History And Geography

History

Fiji had been colonized since the second millennium B.C. The Dutch and the British discovered Fiji in the 17th and 18th centuries. During 1874, the Fijian chiefs accepted an offer of cession and Fiji was declared a part of the British Crown and was to be controlled by it. The 1880s saw the cultivation of sugarcane starting on a big scale. In the next 40 years, over 60,000 contract laborers from India were taken to the island to work on the cultivated area. The contracts that forced the laborers to work came to an end by 1920.

Ethnic conflicts between Indians and the native Fijians have been an essential part of the small island's history. On October 10th, 1970, Fiji became a self-governing island. During October 1987, Brig. Gen. Sitiveni Rabuka launched a rebellion in order to stop an Indian-dominated alliance party from taking control. The military insurgence resulted in the migration of thousands of Fijians of Indian origin, who experienced racial discrimination at the hands of the government.

A new constitution, which came into effect in July 1998, provided for a multiracial cabinet and increased the possibility of a coalition government. The preceding constitution had assured dominance to national Fijians.

In 1999, Mahendra Chaudhry became Fiji's first prime minister of Indian origin. Ongoing ethnic pressure and to some extent financial problems, threw Fiji into a national nightmare in 2000. On 19th May, armed warriors entered the Parliament and seized three-dozen people captive, along with president Chaudhry. George Speight, partly a Fijian businessman, led this entire act. He commanded that the 1998 constitution be redrafted to permit governance of ethnic Fijians. The battle went on for two months.

In July 2000, Speight and other rebellion leaders were arrested and charged with treachery. Speight was sentenced to death in February 2002; however, the sentence was later converted to life imprisonment. Even though the coup was ultimately thwarted, it deposed Prime Minister Chaudhry and his democratically voted government could not gain back their power. In its place, the armed forces and the Great Council of Chiefs, an assembly of 50 traditional Fijian leaders, selected a short-term government controlled by ethnic Fijians.

During 2001, elections took place, but no party managed to achieve a majority.

Acting Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase's Fijian United Party acquired 31 of 71 seats, and thus, Qarase was sworn in as the prime minister in September. His cabinet comprised completely of ethnic Fijians, but a court declared in 2002 that ethnic Indians have to be included. During July 2003, Fiji's Supreme Court collectively supported this judgment, stating Qarase's government unlawful.

The process of execution of a new multiracial cabinet was slowed down due to political infighting in 2004.

In August 2004, greatly to Prime Minister Qarase's annoyance, Vice President Ratu Jope Seniloli and four other well-known figures were taken into custody and imprisoned for their role in the 2000 rebellion.

In 2005, Qarase supported a highly controversial bill that included an official pardon clause for the 2000 coup leaders. This bill was backed by the Great Council of Chiefs and the racial Fijians but was strongly opposed by the community (led by former prime minister Chaudhry, who was deposed in the rebellion) and the military.

In July 2005 the country's military chief informed that if the bill was approved, the army might possibly remove the government.

Geography

Fiji is an island country that lies in the South Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Vanuatu towards its east, bordered on the west by Tonga and south by Tuvalu. The Fiji group of islands comprises of 322 islands, out of which 110 are populated, and 522 smaller isles and covers a total land area of only 18,272 square kilometers. Viti Levu and Vanua Levu are the two chief islands in Fiji.

The island, Viti Levu, houses the capital city of Fiji, Suva, and comprises of almost three quarters of the populace. The two major islets together make up for nearly 87% of the whole Fijian population.

The islands are precipitous, with peaks reaching up to 1,300 meters (4,250 ft), and are wrapped with tropical rain forests. The other most important towns are Nadi (home to the international airport), and Lautoka. The major townships on Vanua Levu Island are Labasa and Savusavu.

Other islets and islet groups consist of Taveuni and Kadavu (the third and fourth biggest islets respectively). The Mamanuca Group (outside Nadi) and Yasawa Group, which are well-known traveler destinations and the Lomaiviti Group outside Suva, are some other famous islands in Fiji. Lau Group, one more island in Fiji is remotely populated. Rotuma, approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) towards the north of the archipelago, has a unique administrative status in Fiji.

The geographic coordinates of Fiji are:

Latitude: 12°-21°S and

Longitude: 176°E-178°W.