For the fourth time in 19 years, the legal government of the South Pacific country of Fiji has been overthrown. The military is the culprit this time, with the head of the armed forces, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama deposing Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his Cabinet. The coup has been roundly condemned and Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth. But the new government has been adamant that its predecessor was corrupt and would not be returned to power. Unfortunately, there are few options for concerned outsiders; punishment of the coup plotters is likely to hurt the Fijian people most and do little to restore a democratic government.
Fiji is a divided country. Its 905,000 citizens are 51 percent indigenous Fijians and 44 percent ethnic Indians. Tensions have been high as a result, with Fijians claiming that they have been disadvantaged relative to the Indian minority. Those tensions spilled over six years ago, when businessman George Speight overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, an Indian. Mr. Speight was demanding greater rights for the majority Fijians. Mr. Bainimarama put down the coup and installed Mr. Qarase as interim prime minister. Mr. Qarase won two subsequent elections, in 2001 and earlier this year, restoring a veneer of legitimacy to the government.
Relations between the two men have since deteriorated, however. The strains grew out of the decision by Mr. Qarase to invite some of the coup plotters into his government and the preparation of legislation that would grant them amnesty. In addition, the government presented legislative measures that would grant indigenous Fijians ownership of coastal waters, a move that Mr. Bainimarama said discriminated against the Indian population.