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.

Official reaction

Public Service Commission (PSC) Chief Executive Anare Jale said that the Commander's threatened actions were illegal, but that the PSC, not being the appointing body, was powerless to discipline him. Other non-government commentators accused the government of neglecting its responsibility to deal with a serious challenge.

Minister Vosanibola finally reacted to the Military's demands on 1 January 2006, saying that their stated intention to take over the office of the Home Affairs Chief Executive was unlawful. "The kind of comments he is making is unconstitutional. He should follow the Constitution," he said. He called on the commander to show some "respect," and criticized the media for giving him a platform to air his antigovernment opinions.

In a further statement on 9 January, Vosanibola said that Bainimarama's future as Military Commander would be decided in a meeting later in the week with Vice-President Madraiwiwi. The Prime Minister, for his part, issued a gag order prohibiting Cabinet Ministers except Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola from commenting on the dispute. The order was signed by CEO Jioji Kotobalavu on Prime Minister Qarase's behalf.

Following a truce brokered on 16 January by Madraiwiwi, Vosanibola welcomed the end to the impasse and expressed hopes that it would not resurface.

Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes delivered a strongly worded attack on foreign media, particularly New Zealand television and newspapers, on 18 January, saying that they had orchestrated and exaggerated the crisis. "There was no threat to overthrow the government, which is what a coup is," Hughes told Fiji Live. It was a matter internal to the Military, an attempted mutiny at worst, supported by only one person. He considered it irresponsible of the foreign media to interpret the developments as signs of a coup.

Politicians' reactions

The comments of some politicians, and the silence of others concerning the dispute, was noted by the Fiji Sun early in January 2006.

Sitiveni Rabuka

Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, also a former Military Commander, called on Vosanibola and Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to face up to their "responsibility" to front up to Bainimarama and discuss the situation with him. The buck stopped with the Prime Minister, he insisted.

On 12 January 2006, the Fiji Village news service cited a New Zealand website as quoting Rabuka as saying that Fiji was on the brink of another coup, and calling on Prime Minister Qarase to get tough with Commodore Bainimarama. The government might fear the power of the army, but the Commander could be replaced, Rabuka said.

Rabuka's comments brought immediate criticism from both sides of the disagreement. Home Affairs Minister Josefa Vosanibola accused Rabuka of inflaming the situation by talking to the international media, while Military spokesman Captain Neumi Leweni said Rabuka's comments were causing unnecessary panic among the population.

Mick Beddoes

Mick Beddoes, leader of the United Peoples Party, spoke out on 29 December and called on the Prime Minister to call off his holiday on his home island of Vanua Balavu and return to Suva to take charge of the situation. His absence reflected a "could not care less" attitude, Beddoes charged, although the disagreement was a serious one which demanded urgent resolution. Commodore Bainimarama's actions were out of order, he considered, and in a true democracy he would have to be disciplined. In this case, however, the government had brought the situation on itself by its policy of appeasing persons involved or implicated in the 2000 coup. "The Government has never been impartial in its dealings with all matters relating to the events of May 19th and November 2, 2000," the Fiji Sun quoted him as saying.

Among the actions that Beddoes cited as showing the government's support for coup-sympathizers were the secret inquiry which cleared former Police Commissioner Isikia Savua of allegations made against him by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the appointment of several coup suspects - including Savua - as ambassadors, the commuting of the death sentence against coup frontman George Speight, and allowing Cabinet Ministers to remain in office while awaiting and standing trial for coup-related offences. The controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, authorizing a Commission to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup, was another example of the government's bias, which had antagonized the Military, Beddoes said.

Beddoes reiterated these sentiments on 5 January 2006.

On 12 January, Beddoes distanced himself and his party from Fiji Labour Party (FLP) President Jokapeci Koroi's comments the night before that the FLP would support a Military coup. A coup would be detrimental to Fiji, he said, and said he was sure that Koroi's comments did not reflect the position of the Labour Party.

On 13 January, he said that the government had failed by allowing a crisis to develop to the point where it sparked nationwide rumours of an imminent coup. It was irresponsible of the Prime Minister, he said, to "pass the buck" to a subordinate minister who in turn passed it to the Vice-President. The Prime Minister should either take charge in person, or resign.

Fiji Labour Party

Fiji Labour Party (FLP) spokesman Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi said that Bainimarama's frustration with the government, and with the delay of the court martial, was understandable.

On 11 January 2006, the FLP President, Senator Jokapeci Koroi told Fiji Television's One National News that in the event of the Military staging a coup, the FLP would support it. Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola reported her comments to the police, and called for her to be required to answer to charges of incitement and of threatening public order.

The next day, FLP spokespeople declined to comment on unusual troop deployments at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, referring all questions to Deputy Leader Poseci Bune, who was away in the northern town of Savusavu. Leader Mahendra Chaudhry was en route home from a visit to India, and could not be reached for comment.

At a press conference on 16 January, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry blamed Prime Minister Qarase for the standoff with the Military. As "evidence," he cited an alleged plot to depose Ratu Josefa Iloilo from the presidency in 2000, which Bainimarama, who implicated Qarase, claimed to have foiled. He pointed to the selective releasing of coup-convicts from prison, the controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill providing for amnesty to be granted to coup convicts, and the protracted process of commissioning of a Judge Advocate to oversee a court martial retrial.

Chaudhry endorsed claims that the dismissed Land Force Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka, had attempted to depose the Commander at the behest of the government, and denied claims that the FLP was colluding with the Commander to depose the government. He distanced himself somewhat from Koroi's provocative pronouncements, saying that he had not seen the full tape of the interview and did not know the context of what she had said. "If she was led into saying it, then that's wrong. The party does not support any extra constitutional means to remove a government from office," he clarified on 16 January.

Prime Minister Qarase said in reply that Chaudhry's comments were "full of lies and distortions." In a further comment on 19 January, he announced his intention to sue Chaudhry for defamation.

The truce brokered by Vice-President Madraiwiwi at a crisis meeting between the Prime Minister and the Military Commander that morning would not solve the impasse, he said, because the lines had already been drawn over the Unity Bill.

The Fiji Times quoted police spokeswoman Sylvia Low on 20 January that two complaints had been received concerning Jokapeci Koroi, one concerning her public endorsement of a potential Military coup, and the other concerning allegations she had made about the supposed role of senior civil servant Lesi Korovavala in an alleged army mutiny on 12 January. The former complaint was laid by Home Affairs Minister Josefa Vosanibola, the latter by Korovavala himself.

Ratu Epeli Ganilau

Former Military Commander Major-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, who now leads the National Alliance Party, initially reserved comment, saying that with Vice-President Madraiwiwi mediating, it seemed best to leave it to him to come up with a solution. On 6 January, however, he called on both the Military and the government to cooperate and resolve their differences, but added that he shared what he thought was a widespread belief that the government was less concerned about national security than about political advantage. The Military, he considered, was standing firm in its primary purpose of upholding security. The Commander was free to air his views, Ganilau added on 10 January, because there was no regulation to stop him. "What happened in 1987 pales in significance to what is happening now," he said.

On 13 January, following a dramatic escalation in the tension over the previous 48 hours, Ganilau said that the government must act decisively to resolve the impasse. The Military was accountable to the government of the day, he conceded, but the present government bore the responsibility for having allowed the crisis to develop. He warned against any government attempt to divide the loyalty of soldiers, saying that such a move could backfire.

On 18 January, Ganilau said that any dissent within the ranks of the Military constituted a potential threat to national security. Such an institution could not function properly unless orders were followed, and it was for good reason that mutiny was regarded as a capital offence, he said.

National Federation Party

The National Federation Party, also an opponent of the Qarase government, issued a strongly worded statement quoted by Fiji Village on 3 January 2006 and by the Fiji Times the next day, condemning Commodore Bainimarama's calls for the government's resignation. NFP General Secretary Pramod Rae rebuked Commodore Bainimarama for acting as though he was above the law. The credibility of the government was at stake as the Commander continued with what Rae called "an act of defiance against an elected government, constitutional rule and parliamentary democracy." Rae was joined on 9 January by the party leader, Raman Pratap Singh, who said in response to the latest threat from the Military to remove the government from power that the NFP was totally opposed to the notion of a coup. The government should take heed of the threat, he said.

On 13 January, the NFP's Senior Vice-President Pramod Chand condemned the Fiji Labour Party for offering support to the Military to depose the government. "The FLP is now trying to return to power not through the ballot box but by the barrel of the gun," he said. He called the call "treasonous" and "treachery of the highest order", and called for a police investigation into public statements from the FLP's President, Jokapeci Koroi. (The NFP is the chief rival of the FLP for the Indo-Fijian vote).

Fijian Political Party