Word: fiji
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Great Council of Chiefs, which is made up of some 150 tribal leaders and officials who advise the government on internal affairs, was not enjoying developments. They were looking for a way out of the worst crisis in the country's history. Then, in the next few days, Fiji suffered through widespread racial violence between native Fijians and Indians...
...Pacific and cast a pall over the country's second biggest industry, tourism. No one was certain all week who was actually running the troubled paradise. The violence and unrest were a trauma for a country whose racial harmony had led Pope John Paul II last year to call Fiji a "symbol of hope for the world." Said Agricultural Minister Jo Nacola: "We haven't ever had scenes like that before in the history of our country...
Racial conflict was also behind an attempted skyjacking in Fiji last week. An Indian airport worker, Amzad Ali, took over an Air New Zealand 747 that was making a stopover between Tokyo and Auckland, New Zealand. Armed with dynamite and a knife, he threatened to blow up the aircraft unless all ousted government leaders were released. Ali allowed the 105 passengers and 23 crew members to disembark but held captive the captain, the first officer and the | flight engineer. After six tense hours, the flight engineer ended the siege by hitting the hijacker over the head with a bottle...
...that violence took place against a backdrop of confusion over who exactly was in control in the islands. Early in the week army officers freed deposed Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra and the 27 members of his government. The release was part of a careful plan negotiated between Rabuka and Fiji's Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who is an independent Commonwealth official representing Queen Elizabeth II. Ganilau had stood firm against the coup, declaring a state of emergency and ordering the troops to return to their barracks. When they refused, he began negotiations with Rabuka, who had appointed himself...
...Fiji's relations with its neighbors have suffered a setback. Air New Zealand has suspended flights to Fiji, and labor unions in Australia, whose government refused to recognize the interim military council, have forced its % planes to fly empty into Fiji before taking normal loads out. Maritime unions in both countries have also banned the handling of cargo going to Fiji. No matter what happens now, the island paradise will never again be quite the same...