Fiji's tribal chiefs slam decision to remove Queen from currency A government spokeswoman rejected claims that the military dictator, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, or his appointed president might appear on the banknotes instead of the Queen. British royals have appeared on Fiji banknotes since 1934 and remained both after independence in 1970 and after the country became a Republic in 1987. But the country's current military rulers were angered after Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth following its 2006 military coup. One of Fiji's paramount chiefs, Ro Teimumu Kepa, also expressed disappointment, saying the decision was made without consultation and the Queen is still held in high regard by the people. The decision was also slammed by the local opposition, including General Sitiveni Rabuka, who led the country's first coup in 1987 and oversaw Fiji's move to a Republic. "It is a childish way of trying to forget our historical connections with those that were responsible for founding this nation," he told ABC Radio. In 1970 we became independent, but Australia, New Zealand and Canada were independent before us and they still use the Queen's head on their currency. We have forgotten the colonial past - we are now moving to the future, but there are certain things we cannot change - we can remove the Queen's head but that doesn't mean we erase our history. A former opposition leader, Mick Beddoes, said Commodore Bainimarama was unelected and has no right to make decisions about national symbols. "This is certainly not a matter that an unelected regime ... and the institutions that are currently operating under its control, to make such decisions - I don't believe that they have a right, and frankly they don't have a mandate," he said.