A crisis is looming in Fiji after recent elections gave the indigenous party of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, a win. The military chief, Commodore Frank...
Election results in Fiji were released May 17, giving Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his indigenous party, Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, a slim win over Mahendra Chaudhry and his Indo-Fijian Fiji Labor Party. The elections were heated and drawn along racial boundaries; Fiji's indigenous population, 51 percent of the total, was pitted against the Indo-Fijian minority.
As part of the election drama, the military chief, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has spoken out vociferously against Qarase, and now that the election has been called in Qarase's favor, Bainimarama has gone on a quest to encourage independent members of parliament to side with the Fiji Labor Party. Furthermore, Bainimarama has claimed that he would counter any move by Qarase to pass a bill giving amnesty to the leaders of the 2000 coup, saying it would not "augur well for the security of the nation." This drama will surely escalate in the coming days, prompting Australia to consider how to respond.