Military Unrest Since The 2000 Fijian Coup D'état - Fiji Week Controversy, 2004

Fiji Week Controversy, 2004

In 2004, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo turned down a government request for a Commission of Inquiry to try Bainimarama over allegations from five senior officers that he had approached them about organizing a coup d'état. Iloilo said that he was satisfied Bainimarama's assurances that the military had no intention of overthrowing the government.

On 25 October 2004, Bainimara entered the political fray to criticize the organizing of Fiji Week, a week of religious services and cultural ceremonies that had been held from the 4th through the 11th of October. He said he found it "baffling" that individuals implicated in the 2000 coup took part in the ceremonies to apologize and ask forgiveness for their actions, only to turn up in court later and plead innocent. He said that according to Fijian culture, an apology was tantamount to a public admission of guilt, and that the "not guilty" pleas later entered by the same people in court raised justifiable questions about whether their apologies were sincere.

Bainimarama strongly criticized Senator Ratu George Cakobau for saying that citizens unhappy with the government-organized apology and reconciliation ceremonies should leave Fiji. Bainimarama declared that Fiji belonged to all of its citizens, and that no one should feel intimidated by politicians who spit out racist remarks, adding that the Senator would be shocked to find that many of those who refused the apology were ethnic Fijians. He said that democracy and the rule of law were the rule of the day in the 21st century, and that the military would uphold it.

His comments drew criticism from government politicians who accused him of meddling in politics, but he would not be silienced. He upped the ante in December 2004 by condemning the early release of Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli, who had served less than four months of his four-year treason sentence, for his role in the 2000 coup. Reiterating comments made by other senior officers earlier in the week before, Bainimarama said that Seniloli's release had threatened national security, which the military was determined to protect. He said that he would give more details later in the week as to how national security had been undermined by the release of the Vice-President (who immediately resigned from office).

In a separate statement, Bainimarama endorsed calls by Ratu Epeli Ganilau, the former Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, for a non-Fijian to be appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Seniloli's resignation. "I support the idea for someone with excellent leadership skills to take up the post regardless of race," he said, accusing those who opposed the idea of a non-Fijian's appointment of trying to instigate racial instability for their own selfish gain.