A Truth and Reconciliation Commission is one of the Coalition’s signature policies as its constituent parties turn their attention to the 2026 elections. Yet few people believe we will ever get to the truth about precisely who was behind the three major upheavals in national life since Independence – the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coups of 1987, the George Speight-led rebellion of 2000 and Frank Bainimarama‘s coup of 2006.
There is a fourth – the mutiny in the RFMF in November 2000 – in which an attempt was made on the life of the then Commander, Frank Bainimarama, and seven troops died – three loyalists who were murdered in cold blood and four of the rebels who were subsequently beaten to death by Bainimarama’s soldiers.
Sitiveni Rabuka recently triggered a bout of collective scoffing by claiming that he was a “victim” of the rebellion of May 2000 and was looking to the recently-freed George Speight to “tell the truth” and clear him of involvement. Yet the Prime Minister studiously avoided any mention of the mutiny in the RFMF six months later during which his nemesis, Frank Bainimarama, barely escaped with his life.
Why? Because the 2000 mutiny has Sitiveni Rabuka’s fingerprints all over it. He was formally cleared of involvement in two subsequent criminal trials – the second an appeal against his acquittal in the first. For criminal charges to stick, Rabuka needed to be found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt”. And there was enough doubt for that ultimate standard not to be met and for him to walk free.
Nonetheless, suspicions linger that the Prime Minister was the shadowy figure behind the mutiny, not least on the part of Frank Bainimarama, who has always maintained that it was Rabuka who led the attempt to kill him and forms the basis of their enduring enmity, including Bainimarama’s references to Rabuka as the “Snake” who wriggled away.
When the Truth and Reconciliation process gets underway in earnest, it won’t be enough for Sitiveni Rabuka to merely say ” well, I was cleared of involvement in the mutiny twice” and insist that’s where the matter rests. He is going to come under pressure to give a full account of his actions. And if truth means anything a quarter of a century on, to give a full explanation of his conduct on November 2 2000, including some extraordinary allegations about what he said and did during the mutiny, which includes the following:
So “kill Frank Bainimarama now”. It has a chilling ring even a quarter of a century on. That is the allegation that Sitiveni Rabuka’s prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt. Not that he didn’t say it and that wasn’t his intention – that the rebels take the Commander’s life. Merely that establishing it as the absolute truth could not be established to the required standard in the courts for Rabuka to be formally convicted and sentenced.
In many civil proceedings, defendants can be pronounced guilty on the balance of probability but not in criminal trials in Fiji and similar jurisdictions like Australia and New Zealand. But failing to prove the charges – as in the case of Rabuka and the mutiny – doesn’t mean that he didn’t do it. He may have been found “not guilty”. But he wasn’t found innocent.
And so the nation looks forward to the Prime Minister telling the whole truth as part of his precious Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And indeed his willingness to do so will be at the heart of the credibility of the process. Because Rabuka can hardly expect others to tell the truth if there is a suspicion that he continues to lie about his involvement in the mutiny of 2000.
The extract above and the detailed account below was penned in 2007 by a celebrated Australian prosecutor by the name of Mark Tedeschi, a Queen’s Council then (QC) and King’s Council now (KC), who prosecuted Sitiveni Rabuka on behalf of the State. While now largely forgotten, it is a remarkable account of what occurred through Tedeschi’s expert eyes and has fresh resonance as the Truth and Reconciliation process gets underway, with Sitiveni Rabuka now the nation’s leader.
After this fascinating account, we’re publishing the judgments in Rabuka’s trials – first the original trial which produced an acquittal and then the judgment in the appeal that the State launched against that acquittal.
You can decide for yourself, Fiji, whether Sitiveni Rabuka still has some explaining to do, having established “truth” as a pre-requisite to “reconciliation” as one of his political leitmotifs after his ascendancy – by the “power of one” – to the top job in Fiji in December 2022 that his accusers still say he tried to seize at gunpoint 24 years ago.
Incredibly, the dramatis personae – the cast of characters in this astonishing real-life saga – hasn’t altered a great deal since those momentous events because most of the central characters are still alive.
They include the convicted instigator of the mutiny – the Qaranivalu and Naitasiri high chief, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata and the leader of the rebels, Shane Stevens, who has also recently been released from prison with George Speight.
They also include the former military officer and now Chair of the Great Council of Chiefs, Ratu Viliame Seruvakula; the then RFMF commander and later prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, who languishes in Korovou Prison 24 years on having been convicted of abuse of office. And of course, Sitiveni Rabuka himself.
So there we have it. Five men who were central characters in the events of 2000 at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks still present in our ranks. Will they all tell the truth and finally bury the ghosts of the past?
In Grubsheet’s view, Fiji is, regrettably , a nation of liars and all of these individuals have far too much to lose to bare their souls in an exercise of national catharsis and “tell all”. But in the case of the Prime Minister, read on for a fascinating account of what was established as having taken place and then draw your own conclusions. Maybe pigs do fly and Santa Claus is real. We shall see.
Sitiveni Rabuka is certainly stirring a hornet’s nest by re-opening an issue that is one of the most explosive in Fiji, and especially given that Frank Bainimarama survived the attempt to kill him. Does Rabuka think that he can simply stick to his story and this will be accepted as a matter of course by a modern audience?
If so, he is even more politically reckless than the evidence already suggests. And what’s in it for him politically anyway if he is going to again subject himself to the public’s judgment at the 2026 election?
A Truth and Reconciliation hearing is likely to hear accounts that would ordinarily not be admissible in a criminal trial. What happens if fresh witnesses come forward to say that Rabuka was involved? He can’t be tried again in the criminal courts but he can certainly be tried again in the court of opinion and in the history books.
Sleeping dogs are being aroused that some prominent Fijians who have yet to be unmasked would undoubtedly prefer to be left undisturbed. Will Rabuka be mauled by those dogs?
Read on and decide for yourself. The date is November 2 2000, six months after the May 19 George Speight coup.
And now the two judgments in the Rabuka prosecutions – first the original trial. My apologies to readers that this will require some tweaking on the screen to read these properly but it’s worth it.
And finally the judgment in the State’s appeal against his acquittal.
CONCLUSION:
Anyone who reads all of this can only wonder why on earth Sitiveni Rabuku would want to rake over the coals again. Only he knows what really happened in November 2000. But he faces the risk that others will come forward during a Truth and Reconciliation process and give fresh evidence that implicates him and makes his life decidedly uncomfortable.
Maybe he wants to face his demons. Who knows? But assuming the Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes hearings on the 2000 mutiny and people are genuinely encouraged to tell the truth, we are in for an especially fascinating time.
We never get the truth as nobody ever takes responsibility.
Coups, conflicts of interest, tax holidays, corruption, nepotism, interference with the rule of law – that’s just any given Wednesday in Fiji – will anyone ever take responsibility?
This man, Rabuka, is evil. From what has been reported in the articles by GD, Rabuka does not deserve the high office of Prime Minister. This TRC is a shambles and will only cause more chaos in an already divided and troubled Fiji. Rabuka needs to quietly go back to his bottle recycling bin and take his bunch of cronies with him. This does not look good for Fiji. Brace for huge rumblings Fiji! He has an ulterior motive which will only reopen wounds. Get out Rabuka, get out now!!!
Graham,
The aim of any “truth and reconcilation commission” is to discover and reveal past wrongdoing (or, depending on the circumstances, the role, if any of non-state actors such as paramilitary forces), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past.
Since the numerous coups, the iTaukei’s dominance over other ethnic groups had become a feature of the supremacy of one race to the exclusion of others. The coups had also created ethnic tensions, political instability leading to large numbers of Indo-Fijians leaving. The new power structure of government have shifted favourable to the iTaukei community with respect to land ownership and control, the military, judiciary and other arms of the government to the detriment of other ethnic groups.
Therefore, the disproportionately strong representation of the iTaukei’s in government, military, judiciary has further created a climate of mistrust amongst different ethnic groups, because of past grievances as well as the continuing uncertainty is difficulty to resolve so long as the iTaukei’s continues to exercise their dominance through the GCC, militaristics, racist and feudalistic ways. So long as this racist led Rabuka gov’t is in power then any terms of reference for the truth and reconciliation commission is dead as the (long extinct) “Dodo” bird.
Rabuka is either too good, or, too stupid. He must be so blinded by pride and cunning that he is unable to see what lays ahead with this TRC. He is definitely on the way out. Calling on all you patriotic legal beagles in Fiji and abroad, please put all your legal resources to work to get this guy all caught out in his own corrupt TRC. Something needs to be done pronto.
This is excellent reading, it provided some background information particularly to those that were either oblivious to the event of 2000 or to the younger generation who had no knowledge of the event.
In my opinion, the judges ruling were fair.
But the fact remains. Rabuka is a liar, a tamani big one at that. He can not be trusted ever! He is the reason why Fiji has gone to the dogs – period!
The TRC will not serve its intended purpose. I am ashamed to be a iTaukei and be associated with these lying lot who have no regard for the rule of law and basic humanity.
Ethno-nationalism is very much well and alive in this country. We will never get to know the truth and meaningfully reconcile despite the setting up of the TRC. It is all a farce and a waste of taxpayers investment.
There are more Rabuka types in our midst who are in the military, in government and in the various institutions of our country. What a dangerous precedent!
Other races may not understand why iTaukei are behaving irrationally and protecting each others backs. This is the normal DNA of many iTaukeis. Sa rui levu na veidokai macawa, veibuturaki, veiliumuritaki kei na were ubiubi.
Forgiveness and reconciliation efforts are superficial acts of iTaukeis which are non genuine and lack substance. It’s only done for show! iTaukeis like to do everything for show. Look at how we like to make grand demonstrations of insignificant events. When we rescind to our individual homes, districts, mataqali and yavusa, we continue to back bite each other and return to our “lawaki ca” ways. Such actions at the microscopic level manifests at the national level.
As I said, we will never get to know the truth or achieve the intentions of TRC. There are many Rabukas, Seruvakulas, Qaranivalus, Lalabalavus etc in our midst and they have infiltrated every backbone of our fragile democracy that we will never be able to recover economically, socially, politically and democratically.
Sad truth!
Well said,”Rabuka the cause of all our misery”….if only there was a lot more introspection nationally,by all ethnic groups. Will Fiji ever recover?
When you read the judgements it’s clear it raises more questions than answers! The courts definitely stated there were not enough evidences to corroborate the verbal accounts of the state witness- the phone calls would have been established with records obtained from the Telephone Company- the witness accounts of other soldiers who heard Mr Seruvakula recount his telephone conversation with Rabuka would have been shared and Rabuka’s own version of what transpired would have ultimately influenced the judgement !
What’s failing here is the lighter charge of “ influencing a govt official “ whether rightfully or wrongly! His charge should have been trying to influence a man in authority of a large number of soldiers ! That should be denounced at any level and irrespective whether he was trying to assist or exploit the situation that had developed- Rabuka was a retired soldier and should never had made those calls in any capacity!
The judges definitely overlooked all that! The attempt to influence is a serious matter in law! Say the President of Fiji gets a call. He is advised by a close friend not to accept an Act being raised by the Hon AG that has been accepted by parliament . Even if the call is to protest that the Act for removing Order 57 of parliament is for a good reason, no one has any business trying to influence a President or an official to do something that has its own processes and systems!!
It’s discomforting and certainly questionable that the whole judiciary that presided over the matter did not protest against his actions ! Rabuka had no business interfering in what was a volatile scenario that needed calm heads and not anyone that was already politically maligned !
Thank you GD for bringing this judgment to light ! It certainly shows one thing and that is the number of judicial officers who are in favor of Rabuka! Whatever they owe the guy only they and Rabuka will know! It was from this judgement that I lost all respect for Justice Anthony Gates! Just doesn’t cut simple protocols and administrative relevance !
A corrupt racist evil mind has single handedly destroyed a nation that was once heading towards the way the world should be. He has been forgiven multiple times and yet still continues to beg for forgiveness and further chances to continue his legacy of nation destroying.
Unless he pays for his crime and the nation rids itself of the king makers of the corrupt government systems in play since 1987, the nation will continue to suffer.
The TRC is another smokescreen right now.
It gives Rabuka the new chant and that is there are human rights issues in the Constitution.
There begins his campaign on getting the Constitution changed.
This is to benefit his agenda.
I urge all Fijians to be very aware and cautious. Do not take part in this TRC. Do not trust these people. You have no idea what they are capable of. Their intention is to target people who speak up. This is what happened after every coup. Their apologies is an example. Do not fall for this bullshit.
Rabuka should know who was behind Speight’s coup.
During Speight’s coup, the only shop open for business in a small town like Savusavu was for Satish Gulabdas. Satish served on Rabuka’s government as a MP in his party.
All food supplies for the rebels in the outskirts and near Rabuka’s village were provided by this shop. Trucks load of supplies went up the coast and this was witnessed on a daily basis.
When Bainimarama took over one of the biggest cleanups happened in Cakaudrove where CRW were present. They were lined up in front of the army and police barracks in Savusavu and beaten up.
The Gulabdas family (Satish is black listed from Fiji) contributed for the hall that was built in Drekeniwai, Rabuka’s village, recently. This family is well known for their corrupt practices and owning land and assets in many questionable ways in Savusavu. Satish was the mayor for Savusavu at one time too. During his term poor people lost their land.
The gujerati in Savusavu are well aware of the situation. One just has to ask and they will share the full story.
[From Radio NZ Apr 2005]
Fiji army colonel reportedly told police of prominent Indo-Fijian businessman behind coup
8:26 pm on 19 April 2005
A prominent Indo-Fijian businessman was one of the financiers of Fiji’s racially-motivated 2000 coup, which overthrew the country’s first prime minister of Indian descent.
That’s the claim in what Fiji media say are excerpts of a police interview with the former head of the military’s largest battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula.
The excerpts alleged the businessman was behind a June 2000 attempt to bribe the colonel into supporting the coup.
He identified the financier in the interview but the media outlets did not publish the name, for legal reasons.
In the 2003 police interview, Colonel Seruvakula said nearly two hundred thousand US dollars was left in his office with a note which read: “The future of the indigenous is in your hands – it is now or never”.
After returning the money at a drop-off point, he said army intelligence operatives investigating the bribe attempt uncovered the identity of the businessman helping to finance the coup.
Copyright © 2005, Radio New Zealand
I have said this before…rabuka is so evil that he will even give Satan a run for his money!
This evil bastard has lied throughout his entire life just to be relevant and in any position of power and authority….at any cost!..even if it involved destroying lives and destroying our nation.
He has been doing this for almost 40 years and his blind racist supporters have allowed his to continue his evil rampage. The man is so evil that he has even managed to convince others to join his quest for his mad racist laced grab for power at every turn in our country’s history. It’s almost like he puts an evil spell on people to either join or support him in his evil quest.
There are many examples of this…but one that really perplexes me is that despite knowing all of rabukas evil attempts to murder Frank at the cost of killing lots of loyal soldiers and take control of our country, Seruvakula has decided to come back to actually assist Rabuka in his ongoing evil power trip by way of endorsing everything he does through his chairmanship of the utterly racist and ignorant GCC. Seruvakula of all people knows how the dumb racist lot at the GCC was always used by the ethno nationalists and sneaky bastards like rabuka and kubuabola and friends to achieve the power and control they have always desired. To make their power grab legitimate and acceptable in the eyes of the uneducated racist masses, especially from the eastern provinces, rabuka and his gang of vipers always created the fear of how the vulagi were the ones that were responsible for the poverty of many itaukei. In fact in some cases the indo fijians were also blamed for the itaukei losing their language, culture and traditions. This of course was an easy excuse for the uneducated masses to believe, especially if most of their chiefs were parroting the same mantra as rabuka and his gang that are always prepared to grab power at any cost. The end always justified the means. This tactic was so successful in getting itaukei support for almost anything they did and any law they broke that it was even used in the 2000 coup when George the kailoma, who doesn’t even speak the itaukei language, started on his bullshit fear mongering about the indo fijian bogey man who was going to take over fiji and all itaukei.
In later years when this justification was wearing thin then fear was created about the evil chinese and in the last two elections the itaukei were taught to fear the Muslims and the chinese. You see in order to snatch and remain in power you had to create an enemy…and it’s easier to sell this fear mongering to people who are relatively uneducated. That is why rabuka and his viper colony have never wanted a seriously well educated itaukei community. “Keep them in the dark and feed them shit so that we can be king shit”….they have been using these tactics for 40 years now. And that is why the rabuka gang shat themselves when frank and aiyaz brought about an education revolution and ensured that every fijian student had excess to tertiary education. Thats why rabuka and bimans first move was to get rid of franks education revolution.
And that’s the reason why it’s perplexing that seruvakula despite knowing all these dubious intentions of rabuka and Viper gang is not only supporting rabuka but actually parroting the racist polarizing shit that’s peddled by this govt…even to the extent of supporting and legitimizing the presence and divisive and racist intentions of people like the Qaranivalu who seruvakula and all of fiji intimately knows was responsible for the mutiny together with rabuka. Why is the qaranivalu being allowed by seruvakula to use the GCC once again to peddle his racist and divisive bullshit?
Why Vili..why? You know about the mutiny, about rabuka and his gang involvement, about the business people who tried to bribe you on the day of the mutiny to back off from attacking the rebels!..you even gave media interviews about the attempted bribes..you knew their names and all their intentions. Yet you left fiji soon after only to make an presence years later to support the very people who so valiantly and principally fought against in 2000. Have you sold your soul as well? It sure looks like it. As long as people like you support and legitimize evil bakus like rabaku then we definitely have no hope of improving fiji.
And I have to ask this…are you seruvakula going to participate in the truth and reconciliation circus? Just remember that the first condition for any such event is the telling of TRUTH. Are you prepared to tell the whole truth about rabuka, the mutiny, the attempted bribe, the shady gcc members, george and his gang, duvuloco, draunidalo, Savua qaranivalu and everyone else that was prepared to tear the very fabric of our country and plunge it into decades of darkness simply because they power and control? Can you tell the whole truth?, because we know rabuka and his vipers certainly won’t tell the truth. And if people like you can’t tell the truth and have no problems selling your soul then I feel sorry for the souls of people like you the day u die…because you enabled evil to thrive.
Yes – so who was this I ndo- Fijian person ??
The TRC starts now !
Speak up ! If you can’t, then how will people speak up in person?
Good morning GD
This is insightful and thank you for sharing.
The CRW soldiers were created in 1987 by Rabuka. They grew into power and were renamed as 1MS. These were rebel people, like what you see in the highlands of PNG today. They had no regard for life and people. A tin of can fish was enough to get them pumping fists. You will see images of these young people in Rabuka’s own book.
In 2002, younger people were recruited in the CRW squad and some as young as 14 years old. So one can calculate that these men are still around.
Bainimarama did a nationwide collection of firearms for a reason. There were too many weapons of destruction everywhere within these rebels. Bainimarama also knew the capability of Rabuka and others and how far back they could drag this country in terms of economic and race relations prosperity. There was a reason he found hard for racial minorities. Those minorities were not only indo Fijians but mostly itaukei. Hope this is grounded in the minds of many today.
Rabuka is not entitled to stand straight and talk about leadership and forgiveness. Simply because this man was behind many things ugly in this country. He let his own soldiers down. He safeguarded his own backside and let other men go to prison.
As many Fijians sit in church today praying, I hope some of them pick this story up and read it GD. I hope that history teaches our youth today how worrying the leadership is in this country. The mutiny, the killing of each other who were itaukei, the many coups, and then the corruption that continues today. This is our lived reality and shameful legacy for over 30 years. Let this be the true teacher of how awful, treasonous, and corrupt these men are. They will NEVER change.
There are subtle signs of abuse and authority that still exists. There is the act of “I don’t remember,” or “I was never told.” These trends continue till today. Rabuka and his government is perfect example of this today. It makes one wonder how the current lot are groomed under his dictatorship (not leadership) and the rebellious nature of some that is visible and in a way undermining his power. They are now fighting amongst each other and this sets the scene for another mutiny within them. These events and anecdotes shows the abuse and control this man can bring to the nation and still act as if nothing has happened and everyone else owes him an apology now and that he is the victim.
On this Sunday, my heart goes out to the women and the poor who have lived through years of suffering and abuse. They do not deserve this. The 52% poverty mark is revealing of a country that is uneducated and left to suffer while these so called people of elite leadership and powers continue to haunt this country.
Those who are educated are making TikTok videos on colonisation causes and effects. How about make videos on this to educate your people on the harms of abuse of power now?
Fiji needs to do better. Stand parties up that has a clean slate of no coup and RFMF groomed makers. This is essential if democracy is to prevail for the betterment of the next generation.
Recruitment of 14 year olds in the CRW? This is nonsense…utter garbage …which put me off reading your post any further. The CRW was created as an elite unit. Its mentor and trainer was a fomer British SAS operative. The CRW had more experienced soldiers to draw upon than 14 year old boy scouts.
There were young people in the CRW led training. Whether they were part of the CRW is not in question, as in elite soldiers. These kids were there.
Children under 10 years of age were carrying guns at Yaroi Village during Speight’s coup. This was in Savusavu too. Saw it with my eyes.
Keep your army vet comments to yourself if you didn’t experience these.
It is time to hear know about the truth from those who saw what was happening.
Very well said Anonymous, very well said.
Now we clutch our Rosary beads and pray that this happens…
I continue to pray ,knowing fully well the lying, deceitful, tambetamee , suck yours, liumuri and Jhoot culture that has taken over over beloved Fiji..
GD. There are two accounts of soldiers who saw rabuka in camp on the day of the mutiny. A few say he was in civvies and had his uniform in his suv. Other soldiers who actually were trading fire with the rebels swear they saw rabuka in his uniform. A couple even said they threatened to shoot him when they found him in his uniform hiding under a desk. As usual the snake managed to slither away and has always pushed the story that he wasn’t wearing his uniform…but not according to soldiers in the front line. The devil was very lucky he didn’t die that day.
Over many years Rabuka has made Fiji Indians the target of his coups. He portrayed that Fiji Indians were the reason that the country is not prosperous and the Indians were taking over. Indians were used as scapegoats. Indians were called pagans and those that could be replaced by the Chinese.
We then saw the same by Speight and the recent video circulating on social media exactly shows this. Indians were targeted through a propaganda campaign.
Yesterday, Brian Tamaki, in New Zealand did the same on Indians as a diaspora in New Zealand. He then targeted the Fiji Indians and praised Rabuka for what he did to get his country back from the Fiji Indians. Tamaki fails to outline that itaukei suffered through decades from that coup.
This is the kind of misinformation and hate that is spreading around. It serves as a reminder that Rabuka’s abuse is widespread and not only for Fiji. His hate crime is far reaching. Rabuka is now the chief guest for the Fiji Day event in Auckland this coming Saturday. I request people to turn their backs on this man and the event. Don’t give him the oxygen to further segregate us. We need to spell it out for the world that we live in a democratic society in New Zealand and he is not welcomed as an abuser.
Anyone who goes to an event where Rabuka is chief guest is a donkey. There are many donkeys from Fiji in NZ, including many Indo-Fijian donkeys. They are everywhere.
Perhaps we may hear the full truth from this man’s mouth, when he publishes his own biography, after he retires to his village.
Truth and Reconciliation:
Missing a key concept of Repentance or acknowledgement of wrongdoing by a perpetrator upon a victim. And a demonstrated commitment of not repeating the same wrongdoing.
“Sin no more”. Seeking the so called Truth in a nation of convenient liars for forgiveness and reconciliation Without repentance and reformation is making a mockery of the processes and the parties that were wronged.
The TRC is a total waste of time, money and everything else.
There will be no truth told.
Who are they trying to kid?
As long as the majority of iTaukei believe in the vile these ethno-nationalists consistently spew out daily, there will never be any true reconciliation or lasting peace in Fiji.
The people have become so polarised. I have close friends most well educated who now believe in ethnic supremacy. It is sad. I am embarrassed to be an Itaukei.
As long as politicians use racial politics, minorities will always be used as scapegoats for all itaukei failures.
PAPs current policy of empowering Fijians by providing assistance in tractors and other funding is mere vote buying. We all know the tractors will be sitting in the fields dead in less than two years. And there will be no successful itaukei farmer.
Itaukeis need to learn the value of hard work. Govt need to stop ethnic based assistance. The best assistance would be training itaukeis on how to operate and manage businesses if they are to succeed in that sector.
Sadly Fiji has gone backwards since independence.
Most Fijians celebrating Fiji Day events in various parts of the world in the last week or so were just there to get the lovo food and some good curries.
There is really nothing to celebrate.
Anonymous i-taukei: There is hope – because of you. Though you may be a minority , hope there are an even more growing number . Thank you.
You are absolutely correct, GD, we are a nation of liars and manipulators of the facts. The man whose testimony could have convicted Rabuka but chose to shut his mouth was Land Force Commander, Jone Baledrokadroka. He and Rabuka shared a dislike for the Commander Bainimarama. He had a motive and the opportunity, his chief fm Naitasiri was allegedly the organiser and he had reason indeed a customary duty to protect him. It’s impossible to believe on the day of the mutiny Rabuka phoned almost everybody who was somebody at the QEB. The Land Firce Commander was somebody at the camp but no mention at all is made of Rabuka ever calling him, but he did. Again a check of phone records at Vodafone or Digicel could have revealed whom Rabuka spoke to on that day, but neither the Police nor Prosecution thought of obtaining those records. The whole thing stinks.
Anonymous- Outstanding and accurate commentary.
What a shame this one person has done so much damange to this country and yet he still is hero-worshipped by the vast majority of the electorate, and 99% of the itaukei. The other 1% are lying.
A large part of Fiji’s problems has been the partition media – advancing race-based, blind support for ethno-nationalism -particularly Butt times and their vernacular print.
Together, they constantly promoted, aided, and abetted racist demagoguery in 1987 and 2000. Especially by the native ‘reporters’ who not only had the snake father children, but kissed his [insert anatomy of choice] because of traditional allegiances and sxx. Lots of sxx always. Lyn Dah had company longer than she realizes.
As for the ‘truth,’ Seruvakula has opted for his 30 pieces. Once an upstanding soldier, showed courage and integrity and stood up to the forces evil in 2000. Then went to off to NZ military, furthered his career and returned to now join forces and causes with the same people he opposed in 2000.
What a shame, he may as well have taken the claimed USD200k “bribe” in 2000. Looking back, it wouldn’t have made an iota of difference in how things turned out anyway.
The other guy that adroitly played both sides in 2000 is now enjoying the rewards for his loyal to the snake in 2000. He fled miliyary prosecution and remained in exile for 20+ years milking the UN.
All the events of 1987 to 2000 were orchestrated by a Bible salesman turned snake charmer, who has since never let go of the cookie jar.
There has been a few bright spots along the way for the long vilified vulagi since 1987, like the guy who shot (and shat) himself between the pockets of his sulu vataga. Hilliarity ensued no end. Karma.
The snake charmer and the snake, meanwhile remain and are surrounded by the same scoundrels both here and the ‘refugees’ living abroad wiping and kissing ass for a living.
One day.
The TRC is just another attempt to control the narrative to Rabuka’s advantage. Nothing more. Do the damage, play the victim and rise as the hero in rebuilding a nation. He’s thick enough to think this is all it will take.
Rabuka was never the brains behind the 1987 coup.
It was promoted by the two parliamentarians who lost the most from the election .
Namely the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
The planing was done by the Commander of the Fiji Navy who was a holder of the Baton of Honour from Sandhurst Military College.
.
I think you are the most genuine post of all
The scariest part about these court documents and journals reveals Rabuka has not a slightest self regard for the soldiers at the RFMF on the night of the mutiny. His best response was to drink grog after all that happened.
No wonder Jone Kalouniwai must be having sleepness nights.
The Snake is in charge in Suva now.
God help us all Graham.
Yes, we certainly get to see the core of the man and it ain’t a pretty picture. Unifier? Rabuka is a fraud.
One day mafatu, one day! Rabuka, we know your intel, iro guys, read these articles. How do we know? By your comments in the media. So you lying thieves, listen up. Your days are numbered, the electorate will make sure that the hard questions will be asked and you will be driven out in embarrassment. You cannot continue to hide behind the BS of a TRC me hope to Gid that you are vindicated. No way Jose. Just wait and see
Army Veteran’s proud CRW Elite thugs were possibly elite in physical training. But not Elite in the brain. Why else would you let yourself be sacrificed by taking on your own armed forces in an unprecedented act of treason against fellow i- taukei, and against a numerically superior opposition. Because they were brainwashed by some ratu, or other despicable manipulative serpent? By misplaced nationalistic and provincial allegiances …or just wanna be so called elite toy soldiers with no other purpose in life but to be used and thrown away after the playtime is over.
Did you all read Rabuka’s latest Facebook statement?
A desperate statement indeed trying to justify his association with the loser NFP and its leader Biman.
What is most laughable is his comment saying that his most favorite meal is dhal and rice!!!!!!!
Sounds like a liar and a desperate man calling for votes lol!
Can’t access it. Can you copy and paste here?
Facebook page post of PM S Rabuka 13 Oct 2025.
The use of the race card and fearmongering was prevalent during the campaign leading up to the 2022 general elections.
I was demonised, accused of many things, and labelled a snake.
Personally, I am immune to personal insults.
Both Justice Jai Ram Reddy and I, during my tenure as Prime Minister from 1992 to 1999, were subjected to these kinds of insults.
In 2018 and 2022, both Professor Biman Prasad and I faced the same level of gutter politics.
While neither of us was personally affected, it instilled fear into the minds of the electorate.
I could sense this fear amongst the Indo-Fijian electorate.
Perhaps I should introduce myself again—I am Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, whose favourite dish is dhal and rice.
One of Fiji’s greatest leaders, Jai Ram Reddy, who went on to become a judge of international repute, would not have trusted or worked with me to usher in a new direction for Fiji if he thought I was dishonest.
Professor Biman Prasad DPM would not have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a post-election coalition government if both he and the NFP didn’t trust me.
I want to, once and for all, put an end to fear and doubts about my sincerity as a national leader, particularly to the Indo-Fijian community.
Trust me when I say we are here together for Fiji’s future.
Trust me when I say we are rebuilding Fiji’s future together, united as a three-party coalition government.
By the time the People’s Coalition Government heads to the next elections, we will have a very different electoral landscape compared to what we have endured in the past.
From the PMs Facebook page (copied from the Pacific Newsroom page)
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
14h ·
The use of the race card and fearmongering was prevalent during the campaign leading up to the 2022 general elections.
I was demonised, accused of many things, and labelled a snake.
Personally, I am immune to personal insults.
Both Justice Jai Ram Reddy and I, during my tenure as Prime Minister from 1992 to 1999, were subjected to these kinds of insults.
In 2018 and 2022, both Professor Biman Prasad and I faced the same level of gutter politics.
While neither of us was personally affected, it instilled fear into the minds of the electorate.
I could sense this fear amongst the Indo-Fijian electorate.
Perhaps I should introduce myself again—I am Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, whose favourite dish is dhal and rice.
One of Fiji’s greatest leaders, Jai Ram Reddy, who went on to become a judge of international repute, would not have trusted or worked with me to usher in a new direction for Fiji if he thought I was dishonest.
Professor Biman Prasad DPM would not have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a post-election coalition government if both he and the NFP didn’t trust me.
I want to, once and for all, put an end to fear and doubts about my sincerity as a national leader, particularly to the Indo-Fijian community.
Trust me when I say we are here together for Fiji’s future.
Trust me when I say we are rebuilding Fiji’s future together, united as a three-party coalition government.
By the time the People’s Coalition Government heads to the next elections, we will have a very different electoral landscape compared to what we have endured in the past
What an a-hole this man will ever remain! Even when he is at pains to pretend to be reconciliatory, his sub-conscious racism comes to the fore! The man is insane.
So, by this dunderhead’s reasoning, if I love chop suey, I love the chinese. If I love lovo, I love the itaukei. And on and on.
Makes one wonder what the rest of your thugs’ favorite dishes might be: Min of JustUs, AG, pig face Santa Claus, the entire dpp, ficac, judiciary, kuini of tarti, ginger bread farmer, pwd min, edu min, and the rest of the vile people you surround yourself with.
Your time will come SLR.
Perhaps, I should introduce yourself again—with a bit of history, Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, your real favorite dishes are racism, bigotry, hate, and ethnic cleansing:
(Copied from India Today Magazine)
India Today Magazine
Live TV
Michael Laurence
Girish Kumar
ISSUE DATE: Jun 15, 1987 | UPDATED: Jan 7, 2014 18:37 IST
Time: 10 a.m. Date: May 14, 1987. Place: Parliament House, Suva, the capital of Fiji.
The scene: opposition MP TanielaVeitata has the floor. “Peace and harmony is the governing principle on which the Fijians have been running their lives since the advent of Christianity. This is in contrast to what Mao Tse Tung believed: that political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.”
Enter Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, no. 3 in the Royal Fijian military, gun in hand, with 10 soldiers, all similarly armed. “This is a military take-over. Lie down and remain calm,” he shouts.
In the next 10 days, Fiji’s political system is shattered. After long and tortuous negotiations, the colonel’s basic aims are given respectability and the allegedly “Indian” Bavadra government is overthrown and replaced by a new political system to ensure ethnic Fijian control, seemingly for all time to come.
Until new elections are held, Fiji will be run by an Advisory Council split into an administrative committee and another to revise the constitution. Both these committees are chaired by Brigadier Rabuka (the colonel has promoted himself). The constitution committee is to ensure that two-thirds of the lower house seats as well as the jobs of the prime minister and the governor-general should be compulsorily reserved for ethnic Fijians.
Last fortnight’s coup thus simply confirmed what most Indians have known during their 108 years in Fiji – they are second-class citizens and will remain so. Since the arrival of the first Indians to the islands as indentured labourers, they have been ruled by the British for 96 years and the Fijian-majority alliance party government for 12 years. The only Indian-majority government, the Labour Party and National Federation Party coalition, was ended by the coup only six days after being officially sworn in by the governor-general.
While protesting over the seizure of power, the Indians will probably sullenly accept their fate and return to a life that is pretty much the same as it was before 10 a.m. on May 14. On the surface, it seems Fiji’s Indians have a Hobson’s choice. Either remain under the control of ethnic Fijians or leave the country.
Many Indians are contemplating the latter course. “Fiji is ruined and I want to leave,” was a common catch-cry among Indians in Suva over the past fortnight. Many of those with family ties in other countries – the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – were making desperate attempts to expedite applications to migrate or obtain visitors’ permits.
The Fijian Government Passport Office says there has been a “drastic” rise in passport applications since the riots in the capital, when ethnic Fijians attacked Indians and looted their shops. Suva’s biggest photographic shop, Caines Photofast, developed passport photographs for more than 250 people last Friday: about 230 were for Indians. “It’s been absolutely incredible,” a staff member said. “There are whole families planning to leave Fiji.”
However, most Indians neither have family ties nor money to even dream of a new life in another country. And despite the coup, many will not leave Fiji because they have been extremely successful in business here. One businessman with substantial retail interests in Suva, Abdul Jalar, said: “I would be foolish to leave all this.” Most of Fiji’s successful Indians, like Jalar, have had to carve their success from business rather than the land. It is enshrined in the Constitution that ownership of land will remain mostly with the ethnic Fijians. So, though there are now more Indians than Fijians – 347,455 against 330,441 – 83 percent of the land is under Fijian ownership. This has meant that most Indians have to rely on shopkeeping, working in the sugar-cane industry, general business and farming land obtained on long leases from Fijians. They have also had to concentrate on becoming better educated.
With the election of an Indian-majority government, Fijians increasingly have feared the next step will be losing ownership of their lands. A former alliance cabinet minister, Apisai Tora, who had been detained by the deposed Bavadra government on charges of inciting racial hatred before the coup, voiced the feeling of many ethnic Fijians. “Since our generosity has been rejected (by not being re-elected), we would like to have these leases back. And let us state quite clearly that when these leases come up for renewal, in the ’90s, they will not be renewed. Our population is increasing and we will need these blocks of our most fertile land to improve ourselves, and those who do not want our chiefs should vacate our land.”
It was sentiments like these which enabled Colonel Rabuka and the Fijian-dominated army to succeed in taking over the country. Now the announcement about new elections and the ruling council bring anger and resentment from the man who will carry on the tight on behalf of the Indians and those Fijians who believe in true democracy.
Dr Bavadra says the council is “stacked heavily” in favour of the alliance party which was defeated at the elections. There are only three Indians on the council – deposed deputy prime minister Harish Sharma. Chairman of the Fiji Trade and Investment Board Mumtaz Ali and President of the Fiji Employers’ Consultative Association Colonel Paul Manueli.
Sharma and Dr Bavadra are the only representatives of the new government. yet there are 14 members of the former alliance government, including the longtime prime minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Rabuka also is a council member.
With the governor-general giving in to coup leader Colonel Rabuka and the great chiefs, it seems fairly certain that the short-lived Indian summer in the South sea island of Fiji will never be seen again.
When Dr Bavadra questions the fairness of decisions that would come from such a group, he may have well been considering the track record of one ethnic Fijian member. Alipate Qetaki. It seems that Fiji’s Indians would have good cause to feel uneasy about the appointment of Qetaki, a Suva lawyer. In the Fijian magistrate’s court in Suva, Qetaki put forward an amazing argument in the defence of seven youths charged with attacking Indians and looting their shops in the riots. He claimed that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the charges because of the military coup. Instead, his clients should be tried by a military tribunal. He said the coup had removed the Constitution and all its powers. Both the magistrate hearing the charges, James Sabharwal, and the Chief Magistrate, Howard Morrisson, strongly rejected Qetaki’s argument. Sabharwal said the governor-general was still the head of state as the Queen’s representative and the court sat with all the authority vested in the magistrates by the Queen.
Thousands of Indians have been angered by Qetaki’s approach. After the riots, they had been looking to the courts to show that law and order still applied to the streets of Fiji. Yet, the next day, Qetaki was appointed to the council to advise the governor-general.
The mood of the Indians seems to have gone through four stages during the coup. In the days immediately following the seizure of power, there was disbelief, but also a calmness which astonished visiting journalists. As worshippers were pushed out of the street leading to the house where the Bavadra government was held, they were softly singing Fiji’s national anthem and many were smiling. A group of Indians told an Australian journalist: “We are peaceful in Fiji. We would never take to violence.”
By early last week, the Indians began to be decisive. They boarded up virtually all the Indian shops and stayed in their homes in silent protest, when not holding public prayer meetings. One Indian leader, Abdul Ali, said: “We have lived together for more than 100 years in harmony and can continue to do so. But if they take away our voting rights, we take away our commerce.” The Indian cane cutters refused to harvest the sugar-cane crop – Fiji’s most important crop.
The next emotion was fright as the riots erupted in Suva. Indians were beaten up and their cars and property damaged and stolen. Because of the closure of the newspapers and censorship of the radio stations, this fear spread quickly up and down the coast with Indians not knowing whether to believe stories a bout what was happening in Suva. Even after the release of the Bavadra cabinet, many Indians outside Suva believed they were still imprisoned and being tortured.
Now, the initial anger and fright have been replaced with a simmering frustration that will continue for years, no matter what happens. The Queen herself has been unable to do little, except perhaps prevent Fiji from turning the opinion of the great council of chiefs away from a proposal to make Fiji a republic.
Although the governor-general, as the Crown’s respected and loved representative, has managed to provide the most powerful opposition to the military regime, he has conceded to Colonel Rabuka being on his advisory council. Any changes to the Constitution will guarantee permanent Fijian supremacy. The six days of Indian-majority rule will never be seen again.
Published By: AtMigration
Published On: Jun 15, 1987