Fiji Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====1987 coups d'état==== The British granted Fiji independence in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted by two [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|military coups]] in 1987<ref name="RSB">{{cite book |last1=Blum |first1=William |title=Rogue State |date=2002 |publisher=Common Courage Press |location=Monroe |isbn=184277221X |pages=153–154}}</ref> precipitated by a growing perception that the government was dominated by the [[Indians in Fiji|Indo-Fijian]] (Indian) community. The second 1987 coup saw both the Fijian monarchy and the [[Governor-General of Fiji|Governor General]] replaced by a non-executive president and the name of the country changed from ''[[British Dominions|Dominion]] of Fiji'' to ''Republic of Fiji'' and then in 1997 to ''Republic of the Fiji Islands''. The two coups and the accompanying civil unrest contributed to heavy Indo-Fijian emigration; the resulting population loss resulted in economic difficulties and ensured that Melanesians became the majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=110|title=Fiji Islands: From Immigration to Emigration|last=Lal|first=Brij V|date=April 2003|publisher=Migration Policy Institute|access-date=14 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304101928/http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=110|archive-date=4 March 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1990, the new constitution institutionalised ethnic Fijian domination of the political system. The [[Group Against Racial Discrimination]] (GARD) was formed to oppose the unilaterally imposed constitution and to restore the 1970 constitution. In 1992 [[Sitiveni Rabuka]], the Lieutenant Colonel who had carried out the 1987 coup, became Prime Minister following elections held under the new constitution. Three years later, Rabuka established the Constitutional Review Commission, which in 1997 wrote a new constitution which was supported by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. Fiji was re-admitted to the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page