Sitiveni Rabuka

The 2000 coup and Queen Elizabeth Barracks

Following his electoral defeat, Rabuka was elected Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs. He was forced to relinquish this post in 2001, however, in the wake of allegations made against him by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of complicity in the Fiji coup of 2000, which deposed both Mara and the Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on May 19, 2000. Claiming that the coup leader George Speight - who was then in custody and has since been convicted of treason - was only a front, Mara appeared on Close-Up on Fiji Television on April 30, 2001, and revealed that on May 21, 2000, two days after the coup, he had confronted Rabuka and Isikia Savua, the police chief, about their possible involvement in it. "I could see it in their faces," Mara declared. Ratu Mara told the programme that within half an hour of Speight's forcible occupation of the Parliament, Rabuka had telephoned Government House (the official residence of the President) to offer to form a government. He further alleged that the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit of the Army had been involved in the coup after receiving training on a farm owned by Rabuka.

Related Topics:
Chairman - Great Council of Chiefs - 2001 - Former President - Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara - Fiji coup of 2000 - Prime Minister - Mahendra Chaudhry - May 19 - 2000 - George Speight - Close-Up - Fiji Television - April 30 - May 21 - Isikia Savua - Government House - Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit - Army

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In an interview with Fiji's Daily Post on 2 July 2001, Rabuka angrily denied the allegations, saying that they were the ravings of "an angry old man" and "very unbecoming of a national leader and of a statesman." The charges, however, were repeated on the floor of the Senate on 23 October 2004 by Adi Koila Nailatikau, Mara's daughter.

Related Topics:
Fiji's Daily Post - 2 July - 2001 - Senate - 23 October - 2004 - ''Adi'' Koila Nailatikau

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Rabuka was also accused of instigating or supporting the that took place at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks on 2 November 2000. In an interview with the Fiji Times on 12 November 2000, the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama charged that while the revolt was in progress, Rabuka had visited the barracks with his army uniform in the car, ready to take over command of the army. He also allegedly started issuing orders to soldiers. "Rabuka's words to one of my colonels at the height of the shootings raised my suspicions," Bainimarama said. "He said the Colonel should listen to his instructions. He also criticised my leadership." Bainimarama accused Rabuka of leading soldiers astray by using "confusing" and "deceiving" words.

Related Topics:
Suva - Queen Elizabeth Barracks - 2 November - 2000 - Fiji Times - 12 November - Military - Commodore - Frank Bainimarama

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Bainimarama also accused Rabuka of having "politicized" the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) unit, which he had founded as a bodyguard in 1987, to favour both the mutiny and the earlier takeover of parliament in May. Members of the CRW were involved in both the May coup and the November mutiny.

Related Topics:
Counter Revolutionary Warfare - 1987 - Takeover of parliament

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Bainimarama's version was supported by Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula, who led the counteroffensive to put down the mutiny. On 13 November 2000, he said that rebels interrogated by the military had implicated Rabuka. He accused Rabuka of trying to take civilians into the barracks to act as human shields for the mutineers, and stated that Rabuka's intention was to "claim military leadership and ultimately overthrow the Government of the day."

Related Topics:
Viliame Seruvakula - 13 November - 2000

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Rabuka, a retired officer, denied supporting the mutiny, but refused to comment on an accusation from Bainimarama that he had called a meeting of senior officers loyal to him to depose Bainimarama.

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Rabuka's denials of these allegations have not ended the controversy. On 14 May 2005, the New Zealand Herald reported in its Weekend Herald edition that the Fiji police force was close to making a decision on whether to charge certain unnamed individuals, one of whom the Herald believed to be Rabuka. The report quoted Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes as saying that a major hindrance to their investigation was a cone of silence among the close associates of the suspects.

Related Topics:
14 May - 2005 - New Zealand Herald - Police Commissioner - Andrew Hughes

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