Violence and political turmoil in Fiji have so far been confined to the capital, Suva, on the largest of the country's 300 islands. The rest of the country is calm. There is little threat to tourists who have sought to relax in an earthly paradise of unspoilt beaches and clear Pacific waters. However, the instability caused by the coup d'etat in which Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, has been held captive, is likely to deal a serious blow to the tourism industry which is a major contributor to Fiji's economy. Arson attacks on almost two dozen houses and businesses in Suva have damaged the carefully cultivated image of a country in which visitors can forget their cares.
The other main industry, the production of sugar, may also be badly hit. That part of the population which is of Indian origin, and to which Mr Chaudhry belongs, stems from immigrants who came to Fiji to run sugar plantations on 99-year leases. Many of these leases will run out over the next decade. Racial tension and land ownership are behind the current instability. Indigenous Fijians account for 51 per cent of the population of 800,000. Ethnic Indians make up 44 per cent but, due to their successes on the sugar plantations, they wield great economic power.
There was widespread fear that Mr Chaudhry, with the support of the octogenarian President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, might renew the leases for a further 99-years or give outright ownership of the land to Indian-Fijians. The intertwining of racial differences and land hunger provides a classic recipe for strife.
The capture of Mr Chaudhry, the country's first ethnic Indian Prime Minister, cannot be condoned under any circumstances. As the democratically-elected leader of the country, however, his abrasive behaviour verged on an arrogance which did little to improve the extremely strained relations between the main ethnic groups. As a result, the leader of the coup, Mr George Speight, an islander of mixed Fijian and British origins, has been supported by a surprisingly large section of the indigenous population.
The coup comes at a time of economic difficult for Fiji. A succession of floods and droughts has been disastrous for the sugar crops in recent years and uncertainty over the tenure of the plantations has not been conducive to recovery. The tourism industry, which had a record year in 1999, will find it hard to recover from the current unrest. A coup d'etat in 1987 devastated the industry and there is little reason to believe that Mr Speight's action will not have similar results.
A peaceful resolution of the political crisis is urgently required if further economic damage is to be avoided and there is a glimmer of hope that this can be achieved. The highly influential Great Council of Chiefs is reported to have urged President Mara to form a new interim administration in conformity with the constitution. At the same time, it has recommended that Mr Speight be granted a pardon. These moves should help calm the situation temporarily but much work will have to be done in a spirit of compromise by both communities in order to arrive at a long-term solution.