Two

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

mutinies Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, b ...

took place in connection with the civilian

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

that occurred in

Fiji Fiji, 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 of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in 2000, the first while the rebellion instigated by George Speight was in progress, and the second four months after it had ended.

The Sukunaivalu Barracks mutiny (7 July 2000)

On 7 July 2000, rebel soldiers supporting George Speight overran the Sukunaivalu Barracks in

Labasa Labasa (, ) is a town in Fiji with a population of 28,500 at the 2010 census. Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a ...

, the largest town on the northern island of

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...

The Queen Elizabeth Barracks mutiny (2 November 2000)

The second mutiny, which took place on 2 November 2000 at

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, was led by Captain Shane Stevens. It left three soldiers dead. In the aftermath of the failed attempt to depose the

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, four of the rebels were tortured and killed by loyal soldiers.

Court martial

On 16 August 2005, the Fiji Court of Appeal delivered a landmark ruling, ordering a retrial of 20 soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRW) who had been convicted in a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

of participating in the 2000 coup and in a subsequent mutiny in November 2000, and sentenced to prison terms of between three and six years.

References

Bibliography

* Trnka, S. (2011). State of Suffering: Political Violence and Community Survival in Fiji. United States: Cornell University Press., * Pretes, M. (2008). Coup: Reflections on the Political Crisis in Fiji. United States: ANU E Press., *Baba, T., Nabobo-Baba, U., Field, M. (2005). Speight of Violence: Inside Fiji's 2000 Coup. Australia: Pandanus Books.,

External links

The Hindu - 14 November 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutinies of the 2000 Fijian coup d'etat 2000 Fijian coup d'état Mutinies Events that led to courts-martial