Notes
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Iftakhar Iqbal Ahmad Khan is an Indo-Fijian lawyer based in the city of Lautoka.
Khan practiced law in Parramatta, Australia as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society. [1] [2]
Khan has a controversial reputation, both in Fiji and Australia, where he was disqualified from practicing law in the state of Queensland in 2001, for nondisclosure of information to the barristers board when seeking admission. According to the Queensland Law Society, Khan withheld information about a complaint against him by Sheo Shankar, a client of his. Khan, however, claimed that he was disqualified not for dishonesty, but for being unafraid to speak his mind.
In Fiji, Khan defended a number of high-profile figures against charges of involvement in the Fiji coup of 2000. In August 2005, he secured the acquittal of Information Minister Simione Kaitani on coup-related charges.
On 3 September 2005, Khan challenged incumbent Graeme Leung for the Presidency of the Fiji Law Society, but was heavily defeated. Leung amassed 91 percent of the vote. Khan would not rule out making another bid for the post in 2006, but in the end, he did not, and Devanesh Sharma was elected to succeed Leung.
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Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister on 19 May 1999, but exactly one year later, on 19 May 2000 he and most of his Cabinet were taken hostage by coup leader George Speight, in the Fiji coup of 2000. Unable to exercise his duties, he and his ministers were sacked by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 27 May; Mara intended to assume emergency powers himself but was himself deposed by the military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Sir William MacGregor, was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.
Taniela (Daniel) Vafo'ou Fatiaki CF was the Chief Justice of Fiji from 1 August 2002, when he succeeded Sir Timoci Tuivaga, till 5 December 2008. As Chief Justice, he presided over both the High Court and the Supreme Court, but was constitutionally barred from presiding over, or even sitting on, the Appeal Court. On 3 January 2007, he was sent on leave by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, which had seized power on 5 December 2006. On 19 January, he was formally suspended, pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct. This investigation was dropped in December 2008 as part of a deal that involved his formal resignation.
Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former president of the Fiji Law Society. He was also chairman of the Electoral Commission, and was named as judge advocate of a Court Martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000, but a number of complications left his commissioning in that office outstanding until he was finally approved as judge advocate and commissioned as an army officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 4 January 2006.
Niko Nawaikula also known as Nikolau Tuiqamea, is a Fijian lawyer, and a former member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is a member of the Social Democratic Liberal Party.
In the early 2000s, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's government proposed legislation to establish a Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to pardon perpetrators and compensate victims of the coup d'état against the elected government of Mahendra Chaudhry in 2000. Most Fijian politicians outside of the government came out against proposed legislation Along with many politicians, the Military and a number of business and professional organizations also came out against the bill. The campaign derived its name from the yellow ribbons promoted by the opposition United Peoples Party and worn by many citizens, as a sign of their opposition to the legislation.
Mohammad Apisai Vuniyayawa Tora was a Fijian politician, soldier, and trade unionist. As a labour leader, he was a fighter for dock workers. As a soldier, he served in Malaya and later served as President of the Ex-Servicemen's League.
Jason Smith is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative five-eighth or lock forward, he played club football in Australia for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Parramatta Eels, Canberra Raiders and the North Queensland Cowboys, and in England for Hull F.C. At his peak he was regarded as one of the game's greatest players.
The Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP) was a Fijian political party which championed Fijian ethnic nationalism. It was led by Iliesa Duvuloco, while Viliame Savu served as the party's president.
The controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill promoted by the Fijian government throughout 2005 generated enormous debate, both locally and internationally. The legislation aimed to establish a Commission empowered to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup d'état that deposed the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry in May 2000. Support for the legislation came from Japan, while New Zealand opposed it. Australia, too, expressed strong reservations about the legislation, but also called on opponents of it, including the Military of Fiji, to show greater moderation. Non-governmental organizations in a number of countries took positions, also.
The Reconciliation and Unity Commission was a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 was passed. The legislation proposed to empower the Commission to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the Fiji coup of 2000, and compensation to victims of it from 19 May 2000 through 15 March 2001. The Fijian President would retain a veto over the granting of amnesty.
Ashton Sims is a Fijian former rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Fiji, and at club level for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL), the Warrington Wolves in the Super League and the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Championship, as a forward
Peter Clarence Foster is an Australian career criminal who has been imprisoned in Australia, Britain, the United States, and Vanuatu for a variety of offences related to weight loss and other scams as well as absconding from justice. His convictions range from fraud and money laundering to contempt of court and resisting arrest.
The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Historically, the President of the Fiji Law Society was a member ex officio of the Judicial Service Commission.
The crisis that saw a virtual breakdown in relations between Fiji's government and military forces in late 2005 and early 2006, generated fears of civil unrest and even a military coup. The dismissing of Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka, the Acting Land Force Commander, for alleged insubordination on 12 January 2006 was coupled with unusual deployments of troops and naval vessels. Both before and after it was resolved on 16 January with a truce brokered by Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, the crisis generated a great deal of comment.
Devanesh Sharma is a Fijian lawyer of Indian descent. He was the president of the Fiji Law Society for one year. In his capacity as president of the law society, he made many comments on the proceedings of the interim Government, led by Frank Bainimarama, and how the society did not agree with what the interim regime was doing.
Ballu Khan is an Indo-Fijian businessman of New Zealand citizenry. His company, Tui Management Services, is the joint owner with the Vanua Development Corporation (VDC) of Pacific Connex (PCX), which sells SAP software and has sought to enter the 3G mobile telephony market in Fiji. VDC is the commercial wing of the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) which administers indigenous land holdings throughout Fiji. He is also a major supporter of the Ovalau Rugby Union team.
Fiji–United States relations are the bilateral relations between the Fiji and the United States. The relationship has improved significantly since Fiji's elections in September 2014, which restored a democratically elected government to Fiji for the first time since 2006. The United States had opposed Fiji's unelected government, which came to power through a military coup in December 2006.
Dorsami Naidu is a Fijian lawyer and former politician. On 29 July 2005, he announced his intention to resign as President of the National Federation Party (NFP) at the party conference on 31 July.
Ratu Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure is a Fijian lawyer and former politician. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and following the elections after the 2000 political upheavals was a candidate of the Conservative Alliance (CAMV). He was re-elected to the House of Representatives, winning the Cakaudrove West Fijian Communal Constituency in the parliamentary election of 2001, following in the footsteps of his father, Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure, who claimed to hold the chiefly title of Vunivalu of Natewa, in Cakaudrove Province, and who served in both houses of Parliament from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, but on 5 August 2004, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for his role in the Fiji coup of 2000, however the sentence was successfully reduced on appeal.