Ratu
''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...
Ovini Bokini Ratu (3 November 1944 – 15 January 2009) was a Fijian
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
and political leader. Bokini, who held the chiefly title of ''
Tui Tavua'', succeeded Ratu
Epeli Ganilau
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Military Cross, MC, Fijian honours system, MSD, (born 10 October 1951) is a former Fijian military officer and a retired politician. His career previously encompassed such roles as Commander of the Republic of ...
as
Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs
The Great Council of Chiefs ''(Bose Levu Vakaturaga'' in Fijian) was a formal assembly of Fiji's senior hereditary chiefs (including Sitiveni Rabuka who led the 1987 Fijian coups d'état), along with some representatives of the national govern ...
on 21 July 2004, and was re-elected to this post for a full three-year term on 27 July 2005.
A formal gathering of mostly traditional chiefs chosen by the country's 14 provincial councils, along with some appointees of the national government and the
Council of Rotuma The Council of Rotuma is a municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency. Owing to the unique character of Rotuma, the powers of this council are greater than those of other municipal bodies in Fiji and in some ways it approximates a ...
, the Great Council of Chiefs functioned as an
electoral college to select Fiji's
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, along with 14 of the 32 members of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Informally, the Council advised the Fijian government on every aspect of political life. Although not mandated by the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
, the chairman's role was therefore a very influential one.
During late April 2007, all members of G.C.C were suspended by the Interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. The suspension included the chairman, Ovini Bokini and all other members of G.C.C after the President's nomination for the Vice-President position was rejected by some G.C.C members.
Unusual appointment
Bokini was chosen to fill this position after his predecessor, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, had become embroiled in political controversy, calling for the resignation of the then-
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
,
Jope Seniloli
''Ratu'' Jope Naucabalavu Seniloli (14 June 1939 – 28 June 2015) was a Fijian chief who held the title of Turaga Taukei Naua and who served as Fiji's vice-president from 25 March 2001 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following ...
(who has since been convicted of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
for his role in the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
that deposed the elected government in 2000), and proposing the revival of the country's former ruling political party, the
Alliance Party, as a multi-racial party, hinting that he would play a role in it. Many politicians feared that Ganilau was compromising the neutrality of the Council, and it is thought that government pressure played a role in the decision of the
Cakaudrove Provincial Council to replace him as their representative with someone less controversial. Without membership of the Council, Ganilau was ineligible to serve as its chairman.
The sentencing of Vice-President Seniloli to four years' imprisonment for treason on 6 August 2004 created fears of a possible power vacuum should anything happen to the ailing 83-year-old
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
,
Josefa Iloilo
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, (29 December 1920 – 6 February 2011) was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 to 4 January 2007 (see below). He ...
. Constitutional experts, however, said that as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, Bokini could choose to assume the role of Vice-President in an interim capacity. Seniloli resigned on 29 November, paving the way for President Iloilo to nominate, and the Great Council to approve,
Joni Madraiwiwi
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Lord Madraiwiwi Tangatatonga (10 November 1957 – 29 September 2016) was a prominent Fijian lawyer, legal scholar, jurist, and politician. He served as vice-president, and also acting president, of Fiji, and Chief Justi ...
as the new Vice-President on 15 December.
Position on the Unity Bill
On 18 May 2005, Bokini complained that the Great Council of Chiefs had not been consulted, or even officially informed, about the government's controversial legislation to establish a
Reconciliation and Unity Commission with the power, subject to
presidential approval, to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the 2000 coup. Attempts by the Great Council to obtain a copy of the bill for study and discussion had come to nothing, he said. On 30 May, in a speech to mark
Ratu Sukuna Day in honour of Fiji's first modern statesman,
Lala Sukuna
Ratu Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vanayaliyali Sukuna (22 April 1888 – 30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the Modern Fiji, post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than an ...
, he cautioned that reconciliation was not something that could be forced or one-sided. ''"It must be allowed to grow through a shared understanding of what we all want and where we are all heading,"'' he said. Only with good leadership and the support and goodwill of other ethnic groups could
indigenous Fijians seriously negotiate about what to give and what to take – a process that would take time and patience. He proposed the
Fijian language
Fijian (') is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Fij ...
as a common bond to unite Fiji's diverse ethnic communities, saying that especially in rural areas, Fijian was widely used as a common language.
Later, however, he came out strongly in favour of the Unity Bill.
2006 coup d'état
Bokini condemned the
2006 Fijian coup d'état
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, against the government of President Josefa Iloilo. Iloilo was removed as president, but ...
, which overthrew the government of Prime Minister
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...
. Bokini said that the Great Council of Chiefs would refuse to recognise the interim government appointed by the
Republic of Fiji Military Forces
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about 4,000 active soldiers and approximately 6,000 reservists, it is one ...
.
(source)
/small> He angrily denounced his predecessor, Epeli Ganilau, who claimed to sympathise with the motives though not the method of the coup, for claiming to be mediating between the Great Council of Chiefs and the Military. ''"I never made a request to meet the commander. Whoever said that is lying. I don't intend to see the commander. He has to make a request to me if he wants to meet me,"'' Bokini declared.
On 7 December 300 villagers blocked the entrance to Tavualevu Village, in response to a rumour that the military was coming to arrest Bokini, a rumour the army quickly denied.
Background and career
Bokini hailed from the village of Tavualevu and held the chiefly title of '' Tui Tavua'', as Paramount Chief of the Tavua District
Tavua is a district in the Western Division on the north west coast of the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. It is part of the province of Ba. It is situated some 20 kilometers by road from Ba town. Its main economy is sugar cane, although the establ ...
of Ba Province
Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous province, with a population o ...
. He was the son of Ratu Etuate Bokini and Sereima Lalavanua. He held various positions of employment in the Fiji Sugar Corporation
Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) is the government-owned sugar milling company in Fiji having monopoly on production of raw sugar in Fiji. It is also the largest public enterprise in the country employing nearly 3,000 people, while another 200,000 o ...
before joining Fiji's House of Representatives. He was a member of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
in the 1990s, and also served in the Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
, holding a variety of portfolios. In addition to chairing the Great Council of Chiefs, he has also served as Chairman of the Ba Provincial Council
BA, Ba, or ba may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Bangladesh Army
* Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an Egyptian library and cultural center
* Boeing (NYSE stock symbol BA)
* Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland
* Boston Acoustics, a ...
.
Bokini was married to Tavo Bokini, with whom he had four children. He died on 15 January 2009 at his home in Tavua.Ratu Ovini Bokini Passes Away
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bokini, Ratu Ovini
Fijian chiefs
Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei politicians
I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji)
1944 births
2009 deaths
Politicians from Tavua, Fiji