the Unity Bill On 18 May 2005, Bokini complained that the Great Council of Chiefs had not been consulted, or even officially informed, about the government's controversial legislation to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the 2000 coup. Attempts by the Great Council to obtain a copy of the bill for study and discussion had come to nothing, he said. On 30 May, in a speech to mark Ratu Sukuna Day in honour of Fiji's first modern statesman, Lala Sukuna, he cautioned that reconciliation was not something that could be forced or one-sided. "It must be allowed to grow through a shared understanding of what we all want and where we are all heading," he said. Only with good leadership and the support and goodwill of other ethnic groups could indigenous Fijians seriously negotiate about what to give and what to take – a process that would take time and patience. He proposed the Fijian language as a common bond to unite Fiji's diverse ethnic communities, saying that especially in rural areas, Fijian was widely used as a common language. Later, however, he came out strongly in favour of the Unity Bill. 2006 coup d'état Bokini condemned the 2006 Fijian coup d'état, which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Bokini said that the Great Council of Chiefs would refuse to recognise the interim government appointed by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. (source) He angrily denounced his predecessor, Epeli Ganilau, who claimed to sympathise with the motives though not the method of the coup, for claiming to be mediating between the Great Council of Chiefs and the Military. "I never made a request to meet the commander. Whoever said that is lying. I don't intend to see the commander. He has to make a request to me if he wants to meet me," Bokini declared. On 7 December 300 villagers blocked the entrance to Tavualevu Village, in response to a rumour that the military was coming to arrest Bokini, a rumour the army quickly denied. Background and career Bokini hailed from the village of Tavualevu and held the chiefly title of Tui Tavua, as Paramount Chief of the Tavua District of Ba Province. He was the son of Ratu Etuate Bokini and Sereima Lalavanua. He held various positions of employment in the Fiji Sugar