Coup in Fiji ?

[Tspringer]

Been reading some on the internet news sites about a possible coup either taking place or about to take place in Fiji.

Anyone who is active here there? If so, whats the impact on cruisers? Are cruisers fleeing in panic or is a Fiji style coup laid back enough that nobody pays much attention?

It sounds like a standoff between the PM and the head of the military thats not going to end unless one is no longer in their position. The military commander has all the weapons, so my bet would be on him.

Sure hope it doesnt get violent.



Terry

[Tropic Cat]

Well, it would seem that Fiji's police have been disarmed and all of the ministers' cars have been confiscated. The Prime Minister is under house arrest, so I think this can be called a coup. It also seems that Cmdr Frank Bainimarama is telling anyone who will listen that he's in charge of the country.

As to the impact on cruisers, I think our Aussi and NZ friends would have to post whatever they know as this is happening in their back yard, so to speak.

Rick in Florida

[tdw]

Originally Posted by rickm505

Well, it would seem that Fiji's police have been disarmed and all of the ministers' cars have been confiscated. The Prime Minister is under house arrest, so I think this can be called a coup. It also seems that Cmdr Frank Bainimarama is telling anyone who will listen that he's in charge of the country.

As to the impact on cruisers, I think our Aussi and NZ friends would have to post whatever they know as this is happening in their back yard, so to speak.

Rick in Florida

Lord Downer of Bagdad, the finest cross dressing foreign minister this region has ever seen is on the case as I type. You can be assured that by the time Lord Downer has sorted out this situation Suva will be as safe for all peace loving westerners as Bagdad itself.

Personally I'd reckon that given the situation in New Guinea, Bougainville, the Solomons, Tonga and now Fiji it would be advisable not to proceed any further west than Hawaii.

[Alan Wheeler]

Well yes, it is a little laid back. The coup was supposed to first take place on Sunday. But they had to postpone it as there ended up being the annual Army vs Police Rugby test.
Of course, the coip needed to be a surprise and the news media kept speculating when the the coup was going to get underway. So to get them off his tail, the Cmdr kept putting it off. Then the coup started with the military taking the weapons from the police. Now only the special tactics police have weapons, so it was not a full scale police situation. Basicly, the military turned up and the special tactics guy's loaded all the weapons into the back of the Army truck.
As of this morning, the PM was inland trying to drum up support from his people. I have not heard that he was under arrest as he was in hiding. But I have not heard the latest update.
Late last week all NZ'rs were told not to go to Fiji, but several have as they don' t think there will be any fighting. So far I think they are right.

[Alan Wheeler]

Yes the latest news has stated that the PM is under house arrest. His car was confiscated, although I am not entirely sure where the heck you would go, but....

[mudnut]

It sounds to me like Fijians want their Island back before it is taken over by western interest with the help of the Indian (From India)population that seem to own all the comercial intrests in the country.The biggest shame is that their local saying(Don't do today what you can put off tomorrow) will be,eventually,a thing of the past.Whether they realize it or not they have allready eaten the slice of pie from the IMF that has put them in debt to the would be financial runners and backers of the afore mentioned foundation.Another piece of paradice will not be lost but over-run and gobbled up by the guise of progress."For the people by the people"was the biggest load of crap I've ever witnessed.The second biggest is "Why"Do small places like this need a millitary to start with?Big mistake giving a local the weapons in my opinon.Mudnut.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by mudnut

It sounds to me like Fijians want their Island back before it is taken over by western interest with the help of the Indian (From India)population that seem to own all the comercial intrests in the country.The biggest shame is that their local saying(Don't do today what you can put off tomorrow) will be,eventually,a thing of the past.Whether they realize it or not they have allready eaten the slice of pie from the IMF that has put them in debt to the would be financial runners and backers of the afore mentioned foundation.Another piece of paradice will not be lost but over-run and gobbled up by the guise of progress."For the people by the people"was the biggest load of crap I've ever witnessed.The second biggest is "Why"Do small places like this need a millitary to start with?Big mistake giving a local the weapons in my opinon.Mudnut.

Mudnut,
Remember that over 40% of the Fijian population is Indian and they have been there since the 1930's. Yes the ethnic Fijians are unhappy with the division of the spoils but it's a mistake to think that this is a recent problem. Virtually all if not all the unrest in the Pacific islands has as it's root cause, antagonism between one ethnic group and another. In many cases it was the creation of states that were effectively artificial that has led to these problems. As an example if you look at New Guinea and the Solomons you see this glaring error in those state's creation. Bougainville for instance is much more ethnically part of the Solomons than it is part of New Guinea. Having said that even within the Solomons there is much racial tension between the natives of Guadalcanal and Malaita and of course Irian Jaya ,or for that matter Bali, are in no way a good fit with the peoples of Java.
Regarding the military it is a fact of life that sovereign nations will want to have their own armed forces and who are we to deny them ? Where would you draw the line ? Fiji ? Tonga ? Indonesia ? New Zealand ? Australia ? i'm not saying I have all the answers but I think saying that it's a mistake to give a 'local' a gun is far to broad a statement. You might as well say that these people would be better off to still be under colonial rule.
I am a staunch republican, having the Queen of England as the head of state of my country is offensive to me. On the other hand my mother , who is English still believes in the idea of England as the mother country and that replacing the Queen of Australia with an Australian head of state would be a retrograde step.
Sorry, this has become too political I guess. Hope it's not offensive.

Andrew

[tdw]

Originally Posted by Tspringer

Been reading some on the internet news sites about a possible coup either taking place or about to take place in Fiji.

Anyone who is active here there? If so, whats the impact on cruisers? Are cruisers fleeing in panic or is a Fiji style coup laid back enough that nobody pays much attention?

It sounds like a standoff between the PM and the head of the military thats not going to end unless one is no longer in their position. The military commander has all the weapons, so my bet would be on him.

Sure hope it doesnt get violent.Terry

Getting away from the political situation it should be remembered that in almost every area of the Pacific where there has been unrest in recent times, the consensus of opinion seems to be that it is only in the capital cities that the cruising yachtsman is in any danger. I stress 'seems to be' as I am going on what I have read not from personal experience.

Andrew