On April 10, Fijian President declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. Elections, scheduled for this year, have been delayed for five years.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who first came to power in a December 2006 coup, was re-appointed by Iloil as the new prime minister despite a court ruling his regime was illegal.
The seeds of the latest crisis facing Fiji were laid in a May 2000 coup.
Failed entrepreneur and Melanesian chauvinist George Speight led a coup against prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry's newly elected multiracial Fiji Labour Party (FLP) government.
Using "indigenous rights" as his justification, Speight's coup sought to reverese gains in Indian rights associated with Chaudhry's government. Fiji's Indian population, brought to the island by the British as "indentured labour", have long faced discrimination.
The coup aimed to restore the power of the Melanesian aristocracy.
In 1987, an elected FLP government, in which Chaudhry was minister for land, was also overthrown in a coup.
Speight's justifications didn't sway the Bainimarama-led military to back the coup. Instead, Bainimarama took over himself.
Bainimarama formed an interim government with Laisenia Qarase as prime minister and Josefa Iloilo as president.
In November 2000, the High Court declared the interim government illegal, reinstating the constitution.
In a move against the court's decision to uphold the elected government, Qarase convinced Iloilo to call new elections.
Against Bainimarama's wishes, Qarase formed the Melanesian chauvinist Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL). Although Melanesian, Bainimarama has spoken in favour of a multi-racial Fiji.
Despite the FLP winning the most votes, the communal voting system that discriminates against Indian-Fijians gave them only 28 of 70 seats in the House of Representatives. Qarase was able to form government.
The Australian government, threatening punitive measures in response to the current actions of the Bainimarama regime, offered only muted statements in defence of democracy. Australia was happy to see the elected FLP government overthrown.
This was the second time a legitimate FLP government was deposed, and the subsequent government was tacitly accepted by the Australia.
Qarase appealed to "indigenous culture" to justify discriminatory policies. He said: "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, vesting every individual with equal rights, was directly opposed to the hierarchical social structure of indigenous Fijian society."
However, Qarase further upset the military when some prisoners involved in Speight's coup attempt were released early. The fact that many implicated in the coup were members of the Qarase government didn't help.
The Qarase government then introduced the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill to pardon those involved in Speight's coup. This was vehemently opposed by the military, Indian-Fijians and the FLP-led opposition.
In late 2005, Bainimarama said: "This government is incompetent. It's better that they resign so that better people can do the things that are supposed to bring us good."
Eventually, a truce was brokered between the government and military. Elections were hastily called in May 2006.
The result, marked by votes cast along ethnic lines, was a narrow SDL victory.
Continuing the push for the RTU bill, Qarase added two promised in the election, the Qoliqoli Bill and Lands Tribunal Bill. These would give up state ownership of the entire coast and increase indigenous land ownership from 83% to 90%.
This would mean increased licence fees and higher rents to communal land owners would have to be paid — affecting mostly Indian-Fijian small landholders.
Allegations of corruption dogged the administration, as did a deteriorating economy.
In response, the military seized power on December 5, 2006. Iloilo officially endorsed the takeover and appointed Bainimarama interim PM.
Then Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer had previously warned that further coups would harm Fiji's economy and international relations.
After the overthrow of the illegitimate and racist Qarase government, Australia promptly harmed Fiji's economy and international relations with travel sanctions. This further induced nervous capital, further weakened the already bedraggled economy and harmed the poor.
The interim government established proceedings for a People's Charter to reform the electoral process. Its aims included: abolishing communal electoral rolls and introducing "one person, one vote"; toughening sanctions against coups participants; land reform; and new anti-discrimination laws.
Investigations into corruption were instigated. It was found that, during Qarase's reign, debt had risen to 52% of GDP, and almost half of allocated funds has been lost to waste and corruption.
The Fiji Human Rights Commission supported the regime, stating it was justifiable, and the Qarase government was divisive. An inquiry into the 2006 elections found they were not "free and fair".
But questions of legality remained unanswered.
In October 2008, the High Court ruled the interim government legal. Elections were set for 2009.
On April 9, the Court of Appeal ruled the 2006 coup illegal, thus making the current interim government "invalid". The court dissolved parliament and instructed Iloilo to appoint a caretaker PM, forbidding either Bainimarama or Qarase.
The next day, Iloilo announced the abrogation of the constitution and his assumption of all power. The judiciary was sacked. He decreed Bainimarama the new PM.
On April 17, Bainimarama confirmed there would be no elections until 2014. This will assure Fiji is kicked out of the Pacific Island Forum, which set a deadline of May 1 for elections to be announced for this year.
With 30 days of emergency rule declared, Fiji is now under full press censorship. In defiance, newspapers printed blank spaces where government news would be displayed.
Fiji needs democracy, but it cannot be the same old democracy. The underlying problem, worsening ethnic tensions, is the 1997 constitution that discriminates against Indian-Fijians.
Equality for all ethnicities in Fiji is a prerequisite for establishing genuine and lasting respect for democracy and the rule of law.
Australia is demanding elections as soon as possible. However, as it is not demanding the constitution or electoral system to ensure a free vote, this is not a demand to restore democracy. Rather it is a demand to restore its favoured section of the elite.
Bainimarama's regime has had its fair share of human rights violations. Sporadic beatings, killings, imprisonment and deportations have marred his regime.
However, what Fiji needs is to move to genuine democracy, not return to the rigged system that guarantees the privileged position of one section of society, and condemns the rest to second-class citizenship.