Timeline Fiji
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The main island is Viti Levu where the Nadi
Int'l. Airport is located. Other islands include Taveuni and Vanua
Levu. Bouma National Park on Taveuni is 6,177 acres owned and
operated by local villages.
(SFEC, 6/13/99, p.T5)
Taukei: the Fijian devotion to land ownership and the spirits
of ancestors.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.)
1300BC The Lapita people took
once again to the open seas about this time, pushing east past the
Solomon Islands to the Bismarck archipelago and beyond to Vanuatu,
Fiji and Samoa. Theses Southeast Asian peoples had headed south from
Taiwan to Papua New Guinea and as far as the main Solomon islands,
where they stopped some 40,000 years ago.
(AFP, 11/9/10)
c1260BCE A pottery fragment from this time was
found in 2004 near Natadola in western Fiji. It was believed to have
been made by the Lapita people, who populated Polynesia.
(Arch, 1/05, p.11)
1867 Jul, In Fiji Rev. Thomas
Baker was murdered and eaten by cannibals at Nubutatau, a remote
community high in the hills of the South Pacific island of Viti
Levu. Baker had made the mistake of touching a chief’s head.
Residents later complained of bad luck and called in descendants to
lift a curse.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Baker_%28missionary%29)(AP,
11/11/03)(SSFC, 8/14/11, p.N2)
1870s Ethnic Indians were first
brought to Fiji as indentured laborers.
(SFC, 7/27/00, p.A10)
1875 Fiji’s Great Council of
chiefs was established as the "Native Council" under British
colonial rule. The council was disbanded in 2012. Most of the 55
chiefs had inherited their positions and privileged status in island
life.
(AP, 3/14/12)
1878 Apr, A Fijian minister and
three teachers were killed and eaten by Tolai tribespeople on the
Gazelle Peninsula of Papua New Guinea. In 2007 descendants of the
Tolai apologized for their forefathers' actions. Englishman George
Brown directed and took part in a punitive expedition that resulted
in a number of Tolais being killed and several villages burnt down.
Official investigations by British colonial authorities in the
Pacific cleared him of criminal charges.
(AFP, 8/16/07)
1900s The British government
shipped mahogany seedlings from British Honduras in the early 1900s
in an experimental effort to create a new source for British
furniture makers. The seedlings flourished and the Fiji government
started regular plantings in the 1960s to ensure a steady crop.
(WSJ, 9/13/00, p.A1)
1963 The Fijian Alliance won
elections by appealing to Indians as well as Fijians.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1968 The Fijian Alliance won
elections again by appealing to Indians as well as Fijians.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1970 Oct 10, The South Pacific
island of Fiji became independent after nearly a century of British
rule. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (d.2004) became Fiji's first prime
minister. Fiji’s military at this time numbered about 200.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(AP, 10/10/97)(AP,
4/19/04)(WSJ, 9/29/07, p.A6)
1971 Australia joined with New
Zealand and 14 independent of self-governing island nations to form
the South Pacific Forum. The name was changed in 2000 to Pacific
Islands Forum. Member states include: Australia, the Cook Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall
Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa,
the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Since 2006,
associate members territories are New Caledonia and French
Polynesia.
(Econ, 10/20/07,
p.61)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Islands_Forum)
1972 The Fijian Alliance won
elections by appealing to Indians as well as Fijians.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1977 The largely Indian
National Federation Party won elections. It failed to form a
government and Ratu Mara was recalled to power.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1980 The 1949 film “The Blue
Lagoon” was remade with Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. It
was about a boy and girl shipwrecked on an island for several years.
It was filmed on the Yasawa Islands of Fiji.
(SFC, 9/1/96, Par. p.10)
1987 Apr, In Fiji the largely
Indian National Federation Party won elections.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1987 May 13, The Fijian army
under Col. Sitiveni Rabuka staged the 1st of two coups this and
overthrew the country’s first Indian-dominated government. A 2nd
coup followed on Sep 28. Sitiveni Rabuka later served as the prime
minister (1992-1999). UN peacekeeping operations had caused a
10-ford increase in military size since independence in 1970.
(SFC, 5/18/99, p.C12)(Econ, 4/24/04,
p.88)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitiveni_Rabuka)(WSJ, 9/29/07,
p.A6)
1990 A racist constitution was
drawn up that gave ethnic Fijians a permanent majority of seats in
Parliament.
(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
1994 Nov 16, The UN Law of the
Sea, ratified in 1993, took effect. Arvid Pardo (d.1999 at 85),
Maltese delegate to the UN, proposed in 1967 that the bounty of the
sea should be considered "the common heritage of mankind" and asked
that some of the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund to help
close the gap between rich and poor nations. The International
Seabed Authority came into existence as the law took effect. The
first Secretary-General of the Authority, Satya Nandan (Fiji) was
elected in March 1996, and the Authority became fully operational as
an autonomous international organization in June 1996, when it took
over the premises and facilities in Kingston, Jamaica. The UN Law of
the Sea treaty, which extended internationally recognized
territorial waters to 200 miles offshore, came into force one year
after the sixtieth state, Guyana, signed it.
(http://tinyurl.com/2wsq9p)(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
1994 Jim Hormel, scion of the
Hormel Meat Co., was proposed by the US State Dept. as ambassador to
Fiji until it was learned that Fiji had incorporated sodomy statutes
into its penal code.
(SFEM, 6/16/96, BR p.32)
1996 Apr 18, A base at Qana,
Lebanon, manned by Fijian UNIFIL troops was shelled by Israel and
led to 75 (revised to 106) civilian deaths. A later UN investigation
found the remains of 15 Israeli shells that indicated a targeted
assault. Israel called the attack an "unfortunate mistake."
(WSJ, 4/19/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/7/96, p.A-8)(AP,
4/18/97)(AP, 7/26/06)
1996 Apr 18, A base manned by
Fijian UN troops in Lebanon was shelled by Israel and led to 75
(revised to 91) civilian deaths. A later UN investigation found the
remains of 15 Israeli shells that indicated a targeted assault.
Israel called the attack an "unfortunate mistake."
(WSJ, 4/19/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/7/96, p.A-8)(AP,
4/18/97)
1997 Fiji drew up a new
multi-racial constitution. It took effect in 1998. Under the
country's constitution, the council of chiefs was charged with
filling nearly half the Senate seats and with appointing the
president and vice president. In 2006 military commander Frank
Bainimarama seized power and suspended those roles.
(Econ, 8/14/04, p.40)(AP, 3/14/12)
1998 Jul 27, A new constitution
took effect with a bill of rights that replaced a document that
barred non-native people from top posts. Indians made up about 46%
of the population.
(SFC, 7/28/98, p.A10)
1999 May 8, Balloting began for
a new government.
(SFC, 5/18/99, p.C12)
1999 May 17, Early ballot
results showed the Labor Party, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, leading
with 11 seats in the 71 member parliament. The Fijian Political
Party of Prime Minister Rabuka had only 6 seats.
(SFC, 5/18/99, p.C12)
1999 May 18, Mahendra Chaudry
was appointed as the first Indian prime minister. His coalition held
52 seats.
(SFC, 5/19/99, p.A12)
2000 Apr 9, Vijay Singh of Fiji
won the US Masters Golf Tournament.
(WSJ, 4/10/00, p.A24)
2000 May 18, In Fiji 7 men led
by George Speight, a Fijian businessman, staged a coup. They stormed
the parliament and seized prime minister Chaudhry and 7 cabinet
ministers. At the same time a march in Suva by supporters of the
nationalist Taukei Movement erupted into rioting. Pres. Ratu Sir
Kamisese Mara declared a state of emergency and took command of the
military.
(SFC, 5/19/00, p.A20)(SFC, 5/20/00, p.A8)
2000 May 19, Masked gunmen
launched a coup in Fiji that toppled Prime Minister Mahendra
Chaudhry, the country’s first ethnic Indian premier.
(AP, 5/19/01)
2000 May 21, In Fiji 10 junior
MPs were released after they signed resignation letters. Prime
Minister Chaudhry also agreed to sign a letter of resignation.
(SFEC, 5/21/00, p.B11)
2000 May 26, In Fiji Pres. Mara
fired the elected government and said he would probably grant
immunity to coup leaders.
(SFC, 5/27/00, p.A12)
2000 May 28, Some 200 rebel
supporters stormed through Suva and one police officer was killed.
The Fiji Television building was rampaged and knocked off the air.
George Speight called for the resignation of Pres. Mara and for the
constitution to be scrapped.
(SFC, 5/29/00, p.A11)
2000 May 29, In Fiji Commodore
Frank Bainimarama seized power to restore order following the coup.
Pres. Mara stepped down from power and retired to Lau.
(SFC, 5/30/00, p.A12)(Econ, 4/24/04, p.88)
2000 Jun 11, The political
crises reduced tourism to 10% and threatened the leading sugar
processing and garment manufacturing industries.
(SFEC, 6/11/00, p.A26)
2000 Jul 4, In Fiji Laisenia
Qarase was sworn in as prime minister along with a 19-member
all-Fijian temporary government.
(SFC, 7/4/00, p.A9)
2000 Jul 7, In Fiji supporters
of George Speight seized up to 30 hostages at Korovou.
(SFC, 7/8/00, p.A11)
2000 Jul 9, Rebels signed a
deal to return their captives in exchange for an end to the
country’s multiracial democracy.
(SFC, 7/10/00, p.A8)
2000 Jul 12, Coup leaders
released the last 18 hostages and ended a standoff that began May
18.
(SFC, 7/13/00, p.A12)
2000 Jul 13, In Fiji the Great
Council of Chiefs elected Ratu Josefa Iloilo as the new president.
(SFC, 7/14/00, p.A13)
2000 Nov 2, Some 40 soldiers of
the Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit attempted to take over the
main military base at Suva. 8 people were killed. Most of the
renegade soldiers were soon captured.
(SFC, 11/4/00, p.A14)
2000 Jul 26, George Speight was
arrested by the military, which then stormed a stronghold of his
followers.
(SFC, 7/27/00, p.A10)
2000 The population if Fiji
this year was about 813,000.
(SFEC, 6/11/00, p.A26)
2001 Mar 1, The Fiji high court
ruled that the military-backed government was illegal and that the
1997 multi-racial constitution remained in effect.
(SFC, 3/2/01, p.D5)(Econ, 8/14/04, p.40)
2001 Mar 13, Traditional chiefs
selected Ratu Josefa Iloilo as president for a 5-year term.
(SFC, 3/14/01, p.12)
2001 Sep 10, Pres. Iloilo swore
in banker Laisenia Qarase as prime minister.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.B1)
2002 Jul 3, An oil tanker was
reported to have run aground in stormy seas on a reef near Fiji's
popular tourist islands, threatening an ecological disaster if the
cargo leaks.
(Reuters, 7/3/02)
2002 Nov 6, In Fiji a military
panel convicted 15 elite army soldiers of mutiny for their roles in
a deadly shootout at the country's main barracks two years ago.
(AP, 11/6/02)
2002 The Seacology
environmental group agreed to build a community center in the Yasawa
Islands of Fiji in exchange for leaving an isle undeveloped for 20
years and a fishing reserve for 10 years.
(SSFC, 8/4/02, p.A3)
2003 Jan 13, Cyclone Ami as it
roared over Fiji and 9 people were killed.
(AP, 1/15/03)
2003 Oct 11, It was reported
that a worsening drought in Fiji has caused thousands of people to
lose water supplies, with large parts of Suva receiving water by
truck.
(SSFC, 10/11/03, p.C10)
2004 Apr 18, Ratu Sir Kamisese
Mara (83), Fiji's first prime minister and a key U.S. ally in the
South Pacific during the Cold War, died. The paramount chief of the
Lau Islands of eastern Fiji, he was revered for holding together
bickering tribes as he welded Fiji into a stable, multiracial nation
after 96 years of colonial British rule.
(AP, 4/19/04)
2006 Apr 4, Wen Jiabao arrived
in Fiji as the first Chinese premier to visit the Pacific islands,
seeking to deepen China's influence in the region and contain
Taiwan's diplomatic clout.
(AP, 4/4/06)
2006 May 16, Fiji's
indigenous-dominated governing party led the Indian-dominated
opposition after a second day of general election vote-counting,
with voters polarized along racial lines.
(AP, 5/16/06)
2006 May 17, Fiji's caretaker
PM Laisenia Qarase claimed victory in parliamentary elections and
said he was committed to improving the South Pacific country's
relations between indigenous Fijians and the ethnic Indian minority.
(AP, 5/17/06)
2006 Oct 27, In Fiji the
dysfunctional parliament was dissolved.
(Econ, 12/9/06, p.50)
2006 Nov 1, Fiji's prime
minister insisted that his government would not step down despite
pressure from the country's military commander, whose relentless
criticism of the administration has raised fears of a possible coup.
(AP, 11/1/06)
2006 Nov 2, Commonwealth
Secretary General Don McKinnon warned Fiji's military commander
against a coup after the commander said that the Pacific island
nation could be sliding towards "bloodshed."
(AFP, 11/2/06)
2006 Nov 5, Fiji's military,
locked in a standoff with the government, accused Australia on of
breaching its sovereignty by sending an unspecified number of police
it described as mercenaries into the country.
(AP, 11/5/06)
2006 Nov 30, Talks to avert a
coup in Fiji were deemed "a failure" by the country's military
commander, who issued a fresh threat that he will quickly move to
replace the government if it doesn't meet his demands. Commodore
Frank Bainimarama said that the government had not gone far enough
and he set a next day deadline for its capitulation. Bainimarama
wants the government to kill legislation that would grant pardons to
conspirators in a 2000 coup, and quash two other bills that he says
unfairly favor majority indigenous Fijians over the ethnic Indian
minority.
(AP, 11/30/06)
2006 Dec 3, Commodore Frank
Bainimarama told Fiji One television that he wants PM Laisenia
Qarase to resign so the military can name a new government for the
South Pacific island nation.
(AP, 12/3/06)
2006 Dec 4, In Fiji soldiers
moved against at least two police compounds, seizing weapons in the
apparent first step toward taking over the South Pacific island
nation.
(AP, 12/4/06)
2006 Dec 5, The military seized
control of Fiji after weeks of threats, locking down the capital
with armed troops and isolating at home the elected leader whose
last-minute pleas for help from foreign forces were rejected.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama named Dr. Jona Senilagakali, a military
medic with no political experience, as caretaker prime minister and
said a full interim government would be appointed next week to see
the country through to elections that would restore democracy
sometime in the future. PM Laisenia Qarase, who had caved in to all
demands, was deposed anyway. Pres. Ratu Josefa Iloilo, refused to
rubber-stamp Bainimarama’s “doctrine of necessity.”
(AP, 12/5/06)(Econ, 12/9/06, p.49)
2006 Dec 6, Commodore Frank
Bainimarama, the ruler who led a coup against Fiji's elected
government, forcibly dissolved the South Pacific island's
parliament, installed a new prime minister and warned that he could
use force against dissenters.
(AP, 12/6/06)
2006 Dec 7, Fiji's
newly-imposed premier, Jona Senilagakali (77), admitted the army
ouster of the elected government was illegal and that elections
could be two years away, but said the nation did not need
Western-style democracy.
(AFP, 12/7/06)
2006 Dec 8, The Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group announced Fiji is to be immediately
suspended from the Commonwealth following a military coup there
earlier this week. The Commonwealth of Nations is a successor to the
British Empire and brings together some 53 nations, around a third
of the world's countries and a quarter of the world's population.
(AP, 12/8/06)
2006 Dec 10, The military
regime announced a crackdown on critics of Fiji's coup, just hours
after a house that had become a rallying point for those wanting a
return to democracy was ransacked by unknown assailants.
(AP, 12/10/06)
2006 Dec 11, Fiji's military
regime banished ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase from the
capital and warned that open opposition to the takeover would be met
with force.
(AP, 12/11/06)
2007 Jun 14, Fiji's military
ruler said he was expelling New Zealand's top diplomat, sending
already strained relations between the South Pacific nation and one
of its biggest neighbors spiraling even lower. Commodore Bainimarama
said he had told New Zealand High Commissioner Michael Green to
leave because the diplomat would not "stop interfering in Fiji's
domestic affairs."
(AP, 6/14/07)
2007 Sep 6, Fiji's military-led
government imposed a monthlong state of emergency, accusing the
prime minister who was ousted in a coup last year of seeking to
"destabilize" the South Pacific nation.
(AP, 9/7/07)(Econ, 9/29/07, p.46)
2007 Oct 17,
Fiji's coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama pledged to hold
elections in early 2009 as Pacific countries welcomed the move and
vowed to continue pressing for progress at a regional summit.
(AP, 10/17/07)
2008 Jun 18, A European Union
delegation met Fiji's coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama, seeking
assurances that he will stick to a pledge to hold elections to
restore democracy by March 2009.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Aug 19, The 39th annual
Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) opened in Niue. Members at the 2-day
forum agreed to threaten Fiji with suspension unless elections are
held as scheduled by March 2009.
(Econ, 8/23/08,
p.34)(www.forumsec.org/event.cfm?cmd=list&sd=200808)
2009 Jan 12, Fiji authorities
rushed to deliver clean drinking water and other supplies to
thousands of villagers who fled flooding from tropical storms. The
storms left 11 people dead.
(AP, 1/12/09)(SSFC, 1/25/09, p.E2)
2009 Jan 27, Pacific Island
leaders gathered in Port Moresby and threatened to expel Fiji from
their forum if coup leader Frank Bainimarama fails to announce
credible plans for elections.
(Econ, 1/31/09,
p.48)(www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2475598.htm)
2009 Apr 9, A court in
coup-plagued Fiji declared the military government illegal and said
the president should immediately appoint an interim leader to
oversee a return to democracy.
(AP, 4/9/09)
2009 Apr 10, Fiji's Pres. Ratu
Josefa Iloilo (88) suspended the constitution of his troubled South
Pacific country and fired the judges who had declared its military
government illegal.
(AP, 4/10/09)(Econ, 4/18/09, p.44)
2009 Apr 15, Fiji's military
government tightened controls on the media, devalued the currency by
20% and said it would not tolerate opposition to plans for a
sweeping overhaul of the country's politics.
(AP, 4/15/09)(Econ, 4/18/09, p.44)
2009 May 2, South Pacific
nations announced that military-ruled Fiji has been suspended from
the 16-nation bloc for its rejection of democracy, freedom and human
rights.
(SFC, 5/2/09, p.A2)
2009 Jul 28, Fiji’s
self-appointed PM Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who took power in a
bloodless 2006 coup, said aged and ailing President Ratu Josefa
Iloilo will retire on July 30.
(AP, 7/28/09)
2009 Aug, In Fiji Laisenia
Qarase and Mahendra Chaudhry, rivals to military leader Commodore
Bainimarama, joined forces against him.
(Econ, 11/14/09, p.53)
2009 Sep 1, The 53-nation
Commonwealth says it has suspended Fiji automatically after it
failed to respond to a demand to begin restoring democracy to the
island nation.
(AP, 9/1/09)
2009 Nov 4, Fiji’s military
leader Commodore Bainimarama booted out the High Commissioners of
Australia and New Zealand. He said they were interfering with his
efforts to replaced judges he sacked in April. He said relations
would be restored only in 2014.
(Econ, 11/14/09, p.53)
2009 Dec 14, Cyclone Mick hit
Fiji. Thousands of villagers fled to shelters as the tropical
cyclone battered the South Pacific nation, causing flooding,
damaging homes and power lines, and killing three people.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2010 Mar 5, Eight Fijian men
were sentenced to jail terms of three to seven years for their roles
in a 2007 plot to assassinate the armed forces chief Commodore Frank
Bainimarama, the island nation's prime minister, who seized power in
a bloodless coup in 2006.
(AP, 3/5/10)
2010 Mar 13, Cyclone Tomas
began battering island groups off Fiji's northern coast, causing
flooding, pounding seas and one death. Officials said the storm
likely would only sideswipe the main islands of the South Pacific
nation. At least 2 people were killed by the storm.
(AP, 3/15/10)(AP, 3/19/10)
2010 Oct, Roko Tevita Uluilakeb
Mara, the commander of Fiji’s biggest regiment, was suspended and
soon fled to Tonga. Mara was the youngest son of founding father
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. From Tonga he denounced the Fiji government
and called for regime change.
(Econ, 5/21/11, p.43)
2011 Feb 7, Fiji’s former
President Ratu Josefa Iloilo (91) died. The tribal chief served as
president from 2000 to 2009 and backed the 2006 military takeover of
the country.
(AP, 2/17/11)
2011 Mar 26, In a World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) initiative landmarks in thousands of cities,
from Sydney Harbor Bridge to the world's tallest building, the Burj
Khalifa in Dubai, turned off the power for Earth Hour, the fifth
such event promoting a sustainable future for the planet. The first
lights dimmed across Fiji and New Zealand at 8.30 p.m. (3:30 a.m.
EDT), to lights being turned on again in Samoa 24 hours later.
(Reuters, 3/27/11)
2011 Jun 19, In Fiji Agape
Ministries leader Rocco Leo, a fugitive Australian cult leader, was
picked up by officials, along with two associates, for alleged visa
breaches. On May 20, 2010, Australian police raided 12 properties
associated with Agape and netted 15 guns, slow-burning fuses,
detonators, extendable batons and 35,000 rounds of ammunition.
(www.religionnewsblog.com/26049/cult-leader-rocco-leo-arrested)(AFP,
6/27/11)
2012 Jan 6, Fiji's government
stepped back from a promise of a more open society, imposing new
controls on public order just a day before it was supposed to lift
more than two years of emergency rule.
(AP, 1/6/12)
2012 Jan 7, Fiji’s military
rulers officially lifted a state of martial law in place since 2009.
(SSFC, 1/8/12, p.A6)
2012 Jan 26, Fiji’s secretary
of information said that severe flooding and landslides have killed
6 people and left hundreds homeless.
(SFC, 1/26/12, p.A2)
2012 Mar 9, Kiribati President
Anote Tong said that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy
nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the
fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million,
could provide an insurance policy for Kiribati's entire population
of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone
to leave.
(AP, 3/9/12)
2012 Mar 14, Fiji's military
commander Frank Bainimarama disbanded the Great Council of Chiefs, a
leadership tradition on the Pacific island nation since 1875.
(AP, 3/14/12)
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