The Fijian coup d'état of 5th December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005–06 Fijian political crisis.
Fiji had seen four definitive coups in the past two decades. At the heart of the previous three of these lay the tensions between the ethnic Fijians and Indian Fijians.[1] Religion played a significant role; the majority of ethnic Fijians belong to the Methodist church whereas the majority of the Indians are Hindu. In each coup, one of the sides sought to establish reduced rights for the Indian Fijians; the other side sought to grant greater rights and equality to the Indian Fijians.[2]
The church in Fiji frequently played a significant role in politics — senior leaders of the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotumasupported the coup of 2000 and the subsequent proposal to pardon those involved. Even the possibility of declaring Fiji a theocratic Christian state was proposed in the past.[3] This has brought Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama, leader of the December 2006 coup, in conflict with the Methodist church in the past.
THROWBACKTHISDAY; makes it 9 years and TBT Blog remembers.
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