In An Area of the world generally thought to be remote in the West, Fiji is fighting a surrogate battle that may have effects on much of the planet and many of the social and political processes that are a part of globalization. We should be paying attention. Here's the problem: In May, a small group of armed native Fijians seized the parliament building in the capital, Suva, along with Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and a number of cabinet ministers. The intent of the coup leader, George Speight, was to remove the Prime Minister, who was not of the same native racial group, and to replace him with someone who was. The island nation's population is ethnically and culturally mixed. Fijians comprise about 51 % of the population and belong to the Melanesian ethnic group; Indians, about 44%. Almost all of the Indians were born in Fiji after their ancestors were brought to work on British plantations in the late 1800s.
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