The South Pacific is better known for its coral than its coups. But Fiji and the Solomon Islands, seen from afar as tropical paradises, have been rocked in the past month by violent armed revolts. Seven armed men stormed Fiji's Parliament building on May 19 and took 31 government officials, including Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, hostage. They were still camped out in the government compound when rebels in the Solomon Islands staged their own hostage-taking last week, nabbing the prime minister and seizing power. By week's end, the prime minister was apparently released, but peace talks foundered, and foreign nations evacuated their citizens.
Ethnic resentments underlie both disputes.
In Fiji, coup leader George Speight purports to be fighting for the rights of indigenous Fijians. Barely a majority, Fijians used to enjoy special rights and preferences over the large Indian minority population. Chaudhry, the first Indian prime minister, had begun to dismantle some of the programs, leaving some Fijians feeling threatened. In the Solomon Islands, the coup was the culmination of 18 months of ethnic unrest, with rebels from the island of Malaita trying to reinforce their increasing dominance over natives of the larger Guadalcanal, the site of a famous World War II battle. Similar ethnic tensions are found throughout the South Pacific, from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia.