Analysis: Fiji risks new ethnic gulf

Qarase: Pursuing Speight's nationalist crusade

By the BBC's Phil Mercer in Suva

A hardline nationalist, Laisenia Qarase, has been sworn in as Fiji's new prime minister - a move that could make reconciliation between the races here a distant dream.

Mr Qarase's Fijian People's Party won the first election since an armed coup attempt plunged the country into chaos more than a year ago.

Mr Qarase wants to enhance the economic and political rights of indigenous people at the expense of the Indo-Fijian community.

There are plans - should Mr Qarase get enough support to form a coalition - to change the multi-racial constitution to ensure an ethnic Indian can never again become prime minister.

Separate communities

This is a country already divided by race, where people voted largely on ethnic lines in the election.

There are significant cultural differences between native Fijians and those from an Indian background.

Chaudhry: Ethnic Indians' best hope

Inter-marriage is almost unheard of and both communities live very separately.

Indo-Fijians were brought to these South Pacific islands to work on colonial sugar plantations by the British more than a century ago.

They control the key industries of cane farming and garment making and are the economic backbone of the country.

Ancient mistrust

Last year's racially-motivated coup stirred up simmering animosities felt by some native Fijians towards their richer Indian neighbours.

It all began with George Speight, who toppled the government of the first ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry in May last year.

The former insurance salesman told the indigenous poor they were at the bottom of the economic heap because of the political and commercial muscle wielded by the Indo-Fijians and many believed him.

Speight began the systematic dismantling the power of the Indians when he hijacked the Chaudhry administration

His work was continued by Fiji's military during the hostage crisis when it installed an indigenous interim government led by Laisenia Qarase.

It wanted to scrap the liberal constitution altogether and it drew up a racist blueprint to enshrine the supremacy of native people over anyone else.

Army's agenda

The army had, in effect, pickpocketed George Speight's coup. His gunmen had done the dirty work by getting rid of Mahendra Chaudhry, the symbol of growing Indian political power.

The army, dominated by indigenous Fijians, saw its chance to step in, appoint a puppet government and further the racially-motivated agenda of its senior officers.

Earlier this year a panel of international appeal court judges said the interim government was illegal and fresh elections were ordered.

The judges also said that the multi-racial constitution was still the law of the land.

With Laisenia Qarase installed as his country's new elected leader, Fiji's strained race relations could get worse.

There are times when the former banker sounds just like George Speight.

The thinly veiled racist rhetoric is similar, so is the desire to dismantle the rights of ethnic Indians, who make up 44% of the population, in favour of the indigenous majority.

The major difference is that Mr Qarase will, if he is able to form the next government, claim he has the democratic mandate to carry on with his nationalist crusade.