Paradise lost !

Fiji was a popular holiday destination for Australians - but today visitors go there at their peril !

Following a military coup led by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama many months ago, the Fiji court of Appeal ruled that his administration was illegal. Immediately the President of Fiji, Ratu Josefa Iloilo dissolved the nation's constitution, appointed himself head of state - and sacked all judges and introduced " a new legal order ".

It is proposed that Fiji will face an election in 2014 to return to democracy, but Bainimarama has made similar promises before - and reneged on all of them.

Basically, Fiji is now a military dictatorship and joins such similar countries as Burma and North Korea. The rule of law has vanished - and been replaced by the law of the gun in the hands of a dictator.

The reason for unrest is not hard to find. When the British arrived over two centuries ago they imposed a colonial regime. They saw a commercial opportunity to establish sugar as a crop - and imported workers from colonial India.

Today - the mix of people of Indian origin and original Fijians is about equal and the Fijian people bitterly resent Indians being elected to parliament. There is a strong movement to reserve Fiji for the Fijian people.

What happens next is a witch's cauldron of possibilities !

Fiji will be strongly censured and possibly expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations - and punished by the United Nations for breaking with democracy.

Depending on how desperate the junta ruling it becomes, it could evolve into a tax haven, just as other tax havens are starting to disappear, or it could develop into a narco state !

It could become susceptible to overtures from terrorist groups such as al Qaeda to allow training camps and facilities on it's territory in exchange for protection - and money !

It is likely that the treatment of it's Indian population will become harsh and more extreme with the perception that they will become second class citizens. How this would be viewed by India - their country of origin is an enigma.

India is a fast growing world power with a formidable navy. Intervention by way of invasion would not be out of the question, and if that happened the spectre of annexation could be an issue.

The future for Fiji appears traumatic and once again it is a case of the man who commands the military controlling the people by the rule of the gun. The only thing that is certain is that as a paradise for those seeking a holiday in the sun Fiji is now a place of uncertain safety.

Sadly, tourism was it's main economic base. Bainimarama shot himself in the foot with his coup - and it looks like he is taking the country on a trip down misery road as a result !