Military strongman Frank Baini-marama was widely regarded as a national hero when he brokered a peaceful resolution to Fiji's last coup in 2000.
Six years later, that reputation is in tatters after the former peacemaker said yesterday that he had taken control of the country from the elected government and dismissed the prime minister of this picturesque South Pacific island nation.
Bainimarama's finest hour came when he ended the nationalist coup of 2000 without bloodshed and restored democratic rule. The indigenous Fijian of low tribal status became a hero of the ethnic-Indian minority while his role split the ethnic Fijian majority.
Fijian nationalists led by failed businessman George Speight had stormed the Parliament and took prisoner for 56 days the country's first Indo-Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry, plus more than 50 government ministers and lawmakers.
Bainimarama forced the then-president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, to resign and declared martial law before the nationalists, jealous of Indo-Fijian political power, surrendered.
Bainimarama promised amnesty to coup participants, but later reneged and the ringleaders were arrested.
He also set up an interim government and hand-picked former banker Laisenia Qarase to head it.
Qarase's leadership has gained the legitimacy of two general elections since then. Yet Bainimarama now demands that he and his multiracial government resign.
"It is hard to believe that man who stood up for the rule of law in 2000 is today its main threat," the Fiji Times newspaper noted on Monday.
The bitterness in the divide among indigenous Fijians over Bainimarama spilled over late in 2000 when rebel soldiers attempted to assassinate him while he was at lunch to the officers' mess at the main barracks in Suva.
Bainimarama survived by jumping from a window and running for his life. Three loyalist and five rebel troops died in the mutiny.
Fiji media owner and national William Parkinson said Bainimarama's brush with death left the 52-year-old psychologically "scarred" and "extremely paranoid when it comes to any politics relating to the nationalist cause."
"He is really concerned that the 2000 events could happen again," said Parkinson, who described Bainimarama as a patriot.
Ever since, Bainimarama has not wavered in his demand that all participants in the 2000 coup be brought to justice.
But the Qarase government has dragged its feet, with two current Cabinet ministers convicted coup participants.
They each served only two months of their two-year sentences. Bainimarama wants them sacked.
Qarase formed a government after the 2001 election in coalition with a minority nationalist party that included a lawmaker who was Speight's brother.
A rift opened between Qarase and Bainimarama, chief of the overwhelming indigenous Fijian military since 1999, and has steadily worsened.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS