Shadow of coup still darkens Fiji

Twelve months after the Fiji coup, CHRIS DANIELS and NAOMI LARKIN track down 12 participants.

A year ago this weekend Fiji erupted into political violence when George Speight and a band of heavily armed supporters staged a coup and took the Government hostage.

For the next 56 days, Speight held the country's first Fiji Indian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, and members of his Coalition Government hostage in the parliamentary complex in Suva.

As the hostage drama dragged on, policeman Filipe Seavula was shot dead by the rebels as he patrolled downtown Suva and Fijian soldiers killed a rebel, Kulinio Tabua.

Martial law was declared on May 29 and Fiji's military went on to quell the rebellion.

But they did not reinstate the elected Chaudhry Government, instead installing indigenous Fijian Laisenia Qarase as head of a new caretaker administration.

A court ruled on March 1 this year that Qarase's military-backed Government was illegal, deepening the political crisis.

In a complicated arrangement designed to be constitutionally sound, Mr Qarase was later recalled as Prime Minister to lead the country to elections in late August.

While the nation is quieter, the political and ethnic turmoil continues. Speight and his supporters are yet to stand trial and elections are pending.

The Herald tracked down some of the individuals who dominated news coverage during the months of the coup to find out what they are doing now.

* Mahendra Chaudhry

Then: The country's first Fijian Indian Prime Minister and head of the Labour Party.

Now: Mr Chaudhry remains head of the Labour Party and continues to maintain that he is the true "elected leader" of Fiji. He still enjoys a lot of support, especially in sugar cane growing areas.

* George Speight

Then: Failed businessman and leader of the the coup. He captured the attention of the world and the media with his flamboyant press conferences, pressed shirts and outspoken support of indigenous Fijian nationalism.

Now: Speight and a number of his supporters were imprisoned on Nukulau Island and charged with treason. He is due to appear in the Suva Magistrate's Court this month.

* Ratu Sir Kamesese Mara

Then: President of Fiji, appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs.

Now: Paramount chief of the Lau group of islands, member of the great Council of Chiefs and father-in-law of Ratu Epeli Ganilau, chairman of the council. He is still thought to have great political influence through his family connections.

* Commodore Frank Bainimarama

Then: As head of the military, he effectively led the country when martial law was declared.

Now: He continues to head the military, based at their headquarters in Nabua, Suva.

* Ratu Josefa Iloilo

Then: Deputy President.

Now: President. Ratu Josefa Iloilo was the preferred candidate of Speight and the rebels and has now been formally appointed President by the Great Council of Chiefs.

* Sitiveni Rabuka

Then: Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs. He led the two coups in 1987 and was Prime Minister until Chaudhry was elected in 1999.

Now: He has set up a private consultancy practice in Suva. Mr Rabuka has said he is not interested in standing in the August elections, but this may change.

* Deo Narain

Then: Member of Parliament, held hostage by Speight and his men for 55 days.

Now: Deposed in the coup, Mr Narain is hoping to be re-elected in August, again supporting Mr Chaudhry and the Labour Party. Mr Narain said he was not too traumatised by captivity. "Life comes and goes, but my family were more traumatised than I was."

* Lavinia Padarath

Then: Labour Party MP and one of the four women held hostage for 37 days.

Now: Also deposed in the coup, she is seeking re-election, standing for the Labour Party. "I feel that I have become a stronger person from the whole experience and learned to forgive my adversaries."

* John Scott

Then: As Director-General of the Red Cross in Fiji, he and a nurse were the only outsiders allowed to visit the hostages, who he saw daily throughout the crisis.

Now: He remains in the same position but Mr Scott. He says that since the coup his job has become more demanding as the Red Cross copes with rising unemployment and poverty.



* Nik Naidu

Then: As Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji spokesman, Mr Naidu argued for the rights of the Fijian Indian community.

Now: He is still at the forefront of opposition to those leaders who he believes profited from the coup. "Fiji is a deeply divided, strife-torn nation, ruled by an unelected, military-backed regime."

* Don McKinnon

Then: As Commonwealth Secretary-General he travelled to Fiji during the hostage crisis in a bid to broker peace.

Now: He holds the same position, based in Britain.

* Major Howard Politini

Then: As a Territorial he was recalled from his civilian job as human resources executive for financial services group Colonial, to be spokesman for the Fiji Military.

Now: He returned to his civilian job in January this year.

Feature: the Fiji coup

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