian Political Party (SVT, formed by Rabuka, backed by smaller Fijian nationalist parties).
- "People's Coalition," including Fiji Labor Party (major constituency: Indo-Fijian sugarcane farmers), Fijian Association Party, Party of National Unity, Christian Democratic Alliance.

Proposed Solutions & Evaluation of Prospects

Australia, New Zealand, and the British Commonwealth are variously engaged. "National reconciliation" hinges on local factors including constitutional review. Particularly contentious is the status of agricultural land (Fijians own, lease to Indo-Fijian farmers). Fijians fear an Indo-Fijian government will undermine their control; at a minimum, farmers want longer leases (current average: 10 years). Events in 2000 reflected this tension: Speight struck after the government introduced $28 million in grants to compensate farmers facing eviction. Qarase's interim government replaced grants with $10,000 aid for incoming and outgoing tenants. Chandrika Prasad, an Indo-Fijian farmer, challenged the interim administration's legality in court.

If economic hardship is a harbinger of increased conflict, then prospects seem dim. Sugar production--which accounts for one-third of Fiji's industrial activity--could fall by 25% this year because most of the 2,700 farm leases expiring are unlikely to be renewed, the Sugar Cane Growers Council head told the BBC. Many farmers are leaving fields untended because of the uncertainty. (New tenants will have to be settled and trained before cultivation resumes.) A slump in sugar could upset the whole economy, adding to strain--and job competition--in the garment industry and services sector (dominated by tourism, which is sensitive to political upheaval).

U.S. Role

No direct role. Washington watches for the potential strategic consequences of instability among countries near strategic sea-lanes: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands. With Asia and the Pacific a prime focus of U.S. strategic interests, it may only be a matter of time before Washington insinuates itself, directly or by proxy, into a situation that, for now, even Australia and New Zealand--Fiji's largest neighbors, key Commonwealth partners, and the dominant regional powers--have been content to see as isolated and of primarily domestic concern (Australia's use or threat of economic sanctions to dissuade further military rebellion notwithstanding).

Sources for More Information

Fiji Government web site (includes "National Reconciliation" page):
http://www.fiji.gov.fj/