Fiji: Situation/treatment, since the 19 May 2000 coup, of Indo-Fijians by native Fijians; police/government attitude toward crimes against Indo-Fijians by native Fijians; protection available to Indo-Fijians

Media reports state that racial tensions in Fiji, which are never far from the surface, periodically boil over (EIU 7 Aug. 2000; AP 3 Aug. 2000; ibid. 3 July 2000; ibid. 2 June 2000). On 19 May 2000 a group of native Fijian rebels led by businessman George Speight staged a coup, seizing Parliament and taking Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and many other legislators hostage (AP 2 June 2000; ibid. 3 Aug. 2000). The rebels, unhappy with the ethnic Indian-led government, wanted the Prime Minister removed from power and ethnic Indians barred from leading the country again (ibid.; AP 2 June 2000). A nationalist rally in Suva that same day turned into a riot, with a rampaging mob looting and burning Indian-owned shops and businesses (ibid.; ibid. 3 Aug. 2000). In the days following the coup, armed gangs attacked Indian homes and businesses in Suva and outlying districts (ibid. 2 June; ibid. 3 July 2000; ibid. 3 Aug. 2000). On 29 May 2000 the army, reacting to the coup attempt and the violence, seized power and imposed martial law (ibid. 2 June 2000; ibid. 3 July 2000).

Attacks against ethnic Indian Fijians continued even after the military took power, especially in small ethnic Indian rural communities (AFP 17 July 2000; AP 3 Aug. 2000; ibid. 3 July 2000; 2 June 2000). Media reports indicate that the police did little or nothing to stop the attacks on ethnic Indians, both before and after martial law was declared (AP 2 June; ibid. 3 Aug. 2000). One local police inspector in the Dawasamu area of Tailevu stated that he did not have the resources required to investigate attacks and local suspects (AFP 17 July 2000). Although Speight and about 400 supporters were arrested in a military crackdown in early August, the military authorities downplayed the racial component of the attacks, stating that gangs were using Speight's coup and the banner of nationalism as a cover for their criminal activities (AP 3 Aug. 2000; ibid. 4 Aug. 2000). According to AP more than 900 people permanently left Fiji in May and June 2000, a sharp increase over previous months (4 Aug. 2000). More than 90 per cent of those who left were Indo-Fijian, many in managerial, professional or supervisory positions (ibid. 4 Aug. 2000; Radio New Zealand International 21 Aug. 2000). Hundreds of others, abandoning their farms, livestock and personal property but unable to flee the country, relocated to refugee camps (AP 4 Aug. 2000; India Abroad 15 Sept. 2000; The Economic Times 8 Sept. 2000).

In early August 2000 EIU ViewsWire predicted that the consequences of Speight's rebellion would be "long lasting":

Mr. Speight's campaign against Fijians of Indian descent has led to the revocation of the country's multi-ethnic constitution, the collapse of its democratic government, [and] the installation of a racially based government. ...

The new government, which will pursue a nationalist agenda and rewrite the constitution, is expected to favour indigenous Fijians in its policies, and looks to rule for the next three years. ...

The grim history of Fiji is that every attempt to establish a balance between [indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians] has ended in an armed take-over of the government and the rewriting of the constitution (7 Aug. 2000).

Media reports from early to mid-September indicate that, following a fact-finding mission composed of representatives from the Commonwealth delegation on Human Rights Initiatives and Australian and New Zealand trade unions, Indo-Fijians driven from their homes may be granted refugee status overseas (The Economic Times 8 Sept. 2000; India Abroad 15 Sept. 2000). The co-ordinator of the refugee camp at Lautoka told one reporter that it would be "impossible for these people to go back to their former lives" (The Economic Times 8 Sept. 2000).

For additional information on the situation of Indo-Fijians since the coup, please consult FJI34578.E of 14 June 2000.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 17 July 2000. "Fijians Driving Ethnic Indians from Homes." (NEXIS)

The Associated Press (AP). 4 August 2000. Rohan Sullivan. "Coup Sparks Exodus of Professional Ethnic Indians." (NEXIS)

_____. 3 August 2000. Rohan Sullivan. "Fijian Indians Remain Under Attack." (NEXIS)

_____. 3 July 2000. BC Cycle. Steven Gutkin. "Racism, Intolerance Disenfranchise Fiji's Indians." (NEXIS)

_____. 2 June 2000. Rohan Sullivan. "Fiji's Ethnic Indians Live in Fear During Unrest." (NEXIS)

The Economic Times [New Delhi]. 8 September 2000. "Indo-Fijians to Get Refugee Status." [Accessed 29 Sept. 2000]

EIU ViewsWire. 7 August 2000. "Fiji Politics: After the Coup." (NEXIS)

India Abroad [New York]. 15 September 2000. Shailendra Singh. "Fiji: About 350 Indo-Fijians May Get Refugee Status." [Accessed 15 Sept. 2000]

Radio New Zealand International [Wellington, in English]. 21 August 2000. "Union Alleges Anti-Indo Fijian Discrimination." (BBC Summary 22 Aug. 2000/NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases.

LEXIS-NEXIS.

World News Connection (WNC).

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International.

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

Derechos Human Rights.

Fiji Human Rights Group

Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Pacific Islands Report [Manoa].

United Nations Development Program (UNDP).