Email on the Coup in Fiji

Email on the Coup

To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Ian Fraser
Date: May 19, 2000 12:58 pm.
Appears to be a coup proceeding in Fiji. If anyone has access to news about it it would be appreciated here if you could post: our internet (ie University of the South Pacific's, through Fiji) is cut off, presumably by the military.

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 19, 2000 1:24 pm.
Karen and I are in Fiji, and we appear to still have internet access. We have no news about this, I was literally reading the asao message when Karen came in the house and announced the news. We'll turn on the radio and keep everyone posted.

This comes as a complete surprise to us. There has been a renewed interest lately in the Taukei Movement--I attended one of their rallies a couple weeks ago, but apparently they are not behind this. We have been told: "not Taukei, not the police, not the military." But at this point everything is hearsay.

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 19, 2000 2:38 pm.
Here is an update on the Fiji situation:

After turning on the radio I caught the tail-end of a speech given by George Speight, who is the one who is claiming to be in charge. He reassured everyone that the government was under civilian control.

In a press conference just concluded, Speight announced members of the interim government. This was not televised or on radio. Radio reporters are reiterating that it is being called a "civil take-over" by a coalition of parties supporting the rights of indigenous Fijians.

A couple of the new ministers of the cabinet were announced, but I was not able to get their names. I believe they said that Timoci Silatolui, an SVT leader from Rewa, has been named interim prime minister. But this is not reliable, just a guess at what I heard. He has been a vocal opponent of the current government, among those who have been stressing that things have to change now.

Parliament was held captive this morning, are now currently being held in a room, heavily guarded. The members are not under any house arrest, however. The members of parliament who are currently in the House that they are also not under arrest, assured family members that they are in good care.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked people to leave the central district in Suva. Also they have asked that no one go into the city.

There are reports of looting in Suva, at least one fire in the city. A lot of people standing around and watching... Reporter describes the situation as "very volatile."

Today was the day that a coalition of indigenous Fijian parties was to stage another march in Suva, and there had been some warnings that this one was going to be "rough." The series of marches (I attended the first in Lautoka, sponsored by the Taukei Movement) are protesting a number current government policies, in particular alleged interference with the Fijian Native Land Trust Board. They submitted petitions to the government asking them to reconsider policies and demand a change in the constitution that establishes and assured indigenous Fijian Prime Minister. These petitions had been ignored by the Chaudhry government.

Chaudhry himself last week reaffirmed the people's right to protest, but made comments suggesting that such marches, because involving so few people, were inconsequential.

That's it for the moment. I'll go over recent articles in the papers to try to give some more background on the climate leading up to this. But we here are all surprised.

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To: Steve Leavitt
From: Chris Leavitt
Date: May 19, 2000
Hi,

I just heard about the coup events from the BBC and got more information from fijilive.com and we're wondering what, if any, effect it might have on your activities!

Dad

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 19, 2000 6:28 pm.

Listening to the evening news in Fiji: curfew has been declared for Suva for 7:00 pm, the US Govt. has criticized the events in Fiji today. George Speight has declared himself "President" of Fiji. Speight said the new government will address the issues dearest to Fijians. We are to expect a number of proposals from the new government. In response to a question about the statement issued by the US Embassy, Speight said (I am paraphrasing), "I implore them [the US] to recognize the rights of indigenous Fijians in Fiji. I would add that it is not in the best interest of the United States to take actions against the will of indigenous Fijians."

The news continued, talking about the looting in Suva. It's fairly widespread, but doesn't seem devastating. Then they went on to talk about how "well planned" the takeover was. They talked about the march, which apparently went ahead today, with protesters having no idea what was happening at Parliament. But it later became clear that there was some coordination between the march and those that took over Parliament. International telecommunications lines were cut just as they went ahead. (My own contact with the internet was out for most of the afternoon but appears to be back). Two gunshots were heard from the parliamentary complex. They talked about how this was reminiscent of the 1987 coup. They closed with a statement about the "bleak" future of Fiji.

A further story discussed how businesses, banks, schools, etc. closed early today. The police commander requests that people not panic. They are working to keep law and order, all is under control.

I have gone back over the newspapers from the last week, and there is remarkably little indication of what was to come in the coup today. There was a march planned for today, the third in a series. I attended the first in Lautoka, photos at:

http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/ANTDEPT/fiji99/photos3/photos.htm

The marches have been sponsored by various indigenous Fijian groups, including the SVT party and the Taukei Movement. The third was to be today in Suva.

Otherwise, latest news reports on the coup show few developments. There was a brief press conference headed by Straight and "new" Prime Minister Silatolu. Silatolu addressed the people in Fijian, saying that they were now heeding their cries, that Fiji would be returned to Fijians. There were statements telling people not to panic, to avoid the downtown area of Suva, and so forth. A couple of "new" Ministers were announced. That was it.

Much of the news coverage has been focused on looting and fires in Suva. People are taking advantage of the confusion to break into stores and take things. The TV pictures showed the streets to be a mess.

Everyone seems to be now waiting to see what will happen next.

In going through the newspapers, I did find a couple of articles that have a bearing one today's events, and I have retyped them here. They both come from the same issue of Monday's Fiji's Daily Post:

Monday, May 15

SVT WARY OF PROPOSED BILL

The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei fear the controversial Sustainable Development Bill, should it be enacted into law, would alienate indigenous Fijians from their own land

SVT general secretary, Jone Banuve said yesterday the bill specifically stipulated all native land and resources be subject to a national resource management plan. This plan was to be established by the national resource management unit which is part of the government.

Mr. Bunuve said, "The Bill, when passed, will make it an offence for anyone, including the resource owner, to utilise the land or resource for any other activity except being approved by the government

"The direct implication on native resources and land will be that its use will be restricted. No owner will be free [with] his right to land unless it is in line with the government plan. This is not acceptable to the Fijians as it will alienate native lands and resources to the government control."

Mr. Banuve revealed the SVT will be supporting the planned Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party march on the 19th of this month. This was agreed at a meeting with other Fijian political parties last week.

The parties are expecting the number of protesters to doubled compared to the SVT march on April 28.

"This will be the third march and the indigenous people will not be deterred until they achieve their goal," said Mr. Banuve. "Fijians will not settle for anything else.

The parties are demanding the constitution be reviewed and an exclusive Fijian Government be put in place."

Their next move is to stage a peaceful protest to coincide with the arrival of the delegates for the signing of the Suva Declaration.

Notably, a similar sustainable-styled bill was in parliament during the fledgling Bavadra-led Government when the then Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka stormed the Lower House.

The bill barred vessels carrying nuclear war heads to enter Fiji. The "neither confirm or deny" policy by super powers was not entertained.

United States of America was not too pleased with Fiji's new anti-nuclear policy.

Subsequently, after the coup, international observers pointed at Uncle Sam to have been linked to the overthrow of the Bavadra-led Fiji Labour Party.

In the same issue:

WILL THE MARCH BE A "BLODDY" AFFAIR?
by Mesake Koroi

Yesterday, Sunday May 14, marked the 13th anniversary of Sitiveni Rabuka's military coup.

For most of us, the day passed without much notice, except, of course, that it was "Mother's Day".

For Christians the day was celebrated in churches with emphasis on peace, love and family unity.

For others May 14, 2000 was cause for celebrations as husbands and children pampered their wives and mothers.

Yesterday was indeed a far cry from the dark hours of May 14, when the then Col. Rabuka marched into parliament and kidnapped Dr. Timoci Bavadra's democratically elected government.

That is now history. But what lay ahead is still a mystery.

Word has it that the Nationalist/Vanua Tako Lavo march planned for Friday May 20 [sic] is likely to be a bloody affair.

My guru "Daucina" ["patron spirit"] said there was talk of bloodshed among the perpetrators of the march at a meeting held in Suva on Friday night.

There were also talks of burning and looting.

However, there were some moderates who thought that the last thing the marchers would want to do is turn their peaceful demonstration int a blood bath.

We can only plead with the organisers and hope that common sense will prevail.

Incidentally, the May 20 [sic] march is no longer limited to the Nationalists only.

Last week, the Nationalists have been holding joint meeting swith the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), the Taukei Movement and other Fijian political parties discussing how best the march could be used to advance "Taukei" aspirations.

And what is that [sic] Taukei aspirations?

Well, the Taukei demand, believe it or not, has completely changed.

The SVT has completely abandoned the multiracial policy it preached and practiced in the lead up to last year's general election.

The new SVT approach now is based on the same tune the Nationalists have been singing from the days of the late Sakeiasi Butadroka, that is, Fiji is for the Fijians.

Like the nationalists, they are now demanding a review of the constitution and put in place a government consisting exclusively of Fijians.

Now that is a far cry from the working relationship and unity package signed by former SVT President Sitiveni Rabuka, National Federation Party Leader Jai Ram Reddy and United General Party boss David Pickering in 1998.

It is also a far cry from the 1997 constitution spear-headed, approved and adopted by the SVT.

But, that is not the end of the SVT/Nationalist Tako Lavo/Taukei Movement protest.

In its effort to embarrass Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's government, the group plans to go international as well.

And what better opportunity to get international exposure than to stage a protest at Nadi International Airport to coincide with the arrival of delegates from 80 member countries of the ACP/EU for the signing of the Suva Declaration at the civic centre next month on June 7.

However, as the country focuses on the May 29 protest march, it became evident that not all is well within the Nationalist/Vanua Tako Lavo party.

A notable absentee from the recent joint meetings of the Nationalists and the SVT has been former parliamentarian Kavekini Navuso.

Whether it is by choice or simply that he is not available, Navuso's absence has raised a lot of questions.

It is no secret that Navuso, the Secretary General of the party, is not happy with some of the activities of the party.

He is reported to be particularly not happy with house Saula Telawa has taken over the Presidency of the Nationalist Party following the death of the late Sakeasi Butadroka six months ago.

Navuso believes that Butadroka's Nationalist Party no longer exist after it merged with the Vanua Tako Lavo Party before last year's general election.

But other think otherwise, claiming that each section of the now united party still runs its affairs separately.

It is a bit confusing, and it now appears that the Taukei Movement has taken over.

By the way, while still with the Taukei Movement, Home Affairs Minister, Jioji Uluinakauvadra is on the war path.

He wants a certain former Iranian national deported immediately.

It now appears that the man, an explosive expert, came to Fiji as an engineer by a local company.

The man is believed to be linked to the Colo-i-suva meeting two weeks ago where plans for the alleged overthrow of Tu Ma's government was discussed. Minister Uluinakauvadra is not happy because he understood the police have yet to act on an earlier deportation order issued against the man. Originally the man is from Iran but is now a naturalised Swede.

That's it for now.

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To: Fiji Students & Family, Union Anthro Dept. etc.
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 19, 2000 6:58 pm.
You may have heard by now that today there was a "civilian" coup in Fiji. I am sending you some notes I wrote to the ASAOnet today about it. Everyone in the village is quite interested. There is a fair amount of tacit support for those claiming to be furthering the interests of indigenous Fijians, but we don't have a good take yet on whether the villagers here actually support the coup. So far those we know are treating it as compelling news story.

I don't know how coups usually go, but this one seemed amazingly tame. Some people just walked in and took over parliament, holding the prime minister and several other members hostage while they took over. There was no direct involvement from the military, but the coup leaders claim support from military leaders. Who knows what the next few days will bring.

There was some violence in Suva, with looting and a couple small fires. The coup coincided with a large protest march scheduled for today, also in Suva, a march protesting government policies towards indigenous Fijians. It appears now that leaders of the march coordinated with coup leaders. At any rate, there were many people in the streets, and as events went down, some people started looting.

Anyway, this afternoon I placed some reports with the Pacific Anthropologists Listserv that I belong to, and I thought you all might be interested in them as well.

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To: Steve Leavitt
From: Andy Spitz
Date: May 20, 2000 4:43 am.

Wow! This is quite a surprise. Do you have a good handle yet on what the villager's reactions are? Is there any noticable tension between them and the local Indians? Also, is it wise for me to come in a month in a half... or should I wait to see how the situation develops? Personally, I think that this would be as interesting time as any to be in the country (as long as I can avoid any bloodshead). Since the US government seems to be opposed to the coup, do you (as an American) feel any tension among people in the area?

Please keep me updated as often as possible! Thanks!

Andy

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To: David Brison
From: Karen Brison
Date: May 20, 2000 6:50 am.

Hi Dad:

Thanks for the NYT article - actually phone lines were only cut for about an hour so we have been able to get on-line for most of the goings-on - we don't yet have much more news than what was in the Times article. I was out interviewing someone who runs a small shop yesterday when a customer came in to say there had been a coup - he was teaser/jokester type so we don't know whether to to believe him or not and there was no phone or radio around. So I headed back home where my neigbor came running out to ask if I had heard the radio broadcast - everyone seemed surprised though not unhappy about it (these were the Fijians of course, not the Indians). We had known there was supposed to be a big march in which our local Tui was taking place in Suva but hadn't really thought of it leading to a coup. Shortly after that (around 1) all the school children were sent home and then the workers from local businesses (not clear why accept maybe they didn't want people to be out on the streets in case there was violence). Steve was getting in all sorts of messages from the US via our Oceania list trying to track what was going on (still not really clear) so I started running around to ask the neighbors. We were all listening to the same radio braodcast. I came upon a group of guys next door drinking grog who were happy to give me the details and seemed kind of pleased by the turn of events though not by any means riled up or ecstatically happy. Steve actually got mad when [one woman] was expressing these sentiments (well what can they expect...we shouldn't have foreigner running the country...we gave him a chance and he just wasn't listening...) and started going on and on about how foreign investors would now leave Fiji and Union might not want to send their students back (wer had initial go ahead ot come back next spring) She seemed totally surprised by these ideas and kept saying that we could just explain to everyone back home that Fijians had to do it because they coudn't have a foreigner leading their country and the whole problem was the 1997 constitution which had failed to specify that the PM had to be an indigenous Fijian but that once that was ironed out everything would be fine in Fiji again. So anyway, we are waiting for the 7 AM news broadcast to see if we can find anything else out. As of now we are stil planning on coming home next Friday.

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 20, 2000 6:51 pm.
Reporting in after the evening news today. The prime minister and other in parliament continue to be held hostage. Ratu Mara issued an address condemning the actions of Speight et al., and other organizations are weighing in against them as well. Speight has agreed to talk with international journalists camped outside the parliament gates. He announced that more appointments and declarations by the "new" government will be made on Monday. At least one of the people he had named to his new government declined to serve. I didn't catch his name. There is a curfew in place in Suva and other major cities. People are being told to stay home.

Rabuka has also weighed in against yesterday's actions, saying that the government should be restored.

There was a question earlier about where the looting occurred. Today 150 people appeared before the court with charges of looting--most pleaded not guilty. The stores mentioned included Soqo clothing store and Jack's Handicrafts in addition to a grocery store, the name I didn't catch. The photos from TV last night showed widespread destruction.

We had some violence here today in Rakiraki--last night the Naria Primary School, located just outside of Rakiraki village, was burned to the ground. This is a school with mostly Indian students. Then this afternoon, in Vaileka town near Rakiraki, fires were started in the Courts store and then later a series of stores nearby. The fire raged out of control for a couple of hours before fire fighters arrived from Tavua and Vatukola gold mine. Several stores burned, but the one in Courts seemed to have been put out without destroying the store. I went down to watch the fire burning. It has been a sad day for us here. Police told me that they had detained three men, Fijians, two of them from here in our village. I hadn't really expected all of this to touch us here, but it has.

Photos of fires in Rakiraki area

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To: David Brison
From: Karen Brison
Date: May 21, 2000 6:25 am.
Dad:

Thanks for the Globe and Mail article - it's interesting to see how everyone's take on things changes as time goes on - no one around here had heard of Speight but after seeing him on TVwe remembered seeing him a couple of weeks ago on a Fiji Corssfire style program defending the mahogany deal he worked out when he was in charge.

Friday night a local Indian primary school was burned down (no one was hurt) just outside Rakiraki. The school had apparently been burned down also in the 1987 coup. I have been asking around but haven't yet found out why this school has been targeted over the many other Indian schools in the area - then yesterday 3 shops were burned down in Vaileka - Steve and Joe (one of the young men from here) tried to drive into town to get pictures of the fire but were stopped by a police roadblack. So they parked the car and walked into town the back way (!). Once there they discovered people battling to fight the flames and some neighbors sitting on the sidewalk drinking kava and watching the scene.

The biggest problem is that there is no firefighting equipment in this area - they had to bring in firetrucks from the gold mine which is about an hour's drive away. I have been encouraged to find that many of the people around here are more moderate than [some of those nearest us]. [One] was stewing over Steve's comments about international investment and tourism most of yesterday but by yesterday afternoon came over to tell me that people had said that after the 1987 coup too and it had never happened (I guess a Fijian housewife who had nothing to do with tourism might not i fact notice a cut back in international investment...)

However, [one other] has clearly been feeling uncertain about the whole thing asking me what I thought and clicking her tongue about how bad the Indians must feel at seeing all the looting on TV. [Another woman] came over and announced that she was glad the the coup was not succeeding.

It does seem pretty clear that they can't succeed since the army and police are not supporting. However, there is still potential for a lot of violence inside and outside parliament before it all gets resolved. Ratu Mara the President (figurehead type position) went on TV yesterday pleading with Fijians to be calm and saying that their concerns over the land would be addressed. Rabuka (the 1987 coup leader) has also been on TV condeming the attempted coup. So anyway, it is still only 6:30 AM so it's not clear yet what kind of looting went on overnight. Everyone was predicting however that if people were attacking stores in the day it would probably be worse at night. Thanks for the postings.

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To: Karen Brison and Steve Leavitt
From: David Brison
Date: May 21, 2000 12:54 am.
The Toronto Star News Story (excerpt)

May 21, 2000

Ethnic Fijians vow to support coup leader
Armed attempt to reinstate cabinet would spark war, group says

SUVA, Fiji (AP) - Two influential ethnic Fijian groups pledged their support today for rebels holding the South Pacific nation's ethnic Indian prime minister and members of his cabinet hostage in parliament.

Ratu Tevita Bolobolo, leader of the Taukei movement of ethnic Fijians, read out a statement that was also endorsed by the main opposition party, known as SVT.

``We do not and we will never accept the reinstatement of the Chaudhry government,'' Bolobolo said, referring to Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

``We hereby state that we fully support the abolition of the 1997 constitution and warn (Fijian President) Ratu Mara that any intervention by force will lead to all-out civil war.

``We the Taukei are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice so as to return this country to the Taukei.''

The statement was the first major sign of support for rebel leader and self-appointed new prime minister George Speight, who launched an armed coup Friday, saying he represented all ethnic Fijians.

The statement was sent to Ratu Mara along with a demand for changes to the constitution so only an indigenous Fijian can hold the offices of prime minister and president and to revert all freehold land to native ownership.

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 22, 2000 9:41 am.
I have heard from several sources now that the statement made last night by the Tui Navitilevu, Tevita Bolobolo, pledged support for the rebels and threatened civil war should Ratu Mara remove the rebels by force. The Tui's statement was not covered on Fiji One TV news, to the best of our knowledge, but it has been covered on the radio, and the international press is reporting it as well.

The Tui Navitilevu is our own Tui here in Rakiraki and our immediate neighbor. I drove him to the march in Lautoka last month and was present when he was named President of the Taukei Movement. He told me at the time that he was "completely surprised" by the move to make him President. He agreed to serve for one year. Sources in the village say he is indeed committed to this cause, having said before leaving for Suva this past week that he was willing to die for the cause. He repeated that yesterday.

He and others are apparently considering boycotting the meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs scheduled for tomorrow.

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To: David Brison
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 22, 2000 12:11 pm.
Thanks for the latest article. These Canadian newspapers are providing information that we haven't found elsewhere. Regarding the Star article, Tevita Bolobolo is in fact our own Tui Navitilevu who lives just a couple houses down from us. It is true that he was named President of the Taukei Movement during our trip to Lautoka. As to whether he has in fact come out in support of the rebels, we did hear a general report from BBC saying that "some" indigenous leaders had come out in support, saying they would die for the cause if need be. But yesterday we also heard a report that the rebels were issuing false press releases, so it's still a bit unclear. We're going to try to confirm that report today. Karen did say that the Tui was "fired up" as he planned to attend the march last Friday; he reportedly said that he was ready to die for the cause. It seems we're living here in a bit of a redneck militant backwater area.

However, Rabuka, the leader of SVT, has in fact come out strongly against the rebels, so that portion of the story is apparently inaccurate. So, as to our Tui's statement being supposedly endorsed by SVT, that cannot be true, as we understand it.

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To: David Brison
From: Karen Brison
Date: May 23, 2000 7:10 am.
Hi Dad

We had quite the surrealistic day yesterday starting with receiving from you the Globe and Mail article which had the long interview with our local Tui (lives just up the street...) Ratu Tevita Bolobolo which wasn't covered by the Fiji TV news - this confirmed our suspicions that Fiji 1 news was being very selective in its coverage to keep people from getting riled up - the radio and newspapers however are giving much fuller covereage. We then went into town to get a paper and found everything closed up and the police and firetrucks much in evidence (I was actually glad to see that as one of my early fears was that the police and fire fighters wouldn't do anything to stop violence as they might be in support).

We then came back to rumors that the house of George Shur Raj an Indian from this area who is the MP in the open seat (each electorate has an Indian seat, a Fijian seat, and an ethnically open seat) had been burned down over night. I was very distressed to hear this as I had met Shur Raj and was struck by how well he spoke Fijian (unlike many Indians) and how good his relations with Fijians were - he group up as part of the only Indian family in a Fijian village - so we actually thought about trying to leave early when we heard this rumor but then we went down to take a look and found the rumors to be untrue - house still there, store still open - the family was shocked to hear that such rumors were going around and said they had veyr good relations with the villagers and were sure that would never happen.

Then we returned to find everyone saying that Bill had been waiting for Steve to drive him around to take kava to all the smaller Tui's in the area to apologize on behalf of the Tui Navitilevu for having spoken for all Ra in his statement (said all Ra supported the coup) without asking people what they thought first. This was suggested not by the Tui himself who is still in Suva but by Bill's brother in Suva. So we hopped in the car and went out in pursuit of Bill who had left in a taxi and caught up with him at his second stop where Steve joined up with him. Steve felt perhaps these stops were as much confirming that people supported the Tui as apologizing to him but at least it indicated that they had not in fact all discussed this and agreed about it beforehand.

At the same time big village meeting was called in Rakiraki by Tanoa the leader of Navutulevu (Rakiraki is in fact two villages, Navuavua where Billis the head and Navutulevu where Tanoa is the head). Everyone was very excited thinking that the men were going to discuss whether and how we were going to support the Tui but it turned out that Tanoa had called the meeting to discuss the problem of the young men looting in town on Saturday - saying this was a great embarrassment to the Tui to have people doing this and we needed to look after the Indians in our midst and he wanted to relay a message from the Tui that this should stop. The men stayed on chatting long after this and Steve and Bill returned and picked up the discussiion at a later stage where he felt that the men were chatting about how to support the Tui (Bill suggested to Steve that he might be able to send guns from the US after our return...).

So anyway, this should be a telling day as the Great Council of Chiefs is meeting to decide whether to remove Ratu Mara as president. There was talk of those who supported the coup (those who would want Ratu Mara removed as he is opposed to the coup) will boycott the meeting, so hopefully that indicates that they think they would lose the vote since I can otherwise see no sense in them boycotting the meeting - I'll keep you posted.

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To: Fiji Students and Families, Anthro Dept. etc.
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 24, 2000 7:49 am.
Updating you all on things here.

First, as has likely been reported by now, the Great Council of Chiefs, the most dignified and powerful body of people representing indigenous Fijian interests, last night affirmed their support for President Mara and against the rebels. Today they'll work out the details on what to do, and a lot depends on whether Speight will be good on his word and let the hostages go now that the chiefs have spoken.

Over the last couple days we've had a few tense moments, and Monday for a time we even began looking into ways we might be able to leave early. We're still not sure what will happen, though developments last night are encouraging. Much will hinge on the results of the second meeting today of the Great Council of Chiefs. The leader of the coup had said Monday that if the Great Council of Chiefs asks him to step aside and let the hostages go, he will do so because the GCC represents the same set of interests he is claiming to champion. But as of this morning, a spokesman for Speight said they were still optimistic that the chiefs would today appoint an interim government that included their members.

President Ratu Mara had said as well that the current government may well not be placed back into power, and who knows exactly what that means, but it may have been a sign of weakening from his side (he has adamantly opposed the takeover from the start). So once again it looks like it comes down to what the chiefs decide today.

As I mentioned in my updates, our own chief, the Tui Navitilevu, whom I know, declared over the weekend support for Speight and the rebels. Monday I drove our village leader and immediate neighbor (Bill) around to visit the other chiefs in this area who sit under the Tui Navitilevu, with offerings of kava to make a formal "apology" for the Tui's having spoken in Suva without formally consulting them first. I am not too sure, but this move may have also been a backhanded Fijian way of asking for their support in favor of the rebels. So I may have been aiding and abetting the enemy!

One of the chiefs we saw, a relatively young man, was completely drunk when we arrived, and he pranced around yelling at us, "I support the Tui Navitilevu! You all in Rakiraki are nothing! (The Tui Navitilevu lives in Rakiraki). You have no land! I have land!" Etc. When I asked for an explanation later in the car back home, my friends said he meant that Rakiraki people have not supported the Tui in the past (he lost an election last year) because they have "no land" (and therefore are not thoroughly committed to the indigenous Fijian cause). He, on the other hand, with land, supports the Tui. Of course Rakiraki people DO have land, but maybe not as much as him? But it all had the feel to me of protesting too much, and I was sure in reality there's no great love lost between him and our Tui Navitilevu. Anyway, he told us he would be attending the chiefs' meeting.

By mid-afternoon yesterday my suspicions of the day before seemed to have been confirmed. The radio reported that this same young chief had declared that he "fully supported" Ratu Mara and that the Tui Navitilevu didn't have the backing of the people because he had lost an election last year anyway. This of course was directly opposite to what he yelled at us when we saw him. I had suspected he was being something less than honest with us, but then again, I suppose it is conceivable that he changed once he saw the consensus of the chiefs the next day. I doubt it, though.

This development now puts in a bit different light the moment when he bore in on me with his eyes and demanded, "Do YOU support the Tui Navitilevu?, do YOU support the Tui Navitilevu?" I mumbled something about supporting the cause at least, and after that he let us go, though not before pocketing my full pack of cigarettes.

It also seemed to me that he had not wanted to accept our offering of kava--there had been some arguing between him and the older man whose role is to speak for him, but Bill and Joe assured me afterwards that they had just been arguing over who was going to speak. In the end, the Tui spoke himself, and reiterated the same points in he acceptance speech. He supported the Tui Navitilevu, Rakiraki was nothing, had no land. Etc. He also said he would take the kava up to the people in the interior and pass it on to them, so that may have been a way of not accepting it, though no one told me that.

Anyway, the next day, different tune.

So, now today, we will again await the announcement from the Great Council of Chiefs as they discuss whether the Chaudhry government should be restored or whether some interim government should be put in place instead. Meanwhile, there seem to be confirmed reports that Chaudhry had been beaten while in captivity. A doctor emerging from the scene described his situation as "stable."

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To: Oceanic Anthropology Discussion Group
From: Steve Leavitt
Date: May 24 2000 7:51 am.
Sounds like you all are having some trouble getting the most recent updates, so I thought I would add in what we've just heard a couple minutes ago. I too checked the Fijilive site and the last report was from yesterday evening 6:30, two hours before the announcement from the Great Council of Chiefs that they support President Mara against the rebels.

What happens now depends on what the council decides again today, as they work out details on what to do--whether to appoint an interim govt., who would comprise it, etc.

On the TV this morning just minutes ago we heard a statement from a spokesman for Speight. He said that they were still "optimistic" that the chiefs would side with them by appointing members of their crew to the interim government. However, Rabuka in his press conference last night closed by saying that he did not think Chaudhry had done a bad job. He seemed clearly cognizant of international responses to somehow allowing Speight to have his way.

There was also an interview with a doctor who had been inside for the last couple days, and this doctor seemed to be confirming that Chaudhry had been beaten. He said the prime minister's condition was "stable." When asked to confirm reports that Chaudhry had broken ribs, he commented that he did not have the expertise to comment on that without having looked at xrays.

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To: Anthropology News
From: Karen J. Brison and Stephen C. Leavitt
Date: October, 2000
Rural Views of the Coup in Fiji
by Karen J. Brison and Stephen C. Leavitt
Anthropology News, October 2000

On May 19th, as we were ending ten months of research in Rakiraki, Fiji, a gang of armed gunmen, led by businessman George Speight, stormed the national parliament house in Suva. They took hostage the entire parliament, including Mahendra Chaudhry, the first prime minister of Fiji from the Indo-Fijian ethnic group comprising 45% of the population. Many of these people were to remain hostage for almost two months. Now, with Speight in jail on charges of treason, the battered country is moving toward drafting yet another new constitution.

We left Fiji, just a week after the coup, with a profound sense of alienation from our friends there. We felt suddenly we had only a superficial appreciation of their feelings about ethnic relations and the nation of Fiji. We also took away a renewed appreciation for how people's views do not just sit there waiting to be discovered but instead emerge in ongoing political negotiations. We recount here our evolving reactions to the crisis and those of our indigenous Fijian neighbors.

One of us (Steve) first heard news of the coup by email, from the ASAO distribution list. Moments later Karen returned home and announced she had heard a rumor about a coup. One Fijian neighbor, clearly excited, announced, "We've showed them!" But most seemed not to know what to think. Our research assistant phoned her soldier husband in Suva to find out the military's reaction. When he said they were not behind the coup, she told us she agreed it was not good.

Initially, people mostly wanted news. We clustered around our television, frustrated to find reports only every three hours, and those merely repeated old information. Reports said the event had been confined to Suva and might not succeed. We sent reassuring emails to North America saying there had been few repercussions. But then early the next morning some friends said they had been up all night watching as a local Indian primary school burned to the ground. They joked about having scared a young Indian man with threats to burn his house if he didn't tie up his dog. They were amazed he had taken them seriously.

Afternoon brought reports of Indian-owned stores burning in the nearby town of Vaileka. While the television continued to announce relative calm, it seemed we were watching unrest first-hand. Stores in which we routinely shopped now burned out of control.

By Sunday events had gone from disturbing to positively surreal. We awoke to find that Karen's father had emailed a newspaper article, from a Toronto newspaper, quoting our own high chief, the Tui Navitilevu, his house only a hundred yards from ours, declaring "any intervention by force" to restore the Chaudhry government "will lead to all-out civil war." He added that he fully supported the abolition of the 1997 constitution. All this was news to us despite our persistent pursuit of local views and monitoring of the news.

Then, as we drank our morning coffee, a truckload of policemen arrived out front. They stormed past our house looking for an alleged arsonist, a young neighbor to whom Steve had displayed his digital photographs of burning stores the previous day. Meanwhile, in church the pastor spoke on the virtues of receiving the Holy Spirit. He made no mention of the coup.

Support for the coup seemed to grow stronger each day. One neighbor explained the problem: Fijians had been pushed into "politics" too early and shouldn't be expected to accept a "foreigner" as prime minister. Another remarked cheerfully that Fijians had been initially willing to give Chaudhry a chance, but now it was good that indigenous Fijians had taken back the government. The coup, she continued, had the benefit of drawing Fijians' attention to an upcoming generation of indigenous leaders like George Speight. One man argued that any new constitution should bar Indo-Fijians from taking cabinet positions at all.

On our return home, we thought about why we had been surprised by the Fijians' reactions. Of course we had known that there was a long history of debate about the role of Indo-Fijians in the Fijian government. The role of Prime Minister had been reserved for indigenous Fijians for many years. Moreover, an earlier coup had negated a 1987 election that brought to power a party backed by Indo-Fijians. But despite the economic hardships that had followed the 1987 coup, none of our neighbors saw any problems with another coup.

We also knew that feelings against the Chaudhry government had been rising in recent months as it tried to introduce land reforms. About 83% of the land in Fiji is mandated as an inalienable possession of Fijian corporate lineages. But Indo-Fijians work much of the prime agricultural land on long-term leases, and many of these are now due to expire. The Chaudhry government had set up a land commission to discuss reforms designed to alleviate the misery of evicted Indo-Fijian tenants and to make more productive use of Fijian land. The Rakiraki people had seen these moves as the first step toward challenging Fijian land ownership. And if the land went, many said, indigenous Fijians would soon become a powerless proletariat devoid of culture and pride. Nevertheless, despite all this, we had not anticipated feelings so hostile to Indo-Fijians. No one we spoke with showed any symptom of regret over the burning of the primary school.

Why had we been unprepared for these attitudes? First, we believe that Speight's actions catalyzed local sentiment in a direction they might not otherwise have taken. Just a few weeks earlier only three men from the 42 villages led by the Tui Navitilevu had attended a nearby march protesting Chaudhry government actions. And a week before the coup we met many of our indigenous Fijian neighbors at a local Indo-Fijian wedding. Some spoke about long-term friendships with local Indo-Fijians. Yet over the course of that week, lines became more clearly drawn as the Tui Navitilevu and Speight prompted the local people to believe their land had been in imminent danger.

That said, we had probably underestimated the extent of the fear of Indo-Fijians and the Chaudhry government. Routine patterns of interaction can obscure tensions. Fiji is renowned as a nation where ethnic groups with very different interests and values have co-existed peacefully because of a national and local division of labor which obviates conflict. We hadn't seen much conflict between Indo-Fijians and indigenous Fijians because the two groups interacted only in limited and well-defined contexts. Also, Fijians divide the world into two fundamental categories: "indigenous Fijians" and "guests"; they pride themselves as a people who look after guests well, and many extend this model to relations with Indo-Fijians. We had not realized how people would react when they perceived Indo-Fijians to be overstepping their place as guests.

Our experiences in Fiji, in short, humbled us and renewed our respect for the difficulties of fieldwork.

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