Racial Relations Fiji

Riots broke out across the capital today with Fijian mobs attacking ethnic Indians, and the South Pacific island's governor general moved to form a caretaker government a day after a military coup collapsed. The violence followed the release late Tuesday of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra and his Indian-dominated Cabinet, who had been held under house arrest since last Thursday, when Lt. Col. Sitivani Rabuka stormed the Parliament and announced the military was in control.

If you missed the first military coup that rocked this South Pacific nation back in May, 1987, don't worry. It's out on videotape. In it, the mercurial army chief Sitiveni Rabuka, playing himself, tells his wife and son over breakfast that he's on a mission from God to overthrow the newly elected government. Unhappy with the results, he launched a second bloodless coup four months later. No videotape was made of Rabuka's latest intrigue, however.

A bomb exploded in a car in central Suva, the capital of the south Pacific nation of Fiji, killing an Indian and injuring two others, officials said. Police identified the dead man as Gynendra Prasad, 32, an employee of the University of the South Pacific in Suva. The two injured men, also believed to be Indians from Suva, were not named. They were the first casualties since Col.

Fiji's coup leader, Col. Sitiveni Rabuka, named prominent anti-Indian leaders and one Indian to a 19-member council of ministers to help govern the racially divided South Pacific island nation until elections are held. Rabuka also said that the Great Council of Chiefs, the supreme tribal body of native Fijians, will choose the president next week. He said he has no wish to be president. Rabuka led a coup May 14, then staged a second one Sept.

Army troops patrolled nearly deserted streets early today to prevent looting after ethnic clashes, while Fiji's governor general and the island nation's Great Council of Chiefs sought a way to end the governmental crisis in the wake of last week's military coup. More than 50 people were reported injured Wednesday when young Fijians attacked ethnic Indians at an outdoor prayer meeting in the first racial violence since the coup.

Military coup leader Sitivene Rabuka vowed Saturday to prevent Indians from ever assuming political power again in Fiji, and Indians shuttered their shops and gathered in crowds to protest the takeover. Lt. Col. Rabuka said earlier that he led the bloodless seizure on Thursday to stop fighting between ethnic Fijians and Indians after the April 11 election, which led for the first time to an Indian-dominated government.

If you missed the first military coup that rocked this South Pacific nation back in May, 1987, don't worry. It's out on videotape. In it, the mercurial army chief Sitiveni Rabuka, playing himself, tells his wife and son over breakfast that he's on a mission from God to overthrow the newly elected government. Unhappy with the results, he launched a second bloodless coup four months later. No videotape was made of Rabuka's latest intrigue, however.

Army troops patrolled nearly deserted streets early today to prevent looting after ethnic clashes, while Fiji's governor general and the island nation's Great Council of Chiefs sought a way to end the governmental crisis in the wake of last week's military coup. More than 50 people were reported injured Wednesday when young Fijians attacked ethnic Indians at an outdoor prayer meeting in the first racial violence since the coup.

Riots broke out across the capital today with Fijian mobs attacking ethnic Indians, and the South Pacific island's governor general moved to form a caretaker government a day after a military coup collapsed. The violence followed the release late Tuesday of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra and his Indian-dominated Cabinet, who had been held under house arrest since last Thursday, when Lt. Col. Sitivani Rabuka stormed the Parliament and announced the military was in control.

Military coup leader Sitivene Rabuka vowed Saturday to prevent Indians from ever assuming political power again in Fiji, and Indians shuttered their shops and gathered in crowds to protest the takeover. Lt. Col. Rabuka said earlier that he led the bloodless seizure on Thursday to stop fighting between ethnic Fijians and Indians after the April 11 election, which led for the first time to an Indian-dominated government.