How we got a photo scoop during the 1987 Fiji Coup
Blog update: General elections were held in Fiji on 14 December 2022 to elect the 55 members of the Fijian Parliament. Frank Bainimarama became prime minister in 2007 after leading the 2006 coup d’état. Bainimarama founded Fiji First in 2014 and was acting prime minister until his party’s victory in the general election that year.
1987 Fiji Coup scoop
I had a wonderful lunch recently with the legendary Sydney photographer, Patrick Riviere, the former photo boss of AFP/Getty Images (entertainment division), and his wife Sylvie (who ran Sydney Freelance & many other photo operations) reminiscing over our wire service days.
The story of how AAP got the scoop on the 1987 Fiji Coup, weeks before anyone else got pictures, might be interesting to photo & national security nerds.
Every time the photographer in Fiji started sending photos over the telephone lines, the military would cut the line.
The next day, I got through to the photographer & he was keen to start sending photos … I said “no, I lived in Fiji for four months, let’s have a chat” … and started talking about playing golf at Pacific Harbour, the yacht club in Suva and SCUBA diving. After a few minutes, the photographer twigged as to what I was up and then the conversation got r e a l l y boring.
After 20 minutes I could actually hear a yawn and ‘click’ as the military listening had enough.
Photo above is The AP/AAP’s photo sent over the wire.
Fiji Coup 1987
In 1986, indigenous Fijians comprised only 46.2 per cent of Fiji’s population of 700,000, compared with 48.6 per cent Indians (the remainder being Europeans, Chinese, and other races).
The `Taukei Movement’ was almost a spontaneous sprouting of indigenous opposition to the new Coalition government, fanned by very nationalistic and alarmist rhetoric by some indigenous Alliance supporters.
Photo on the right is AFP/Getty Images send by mail
Their protests and pledge to remove the Bavadra government by hook or by crook, was a real threat to Fiji’s internal security at the time. Colonel Rabuka’s military coup de tat in May was to avert the inevitable bloody confrontation that was in the offing between the militant Taukei Movement and the Fiji Military Forces.
It was also to see to the restructuring of the Constitution to avoid a similar situation occurring in the future. Leadership of Fiji by the indigenous Fijians was one of the most common demands voiced in 1987.
“The communalistic character of the Fijians and the individualistic nature of the Indians started to determine the commercial landscape of Fiji with the Indians and Chinese shops mushrooming all over the main population concentration and even into the rural areas of the sugarcane belts.
The few Fijians who were pioneers in the commerce, were handicapped by the communal demands on their businesses dooming them to assured failure.
The picture of future commercial activities was being very clearly developed and the employer field remained closed to Fijians leaving them dependent on the labour market as employees in the public and private sectors.”
Major General (Retired) Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, 17 August 2000
After colonel Sitiveni Rabuka took power in the 1987 coup, he declared Fiji a republic and the country was expelled from the Commonwealth.
Fiji rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1997, and was suspended again 6 June 2000-20 December 2001 and a third time 8 December 2006-26 September 2014 following another military coup, led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Major General (Retired) Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, Chairman of Fiji’s Great Council of Chiefs and formerly Prime Minister of Fiji from 1992 to 1999.
He served in the Fiji army from 1968 to 1991 retiring as Commander in the rank of Major General. He commanded both Fiji’s Peacekeeping Battalions in Lebanon and Sinai Desert in Egypt. He is a graduate of the Indian Defence Services Staff College and the Australian Joint Services Staff College in Canberra.
He holds a Masters degree in Defence Studies and an Honourary Doctorate from the Central Queensland University. A keen sportsman, Rabuka represented his country in athletics at the South Pacific Games and Commonwealth Games and Rugby between 1969 and 1977.
He was awarded the following Honours and Decorations; Companion of the Order of Fiji (CF), OBE, French Legion d’Honneur, Ostj, Meritorious Service Decoration (Fiji), Order of Tahiti Nui.
FILE–Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka speaks during a news conference in this May 1987 file photo in Suva, Fiji, after he led a coup ousting the Indian dominated government. Voters in Fiji ousted the former coup leader and elected an opposition party to lead the archipelago, according to early results Monday, May 17, 1999 in the country’s first democratic elections since the 1987 coup. (AP Photo)
How history recorded the Fiji Coup of 1987:
| The Fiji Labour Party website says: | Official Fiji Government website says: | U.S. Department of State website says: |
| May 14, 1987 The coalition government is deposed by a military coup, led by Major General Sitiveni Rabuka and the Cabinet and members of the government are held hostage for 7 days. The country is thrown into chaos and there is panic and fear among the citizens. Major General, Sitiveni Rabuka claims that he had carried the coup to safeguard Fijian paramountcy. There is widespread military torture on the general public, especially the Indo-Fijians as the military tries to impose its authority on the country. Several worshipping places are burnt by the Nationalistic elements in the community and Indo-Fijian religious functions are stopped by the military. The Sunday Ban follows as all businesses, sports and other activities are brought to a halt by the demands of the Methodist church leaders. | 1987 The General Election was won by the Coalition NFP-FLP, and resulted in the relegation of former PM, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Alliance MP to the Opposition, while Dr Timoci Bavadra was sworn in as Prime Minister. May 14, 1987 On a cloudless Thursday, Lieutenant Colonel, Sitiveni Rabuka, third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces executed a bloodless military coup at 10am. There is a second coup in September, after which Fiji is declared a Republic and severs ties with the British Monarchy.” | The stated purpose of two military coups in 1987 was to ensure the political supremacy of the indigenous Fijian people and to protect their traditional way of life and communal control of land. To this end, the post-coup government initiated a number of constitutional and other measures to ensure ethnic Fijian control of the executive and legislative branches. The government also successfully raised the proportion of ethnic Fijians and Rotumans in the public service to 50 percent or higher at all levels, but most dramatically at the senior level: Indo-Fijians now represent only 10 percent of the highest levels of the civil service. The amended Constitution seeks to redress this imbalance by specifically noting that “the composition of state services at all levels must be based on the principle of reflecting as closely as possible the ethnic composition of the population.” |
Source: The Fiji Labour Party | Source: Fiji Government Online | Source: U.S. Department of State |
Fiji fact file
• Population: 800,000.
• Fijians 51%, Indians 44%.
• October 10, 1970: becomes independent nation within British Commonwealth after 96 years as a colony.
• Economy driven by sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, fishing, and timber.
• Fijians owned the land – they called themselves Taukei, which means “owners”.
• Indians are descendants of migrant sugar workers.
• April 12, 1987: election led to Indian-dominated government for first time, led by Dr Timoci Bavandra.
• May 14, 1987: Military coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka.
• September 22, 1987: Interim bipartisan government formed.
• September 25, 1987: Rabuka stages second coup.
• October 7 1987: Rabuka declares Fiji a republic.
• 1998: New constitution and Rabuka’s ruling Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party forms coalition with Indian-dominated National Federation Party and mixed race United General Party.
• May 18, 1999: Mahendra Chaudhry sworn in as first Indo-Fijian prime minister.
• May 2000: Underground Taukei Movement stages two anti-government rallies.
• May 19, 2000: Businessman George Speight and seven armed men stage civil coup.
Related Stories
Fiji Prime Minister Rabuka’s climate change comments alarms Pacific Islanders
