Fiji Leader Apologizes for 1987 Military Coup Ahead of India–Pacific Summit

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Fiji on Feb. 23, 2023. (AAP Image/Ben McKay)

Fiji’s prime minister apologized on May 14 for his actions during the nation’s 1987 military coup, which led to a mass exodus of Indian Fijians from the nation, ahead of the India–Pacific Islands summit next week.

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made his apology at a church service held at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji, which brought together the Methodist Church and the descendants of the Girmitiya community.

In his apology, Rabuka took responsibility for all those involved in staging the military coup in May 1987 and acknowledged their “wrongdoings” and the pain inflicted upon the Indo-Fijian community.

“I admit our wrongdoings. You have every right to blame us for the difficulties you went through. We do not blame you for being angry with us or even hating us. You are justified in your anger and your hate,” the two-time coup leader told those present.

“I stand here to confess and to ask for your forgiveness.”

Rabuka, a former major general in the Fijian army, led a coup on May 14, 1987, to topple the democratically elected Timoci Bavadra. The coup was driven by concerns that indigenous Fijians were losing control over the country to the Indo-Fijian community.

He staged a second coup in September 1987 and was declared the head of state. According to reports, more than 12,000 Indian Fijians left the country in the two years following the coup. Rabuka was democratically elected in 1992 and served until 1999. He was elected again last year as prime minister.

Rabuka has publicly taken responsibility for the 1987 coup and pledged to redeem himself as a leader.

In December 2021, he said, “The Rabuka of then has gone, he is remade as the man before you today.”

India-Fiji Relations

His recent remarks come a week before the third India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit kick-off in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on May 22, which will be attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is seeking to bolster bilateral cooperation with Pacific Island nations amid Beijing’s growing influence in the region. He’s expected to sign multiple agreements with Papua New Guinea’s leader, James Marape.

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held talks with Rabuka in Suva in February, during which he referred to Fiji as “a very important partner with whom we have a historic link.”

India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) speaks along with Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne (R) at a press conference following a bilateral meeting during the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 12, 2022. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

“The message I brought to him from Prime Minister Narendra Modi was that India’s interests in the Indo-Pacific are very substantial. Whether you look at it as economic, political, security, technology, or trade interest,” he told reporters.

Jaishankar said they seek to revitalize India–Fiji relations to face evolving security dynamics in the region, where Beijing has increased its military activities in recent years.

“The challenge for us, as two governments, is how do we refresh this relationship and make it more up to date and how do we address the issues which may have arisen especially in the last three years,” he said.

Rabuka has previously raised concerns over communist China’s increasing influence in the region. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he said China’s reemergence in the Pacific has the potential to “reform the peaceful atmosphere we now have.”

Biden to Make First Presidential Visit to PNG

The FIPIC will also be attended by U.S. President Joe Biden, who will become the first-ever sitting U.S. president to visit Papua New Guinea. Modi and Biden will stop in Papua New Guinea on the way to Australia for a Quad Leaders’ meeting on May 24.

According to the White House, the leaders will discuss “cooperation on challenges critical to the region and to the United States, such as combating climate change, protecting maritime resources, and advancing resilient and inclusive economic growth.”

Beijing signed a controversial security pact with unpopular Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare last year, which many countries in the region fear could allow Beijing to station troops, weapons, and naval ships on the strategically important island.