Forgotten Fiji

Imagine however, if this coup had taken place in another country – a country that plays a significant part on the world stage. Imagine if the Prime Minister of Britain, Gordon Brown, was ousted in a show of arms by his military, or if parliament had been disbanded and martial law imposed in a country as large as Mexico. The prospect of either of these two countries going through a period of instability would be enough to prompt action from the United States.

Britain is America’s greatest ally in world affairs, and so the U.S.A. would at the very least impose financial sanctions to attempt to persuade any coup leader that returning the country to a democracy would be the best thing they could do. If the same scenario played out in Mexico, a country that shares its border with America, the U.S.A. would probably send aid to the deposed president but in the form of military aid, as having an unstable government as its next door neighbour would not be seen as a wise thing to leave unchecked.

So, why should anyone care about Fiji, let alone try to rescue it from yet another coup? Well, countries like Australia, New Zealand and America would do well to remember their history and a certain term called the “domino effect”. Democratic countries widely used the term “domino effect” throughout the cold war to describe how if one country fell to communism the others around it would soon follow, until all had fallen like a set of lined up dominoes. Based on this theory other surrounding pacific nations such as Tonga, Rarotonga, The Cook Islands, and Western Samoa would soon follow Fiji’s lead. From there New Zealand would not be far behind especially when you consider that Auckland has the highest population of Pacific Islanders living in any one city in the world.

Democratic countries should do more to help the people of Fiji get back the government that they democratically elected. Fiji may not have the size or strength of other countries but that does not mean that the rest of the world should abandon them. For if this can happen in Fiji without any retaliation from the international community, then it can definitely happen elsewhere too, and next time maybe the consequences will be greater.