(21 February). The election was won, however, by Bernadette Rounds Ganilau of the United Peoples Party (UPP), with Zinck finishing in third place. He blamed ethnic nationalism for his defeat, saying that Fiji's ethnic communities had all voted on communal lines, with the General Electors opting for the UPP. Political views Zinck, who is of Samoan, German, and Fijian descent, has called in the past for increased representation for ethnic minorities in the House of Representatives. On 10 August 2005, he complained that the 8 seats allocated to minorities (Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders, and others) under the 1970 Constitution had been whittled down to 5 in 1990 and 3 in 1997. If the trend continued, they might lose their parliamentary representation altogether, he said. He called for constitutional amendments to raise the number to at least 5. He also called for minorities to be accorded the same status as Rotuman Islanders, who were entitled to affirmative action as well as special scholarships and Fiji Development Bank loans. Zinck's calls for greater minority representation in Parliament were immediately criticized by former Cabinet Minister Tomasi Vakatora, who said that the 3 seats allocated to them were already more than their population numbers warranted. When they had been allocated 8 seats in 1970, their contribution to the economy had been much more significant, he said. On 15 December 2005, Zinck called for Pacific nations to form a bloc to present a united front to represent common interests before international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization. 2006 coup d'état Following his electoral defeat, Zinck became a trade unionist. He was arrested, and later released, by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces on the evening of 6 December 2006, after a relative of Military Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who had seized power the previous day, allegedly heard him making derogatory comments about the Commander at Suva's United Club. (source) Zinck claimed to have been subjected to degrading treatment, including being forced to run around a sports field with the guns of four soldiers trained upon him. He was then allegedly forced to stand under a spotlight at Queen Elizabeth Barracks with soldiers standing behind him, warning him against making further statements against the Commander, before being ordered to leave the barracks. Fiji Human Rights Commission Director Shaista Shameem said on 9 December that the incident was being investigated. (source) On 14 December 2006, the