Background to the 2006 Fiji Military Coup

Fiji has now experienced four coups in the past 20 years, after two military takeovers in quick succession in 1987 and one civilian-led coup in 2000. Many commentators believe that Fiji is now in the grip of a dangerous 'coup cycle' that needs to be broken if the country is to have any hope of achieving long-term prosperity. Breaking this cycle will at least require de-politicisation of Fiji’s military, and possibly much wider social change. Akuila Yabaki sets out the sequence of events from 5 December 2006, the date that the military coup d'etat took place, and outlines the causes of the conflict.