Maciu Navakasuasua is a

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an public figure and former political organizer. An

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

expert, Navakasuasua said that on behalf of the

Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party The Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP) was a Fijian political party which championed Fijian ethnic nationalism. It was led by Iliesa Duvuloco, while Viliame Savu served as the party's president. Founding and ideology The party was ...

, an extremist party which advocated the "repatriation" to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Indo-Fijians Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...

, two prominent businessmen had tried to hire him to assassinate

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader beca ...

in 1999 while he was passing through

Nadi International Airport Nadi International Airport is the main international airport of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the Ba Province in the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division of the main island V ...

. Navakasuasua served a three-year prison sentence on Nukulau Island for coup-related offences. In an interview with the

Fiji Sun ''Fiji Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Fiji since September 1999 and owned by Sun News Limited. ''Fiji Sun'' was founded by and is part of CJ Patel Group. The Fiji Sun has its main newsroom in Suva, Fiji. Its print center remains in subu ...

in September 2005, Navakasuasua claimed that

George Speight George Speight (; born 1957), also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini, is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit sei ...

was just a frontman for the coup. He had been co-opted by the organizers one day before the execution of the coup, on 19 May 2000, and had proceeded to usurp the leadership, Navakasuasua claimed. Navakasuasua, who told the ''Sun'' that a religious conversion experience had led him to confess what he knew, alleged that some police officers were not taking the investigation of coup-suspects seriously enough, noting that his own 13-page submission had been largely ignored. Among other allegations, Navakasuasua implicated then

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

Konisi Yabaki Konisi Tabu Yabaki was a Fijian politician from the southern Kadavu Island. He served in the Cabinet from 2000 to 2006, but lost his portfolios as Minister for Fisheries and Forests after the parliamentary election of 6–13 May 2006. He was su ...

in the coup plot, allegations angrily denied by Yabaki. The ''Sun'' reported on 13 March 2006 that Navakasuasua had recently met

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Commander

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

and had revealed all that he knew about the individuals involved in the planning and execution of the coup. Bainimarama confirmed the meeting, which he described as "fruitful." Navakasuasua endorsed claims that he had been threatened with death if he ever returned to Fiji. The claims, made by coup accomplice

Josaia Waqabaca Josaia Waqabaca (pronounced ) is a Fijian public figure and former political organizer, who turned police informant about the Fiji coup of 2000. Waqabaca was convicted and imprisoned in 2001 for plotting to kidnap the Military Commander, Commodore ...

, had been reported to the police and the army, and by Commodore Bainimarama, who said he was not surprised as Navakasuasua had implicated some powerful people.Fiji – Democracy by the Gun
ninemsn.com.au – May 7, 2006 (cached)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navakasuasua, Maciu Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Ra Province Fijian prisoners and detainees I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian nationalists