Comments on: Warlord, Fijian mercenaries on the run from “Freedom Fighters”

By: Pacific Empire » Blog Archive » Fiji: a frightening potential for violence

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:58:49 +0000

[...] The attack on the Democracy Shrine and the “unscheduled live-firing exercise” at the barracks may (I’m speculating here) signal a loss of control of some parts of the military.Â The “interrogation” of the former CRWU (Fijian special forces involved in the 2000 coup) bodyguards, after the raid on an Indo-Fijian millionaire’s residence, shows the potential conflict between mercenaries and soldiers.Â I have written previously about Fijian mercenaries.Â There is also s long essay on the topic at the Nautilus Institute.Â It isn’t hard to see why a bitter rivalry would exist – I’m sure the ex-CRWU bodyguards are paid very well, quite apart from the 2000 coup and later mutiny against the army chief by elements of the CRWU.Â Nevertheless, there is a high demand for ex-Fijian Army guards both internationally and at home, as the newspaper ads suggest. [...]

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 10:32:23 +0000

Thanks, Chirol. I appreciate the feedback, and the incoming links (Pacific Terrorism…)

“Africanization of the South Pacific” was coined (I think) by Ben Reilly. I can’t take credit for that one! I hope Aus/NZ are capable of keeping order, too. A shift to prevention, and greater leadership would be good – the current strategy is too much like an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

By: Chirol

Chirol — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 10:13:07 +0000

Great post. I really enjoy your coverage of the Pacific, and specifically the africanization of the area as you put it. Just hope that AU and NZ are up to patrolling the region which they are already doing a good job of.

Keep up the great work. A good niche of coverage