Akuila Yabaki is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

clergyman. He is currently the Executive Director of the

Citizens Constitutional Forum Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, a pro-democracy organization. Yabaki was a strong critic of some policies and decisions of the Qarase government of 2000 to 2006, including the early release from prison of persons convicted on charges related to the Fiji coup of 2000, and opposed controversial legislation seeking to establish a Commission empowered to propose

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

for such persons.

Coup of 2006

While most opponents of the Qarase government were, at the most, muted in their criticism of the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

of 5 December 2006, Yabaki strongly opposed both the coup itself and the actions of the Military in the leadup to it. Before the coup took place,

Fiji Village ''Fiji Village'' (stylised ''Fijivillage'') is an online news website in Fiji which is fully owned and operated by Communications Fiji Limited. It covers local, political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items. ''Fiji Village'' is ...

said on 28 November that he had written to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

, Commander of 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 ...

, calling on him to tone down his rhetoric and enter into dialogue with the government. Yabaki reiterated his own opposition to the same government policies that the Military was opposing, but insisted that it was not the role of the Military to oppose an elected government. Following the coup,

Fiji Television Fiji Television Limited is one of Fiji's main television network. It was founded on 15 June 1994 as the first permanent commercial television broadcasting network in the country, although television had previously been introduced temporarily ...

revealed on 16 December that he had written to Bainimarama on 12 December, urging the Military to hand power back to the civilian

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and negotiate an amnesty for himself and his soldiers. He agreed that the Qarase government had been divisive and acknowledged that there were allegations of corruption, but said that neither posed such a credible threat to the state as to justify military intervention. On 23 December, the

Fiji Sun ''Fiji Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Fiji since September 1999 and owned by Sun News Limited. ''Fiji Sun'' was founded by and is part of CJ. Patel Group. The Fiji Sun has its main newsroom in Suva, Fiji. Its print center remains in su ...

quoted him as endorsing a proposal from the

Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs ''(Bose Levu Vakaturaga'' in Fijian) was a constitutional body in Fiji from 1876 to March 2012. In April 2007, the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interi ...

to establish an interim government of national unity.

Pastoral role

The

Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma The Methodism, Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma is the largest Christian denomination in Fiji, with 36.2 percent of the total population (including 66.6 percent of Fijians, indigenous Fijians) at the 1996 census. Of the 280,628 persons identi ...

dismissed Yabaki from the pulpit in 2001. No reason for the dismissal was given at the time, although political disagreements were widely thought to be involved. A claim endorsed by the

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai G ...

, which asserted on 27 January 2006 that Yabaki's excommunication followed church opposition to his political activism in the wake of the 1987 coups. He continued to use the title ''

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yabaki, Akuila Year of birth missing (living people) People excommunicated by Methodist churches Living people I-Taukei Fijian Methodist ministers People from Kadavu Province People educated at Lelean Memorial School