Editing Fiji (section)

====2000 coup d'état====
{{Main|2000 Fijian coup d'état}}
In 2000, a [[coup]] was instigated by [[George Speight]], which effectively toppled the government of [[Mahendra Chaudhry]], who in 1997 had become the country's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister following the adoption of the new constitution. Commodore [[Frank Bainimarama]] assumed executive power after the resignation, possibly forced, of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Later in 2000, Fiji was rocked by [[Mutinies of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état|two mutinies]] when rebel soldiers went on a rampage at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks. The [[High Court of Fiji|High Court]] ordered the reinstatement of the constitution, and in September 2001, to restore democracy, a general election was held which was won by interim Prime Minister [[Laisenia Qarase]]'s [[Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua]] party.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lal|first=Brij V.|date=2002|title=In George Speight's Shadow: Fiji General Elections of 2001|journal=The Journal of Pacific History|volume=37|issue=1|pages=87–101|jstor=25169576|doi=10.1080/00223340220139298|s2cid=162166648}}</ref>

In 2005, the Qarase government amid much controversy proposed a [[Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill|Reconciliation and Unity Commission]] with power to recommend compensation for victims of the 2000 coup and amnesty for its perpetrators. However, the military, especially the nation's top military commander, Frank Bainimarama, strongly opposed this bill. Bainimarama agreed with detractors who said that to grant amnesty to supporters of the present government who had played a role in the violent coup was a sham. His attack on the legislation, which continued unremittingly throughout May and into June and July, further strained his already tense relationship with the government.