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Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, popularly known as '''Frank Bainimarama,''' (born 27 April 1954 ), is the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces , who organized a counter-coup in 2000 to neutralize the Putsch led by George Speight . He served as Head Of The Interim Military Government from 29 May to 13 July , 2000 , when he handed power over to the newly-appointed President Ratu Josefa Iloilo . He was instrumental in the rise to power of the government of the present Prime Minister , Laisenia Qarase , but in recent times his intense criticism of the government's policy of showing leniency towards persons implicated in the coup has strained his relations with the regime, and has led some politicians to accuse him of meddling in Politics . CAREER Bainimarama's career with the Navy spans three decades. He has received a number of honours for his service. He has been made an Officer Brother in the Order Of St John Of Jerusalem , and has received the Meritorious Service Decoration , the Peacekeeping Medal for United Nations peacekeepers, the General Service Medal , the Fiji Republic Medal , and the 25 Anniversary Medal . Pre-coup Following his education at Marist Brothers High School , Bainimarama enlisted with the Fiji Navy on 26 July 1975 and rose smoothly through the ranks, becoming an Able Seaman in August 1976 , a Midshipman in December that year, and an Ensign on 1 November 1977 . After completing the Midshipman Supplementary Course in Australia , he was appointed Navigation officer of the HMFS Kiro in August 1978 . At the end of that year, he was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant . In January 1979 , Bainimarama embarked on the Chile an naval training ship, the Buque Escuela Esmeralda , which spent six months circumnavigating South America . On his return to Fiji in August, Bainimarama was appointed Executive Officer of the HMFS Kiro. After a brief Navigation Course on the HMAS Watson in March 1982 , Bainimarama underwent Search and Rescue training at the United States Coast Guard Centre in New York . On his return to Fiji, he was appointed commander of the HMFS Kikau , his first command post. He went on to command the HMFS Kula , and spent four months in 1984 in the markings of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Tonga , Tuvalu , and Kiribati . After being promoted to Lieutenant Commander in February 1986 , he departed for the Sinai where he served for eighteen months with the United Nations peacekeeping forces. Bainimarama returned to Fiji in September 1987 . He took charge of the delivery of two naval ships, the Levuka and Lautoka , from Louisiana in the United States . He became Commanding Officer of the Fijian Navy in April 1988 , and was promoted to the rank of Commander on 4 October that year. He was to hold this post for the next nine years. Bainimarama underwent further training at the Malaysia n Armed Forces Staff College in 1991 and at the Australian Warfare College in Newcastle , where he studied Maritime Surveillance Training . This was followed by Disaster Management training at the Asian Institute Of Technology in 1993 , and Exclusive Economic Zone Management training at Dalhousie University , Canada , in 1994 . He was promoted to the rank of Captain in October of that year, and went on to attend the Australian Joint Services Staff College (JSSC). He attended the Integrated Logistics Support Overview course of the Australian Defence Co-operation Program on 23 September 1996 , and the Chief of Army Conferences in Singapore in 1998 and 1999 , as well as the Chief of Defence Conference in Hawaii . Bainimarama was appointed Acting Chief Of Staff on 10 November 1997 , and was confirmed in this post on 18 April 1998 . On 1 March 1999 , he as promoted to the rank of Commodore and was named Commander of the Armed Forces , to replace Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau , who resigned to pursue a political career. It was in his capacity as Commander of the Armed Forces that Bainimarama assumed power on 29 May 2000 . Post-coup Bainimarama attended a Leadership and Change Management course with the Public Service Training and Development program in February 2002 , and a Policy Planning Analysis and Management course at the University Of The South Pacific in Suva the following month. He went on to attend the Defence and Strategic Studies Annual Conference at the Australian Defence College Centre in Canberra on 2 August , and the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University in the United States from 18 to 30 August . In November that year, he was promoted to Rear Admiral , but this promotion was reverted to Commodore on 1 February 2003 . On 4 September 2003 , Bainimarama attended the Pacific Armies Management Seminar XXVII in Seoul , South Korea , and went on to attend the PKO Capacity Building Seminar in the Philippine capital of Manila . Despite his deteriorating relationship with the government, Bainimarama was reappointed Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces on 5 February 2004 . That month, he attended the Pacific Area Special Operations Conference. This was followed by the Seminar Executive Course at the Asia Pacific Centre For Strategic Studies in Hawaii in April. In May and June, he attended the South East Asia Security Symposium. In September, he attended both the PAMS XXVII in the India n capital of New Delhi , and the 7th Chief of Defence Conference in Tokyo , Japan . On 14 December 2005 , Bainimarama began an official visit to China, at the invitation of the People's Liberation Army . He reaffirmed Fiji's support for the One China policy. THE FIJI COUP OF 2000 Believing that the then-President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was not dealing effectively with the situation, he apparently forced Mara to resign on May 29 2000 , in what some politicians have since called "a coup within a coup," and formed an Interim Military Government which negotiated an accord under which the rebels would release all hostages, including the deposed Prime Minister , Mahendra Chaudhry , and would surrender without penalty. The government later reneged on the last part of the agreement and arrested Speight on 27 July 2000 , with Bainimarama saying that he had signed that part of the accord "under duress." POLITICAL CONTROVERSIES
Bainimarama, who has kept a high profile since the coup, has been embroiled in constant controversy since. He has repeatedly entered the political arena to criticize government policy - especially its policy of leniency, as he sees it, towards persons responsible for the coup. Politicians countered with charges of inappropriate interference in political affairs, and some accused him of hypocrisy, saying that he himself had a case to answer for his role Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's resignation from the presidency. Bainimarama has condemned the early release of persons imprisoned for their involvement in the 2000 coup, including former Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli and Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu , the Paramount Chief of the Tovata Confederacy . He spoke out against the organizing of Fiji Week , a week of religious services and cultural ceremonies, in which persons could apologise for their participation in the coup, that was held from the 4th through the 11th of October, 2004 . On 13 May 2005 , he announced his implacable opposition to the government's proposal to establish a Reconciliation And Unity Commission , with the power to grant compensation to victims of the 2000 coup, and amnesty to perpetrators of it. He agreed with detractors who say that it is a sham to grant amnesty to supporters of the present government who played roles in the coup. His attack on the legislation, which continued unremittingly throughout May and into June and July, further strained his already tense relationship with the government. On 11 July , Bainimarama issued one of his strongest-worded challenges yet to the government, saying that it was forcing the country into the same anarchy as in 2000 . In an eight-page statement, he warned that the Military was would take decisive action against any "destabilisers" - among whom he named Attorney-General Bale and Ministry of Reconciliation Chief Executive Apisalome Tudreu . ''"The military will dish out the same fate we dealt George Speight and his group to anyone whom we think deserves this treatment,"'' Bainimarama said. He said that he would arrest and put on trial anyone who threatened the stability of Fiji. The next day, it was revealed that a draft document signed by Bainimarama had originally contained a direct threat to overthrow the government if the bill went through. ''"The RFMF must stop the Bill from passing or get rid of the Government if it is passed. We can recover without this government, we cannot recover from this Bill,"'' said part of an emboldened paragraph, which was edited out of the document, part of the Military's draft submission to the parliamentary committee considering the bill, before publication. The document accused Prime Minister Qarase and Attorney-General Bale of playing the race card deliberately for political reasons. Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola finally admitted on 13 July that the government was Constitutionally powerless to do anything to discipline the Military commander. He said that the government was very concerned about Bainimarama's behaviour, and accused the media of exacerbating the tensions. ''"You (the media) can play a major role and come to us first instead of coming to us after highlighting what he (Bainimarama) has said,"'' Vosanibola told the Fiji Times. On 20 July , however, Bainimarama claimed that Vosanibola had attempted to dismiss him in June. Vosanibola had presented a letter of termination to the government, which they had discussed, he claimed. On 24 August , Bainimarama went public with allegations that Senator Apisai Tora and other politicians, whom he did not name, had asked him to depose President Iloilo in 2000 . Tora angrily denied the accusations, and was supported by Prime Minister Qarase, who claimed to have attended the meeting where the topic of removing President Iloilo was alleged to have come up. No such topic was discussed, Qarase said. Bainimarama reiterated his allegations on 1 September , and police spokeswoman Sylvia Low said that a file had, in fact, been opened as far back as 2001 , when Bainimarama had made a statement to the police naming individuals he said were involved in the plot. That file was still open, Low said. On 5 September , a team of Criminal Investigation Officers interviewed Bainimarama about his allegations. The details of the discussion were not disclosed, except that Bainimarama had filed an official statement. He told the media after the meeting that he was willing to testify in court. Earlier, Kevueli Bulamainaivalu, the police officer heading the investigation, had said on 29 August that until Commodore Bainimarama had filed an official report and signed it, the police could do nothing. Counter criticisms Bainimarama's detractors have accused him of hypocrisy for vehemently opposing what he sees as the government's policy of leniency towards perpetrators of the 2000 coup, when there are unanswered questions about his own role in it. On 25 April 2004 , then- Opposition Leader Mick Beddoes called on the army to answer for its failure to protect President Mara while the country was in crisis. He called this ''"a fundamental failure"'' on the part of the army. On 5 January 2005 , Joji Kotobalavu , a spokesman for Prime Minister Qarase, reminded the public that Bainimarama himself was currently under investigation for his role in the apparently forced resignation of President Mara. On 2 May 2005 , Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes announced that Bainimarama had volunteered to make a statement about his own role in Mara's resignation. To lay any charges, Hughes had earlier said, it would have to be proven that Bainimarama actually forced the President to resign. Bougainville security situation
Bainimarama told the Fiji Live news service on 13 December that Noah Musingku , a Papua New Guinea businessman who once ran a failed Pyramid Scheme and has since been involved with an armed separatist movement on the island of Bougainville , had contacted him several months earlier, offering F$35 Million for his cooperation with respect to "security work" in Bougainville. Bainimarama recognized the scheme as an obvious "con job", he said, and did not reply to the letter. POLICE INVESTIGATION Police revealed on 14 March 2006 that they were investigating allegations that Bainimarama and his bodyguards had threatened a defendant outside a courtroom in Nadi the previous afternoon. Tevita Tuidraki was charged with Indecent Assault , reportedly against a relative of Bainimarama's. His lawyer, Eroni Maopa , said that Bainimarama and his bodyguards had confronted him, causing him to fear for the safety of his family. The incident was not the first of its kind, Maopa claimed. PERSONAL LIFE Bainimarama hails from the village of Kiuva in the Kaba Peninsula , Tailevu Province . He is the brother of ''Ratu'' Meli Bainimarama and ''Ratu'' Timoci Bainimarama , both senior civil servants. He is married to Maria Makitalena , with whom he has six children. He is a sports enthusiast, with a particular passion for Rugby and Athletics . He has also served as chairman of the Fiji Rugby Union, and takes a keen interest in military history and current affairs. He is also a staunch church-goer. EXTERNAL LINK |
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