The political roles of the Fiji military : a history of the warriors, heroes of the world wars, peacekeepers and statesmen, from the first encounters to the Bainimarama government ; Les rôles politiques des militaires fidjiens : une histoire des guerriers, héros des conflits mondiaux, soldats de la paix, putschistes et hommes d'Etat, des premiers contacts avec les Occidentaux au gouvernement Bainimarama

Abstract

The Fiji Military have long-lasting political roles. Their ancestors, the Chiefs' warriors, were determining in making or maintaining the leaders. During the early colonial days, constituted in an Armed Native Constabulary, some of them were employed for the « pacification » of tribes resisting the British and missionary presence. In 1914, subjects of the Crown, they wanted to fight for the Queen, but the British Command refused these coloured men. The famous Ratu Sukuna enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. He later convinced the colonial authority to send a Labour Detachment of about one hundred Fijians to Europe. During the Second World War, thousands of Fijians fought in Bougainville and the Solomons. Despite the perilous situation, the Fijian losses were scarce, because of their skills and aptitudes. The impression they left was enduring: in the 1950s, London asked for a Fijian Battalion for the Malayan Campaign. In 1970, the new sovereign State turned the Fiji Defence Force into the Royal Fiji Military Forces, soon to participate in peacekeeping missions, becoming a powerful instrument of international policy. Since the beginning of the Fiji history, the Military Forces have been the strong support of the long-established customary leaders and Methodist Church, including by conducting the coup of 1987 with Sitiveni Rabuka to protect the traditional Melanesian interest. From the year 2000, behind Commodore Bainimarama, the Army reinforced its political role but completely changed its position, declaring to want equal rights and duties for all the citizens, and contesting the archaic customary power, until conducting the 2006 Coup that led to the current military regime. ; L'État fidjien est fortement marqué par le fait militaire et le militarisme. La société précoloniale était largement fondée sur la guerre et l'art de la faire. L'administration britannique et les missions chrétiennes ont fait cesser les conflits armés mais les Fidjiens, héritiers d'une puissante tradition guerrière, ont cherché à la ...