Fiji Now They'll Do It Their Way

By J.D. Reed

For a brief time last week, it seemed as if paradise had been regained in the South Pacific archipelago of Fiji. Just ten days after Lieut. Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka marched into Parliament and arrested the recently elected government, a relaxed crowd of some 3,000 Fijians gathered outside the Civic Center in the capital city of Suva. People danced to pop tunes played by the Royal Fijian Armed Services band, which included in its program, appropriately, Bridge over Troubled Waters and Onward Christian Soldiers. When Lieut. Colonel Rabuka appeared, the band enthusiastically struck up the song I Did It My Way.

Inside the center, however, the Great Council of Chiefs, which is made up of some 150 tribal leaders and officials who advise the government on internal affairs, was not enjoying developments. They were looking for a way out of the worst crisis in the country's history. Then, in the next few days, Fiji suffered through widespread racial violence between native Fijians and Indians.

The clashes sent shock waves throughout the South Pacific and cast a pall over the country's second biggest industry, tourism. No one was certain all week who was actually running the troubled paradise. The violence and unrest were a trauma for a country whose racial harmony had led Pope John Paul II last year to call Fiji a "symbol of hope for the world." Said Agricultural Minister Jo Nacola: "We haven't ever had scenes like that before in the history of our country."

The coup was staged by native Fijian officers who objected to last month's election victory by the coalition of Labor and National Federation parties, which is dominated by Fijians of Indian descent. Although native Fijians have controlled the government since the country's independence in 1970, they make up only 47% of the population. Indians, who arrived in the 19th century as sugarcane workers, now constitute 49%.

The takeover, though, fueled rather than cooled ethnic tension. Early last week business in Suva was at a standstill after fearful Indian shopkeepers boarded up their stores with storm shutters and retreated to their homes. Army units patrolled the streets, keeping watch on loitering gangs of Fijian youths. Eventually, some 500 native Fijians gathered in the center of Suva and began to run riot. They swarmed through the city, wrecking the stalls of Indian traders. One group hauled Indian taxi drivers from their vehicles, beating them and breaking car windows. The mob then charged 1,000 Indians in a city park and began punching and kicking them. An army unit finally had to be called to assist police in breaking up the melee. Both Australia and New Zealand had ships standing by near the port of Suva to bring out their nationals in case the rioting escalated.

Racial conflict was also behind an attempted skyjacking in Fiji last week. An Indian airport worker, Amzad Ali, took over an Air New Zealand 747 that was making a stopover between Tokyo and Auckland, New Zealand. Armed with dynamite and a knife, he threatened to blow up the aircraft unless all ousted government leaders were released. Ali allowed the 105 passengers and 23 crew members to disembark but held captive the captain, the first officer and the | flight engineer. After six tense hours, the flight engineer ended the siege by hitting the hijacker over the head with a bottle of Teacher's Scotch whisky, fracturing his skull.

All that violence took place against a backdrop of confusion over who exactly was in control in the islands. Early in the week army officers freed deposed Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra and the 27 members of his government. The release was part of a careful plan negotiated between Rabuka and Fiji's Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who is an independent Commonwealth official representing Queen Elizabeth II. Ganilau had stood firm against the coup, declaring a state of emergency and ordering the troops to return to their barracks. When they refused, he began negotiations with Rabuka, who had appointed himself chairman of the Council of Ministers. But when Chief Justice Sir Timoci Tuivaga condemned the coup and declared that Rabuka's suspension of the constitution was both "illegal and invalid," Ganilau canceled the swearing-in.

The Governor-General then proposed a new scheme to bring the crisis to the "speediest possible conclusion." He suggested dissolving Parliament and organizing new elections. He also proposed a council of advisers to study the 1970 constitution and suggest changes. With no one clearly in command, Ganilau said he should become the temporary head of government.

The Great Council of Chiefs discussed the proposals for four days before accepting most of them. A 19-member advisory council was formed to help Ganilau run the country and review the constitution. New elections will be held within six months. Said Ganilau: "We are all eager to put everything behind us immediately so that we can return to the style of life and freedom that have characterized our nation."

Even if the political confusion ends, the coup and the rioting have already had a destructive impact. Tourism, the major business after sugar, is expected to drop 50% this year, according to local travel officials. In 1986 some 257,000 visitors came to the tropical paradise, but this year the total is not expected to be much above 100,000. The U.S. Government last week issued a travel advisory recommending that, for the present, Americans defer all nonessential trips to the country.

Fiji's relations with its neighbors have suffered a setback. Air New Zealand has suspended flights to Fiji, and labor unions in Australia, whose government refused to recognize the interim military council, have forced its % planes to fly empty into Fiji before taking normal loads out. Maritime unions in both countries have also banned the handling of cargo going to Fiji. No matter what happens now, the island paradise will never again be quite the same.

With reporting by John Dunn/Suva