Josaia Voreqe BainimaramaFijian: [tʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama] is the 8th and current prime minister of Fiji since 2007. He is commonly known as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chief title Ratu. He was a naval officer and commander of the Fijian Military Forces.
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei nationalists against the elected government of a Fijian of Indian Descent Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and his own resignation, possibly forced, on 29 May. An interim government headed by Commodore Frank Bainimarama was set up, and handed power over to an interim administration headed by Ratu Josefa Iloilo, as President, on 13 July.
Two military mutinies took place in connection with the civilian coup d'état that occurred in Fiji in 2000, the first while the rebellion instigated by George Speight was in progress, and the second four months after it had ended.
Following the quashing of George Speight's civilian coup d'état in 2000, the Military handed power over to a civilian administration led by the banker, Laisenia Qarase, who won the parliamentary election held to restore democracy in September 2001. Despite the role of the military in the rise to power of the Qarase government, relations between them noticeably deteriorated subsequently, to the extent that by July 2004, the Military was threatening to overthrow the government.
A number of separate, but overlapping, investigations were conducted by the police into various aspects of the 2000 coup. These investigations include the organization and financing of the coup, and the identity of the perpetrators. Some alleged that George Speight was only a front-man for a shadowy group of politicians and businessmen; former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka was reported to be one of those under investigation. Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes revealed on 4 January 2006 that seven major investigations were currently in progress. In addition, a number of other investigations have either taken place or are being considered.
The mutiny that took place at Fiji's Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva on 2 November 2000 resulted in the death of four loyal soldiers. Four of the rebels were subsequently beaten to death after the rebellion had been quelled. A total of 42 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, who sympathized with George Speight, whose own civilian coup d'état had been put down by the military in July, were subsequently convicted of involvement in the mutiny. Among those convicted was Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, the Qaranivalu of Naitasiri, one of Fiji's most senior chiefs.
Dr. Lesi Korovavala is a former Fijian civil servant, who served as the chief executive officer of the Ministry for Home Affairs. He is a former senior Military officer with a doctorate in military studies, he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was also aide-de-camp to President Ratu Penaia Ganilau for a time.
The tension between Fiji's government and Military forces, which had been simmering for more than two years, appeared to escalate in late December 2005. Tension between the government and the Military had been simmering throughout the year, with Commodore Bainimarama and other Military officers making strongly worded public statements opposing certain government policies, including the early release from prison of persons implicated in the Fiji coup of 2000, and the government's promotion of controversial legislation to establish a Commission with the power to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the coup.
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.
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005–06 Fijian political crisis.
Virisila Buadromo is a Fijian political activist and former journalist, who was the Executive Director of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) from 2001 to 2015. She used to be the news director for FM96.
Adi Litia Qionibaravi is a Fijian chief and member of the Parliament of Fiji. She is a member of the Social Democratic Liberal Party.
Richard Naidu is a Fijian lawyer of Indian descent. A partner with the Munro Leys law firm, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency of the Fiji Law Society on 9 September 2006.
Imraz Iqbal Ali is a Fijian businessman, political activist, and former Television journalist, of Indian descent. He does not normally use his last name, except for legal purposes. Together with Laisa Digitaki, he is the co-owner of a magazine, Fiji Living, based in Digitaki's home in the Lami suburb of Vugalei. Iqbal also hosted a popular Fiji Diving adventure show during his Television Career.
Commodore Esala Teleni was a Fijian naval officer, who served the military-backed interim government as Commissioner of the Fiji Police Force from 1 July 2007 to mid-2010. He then served as Fiji's Ambassador to China till 2014 and the Fijian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea.
Attar Singh is a Fijian trade unionist of Indian descent. As of January 2007, he is the General Secretary of the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions (FICTU), one of two major umbrella bodies for trade unions in Fiji.
Francis Frederick Kean was the Commander of the Fijian Navy when, in 2006, he was charged with murder. He was convicted of manslaughter the following year.
Angenette (Angie) Heffernan is a Fijian human rights and democracy activist and Executive Director of the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity (PCPI). Prior to PCPI she was a prominent regional environmental political campaigner for Greenpeace Australia for eight years. She established the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity with Suliana Siwatibau and social justice campaigner Aisake Casimira to combat perceived corruption and bad governance in the Pacific region, She is known for her strong stance against political and state corruption and recently for her outspoken opposition to the coup d'état carried out by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces on 5 December 2006.
Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka is a former career soldier who joined the Army in 1981 and was commissioned after attending an Officers commissioning course in Fiji. He was briefly the Acting Land Force Commander in January 2006. He was dismissed from this position on 13 January 2006, after only two days in the post. He disagreed with the Commander on issues affecting the Military and attempted to shut out the Commander from the barracks. His attempt to rally the troops to his cause failed; they saw it as a coup attempt against the Commander and withheld their support for his actions. Baledrokadroka was dismissed as a result. Prior to his appointment as Acting Land Force Commander, Baledrokadroka had attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College, Canberra,in 2003.
A series of events took place in the Pacific republic of Fiji in 2006, involving an ongoing public feud between the government and military. Tensions took a dramatic turn for the worse on 11–13 January, with reports of unusual troop and naval deployments, crisis meetings of the National Security Council, and the erection of police roadblocks. Rumours also swept the capital that the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, had been arrested by the police on government orders, but the Military denied this. The crisis came to a head on the 13th, with Bainimarama announcing that he had dismissed the Acting Land Force Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka for insubordination. This event was a precursor to the military coup that finally took place on 5 December 2006.