The 2006 Military Takeover in Fiji: a Coup to End all Coups, edited by Jon Fraenkel, Stewart Firth and Brij V. Lal, ANU E Press.
An invaluable, wide-ranging collection of papers, mainly by Coup opponents, but with no apologies for the policies of the deposed Qarase Government. Click here for the whole 472 pages. 1.5MB, but quick broadband download.
Brij Lal's comment quoted below points to one, as yet little considered, possible consequence of a failed coup. While race is not the only driver of politics in Fiji, it is an easy way for the unscrupulous to rally support.
"People in power in the FLP–RFMF* interim administration appear unconcerned about the incontrovertible fact that a large cross-section of the indigenous Fijian community feels deeply humiliated. They are the outright majority of the population, and in their view they are the underprivileged ones who needed special assistance, who as the taukei, the indigenous inhabitants, were ‘by right’ entitled to control the levers of power. And now this: Unceremoniously tossed out of office, deprived of government handouts, and told to compete on equal terms with everyone else. The days of state-sanctioned pampering are over. It is a timely, if severe, message relayed with unprecedented bluntness. If the SDL and the nationalists ever return to power, they would likely pursue an ethno-nationalist agenda with a vengeance never seen before in Fijian politics.
"It will be the politics of grudge and relentless score-settling all over again. This is a fear that lies deep at the back of the Indo-Fijian mind. This is the main reason why so many are so desperate for the military to succeed in its campaign. For, if it fails, Indo-Fijians know they will be doomed permanently to a subordinate future in the cul-de-sac of Fijian politics from which escape will be difficult."(p.434) * Republic of Fiji Military Forces- Fiji Labour Party.
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