Biographical entry: Sisili, Eriel
- Alternative Names
- Eluele, Ariel
Details
Eriel (or Eluele) Sisili, an SSEM teacher at Bina in west Kwara'ae on Malaita, was a principle organizer and head of the Federal Council, a later phase of Maasina Rule (q.v.). He was captured by the British in early 1951 and sentenced to twelve years in gaol for treason, but the Fiji Supreme Court in 1952 cut this to three years, and in May 1953 High Commissioner Robert Stanley commuted his sentence. The next year he became the Malaita Council's Vice-President under Salana Ga'a (q.v.), in the latter's second term, and in 1955 Sisili replaced Ga'a as Council President. (David Akin, personal communication, 29 Nov. 2009)