This, along with the efforts by Mauritian political and bureaucratic leaders to be inclusive of representatives of minority communities in policy-making, had the effect of reducing ethnic tensions.
The period of high economic growth also lead to significant wealth disparities despite overall increasing living standards for all Mauritians.
[4] The popular Mauritian Creole seggae musician Joseph Topize (Kaya) was arrested on 18 February 1999 for smoking marijuana at a rally for its decriminalisation which had been organised by Rama Valayden at Edward VII Square, Rose-Hill.
[1] The death of another Roche Bois musician, Berger Agathe, after he was shot 92 times by the police, further enraged rioters.
A number of homes where Creoles were in minority were burnt down and their occupants chased out of the area in sporadic acts of ethnic cleansing.
[10] As the riots worsened, the absence of the head of security forces was felt; Commissioner of Police André Feillafé was overseas on holidays in Hawaii as his part of his pre-retirement celebrations.
[13] Eventually, it was the intervention of the President Cassam Uteem on Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation television that seemed to calm down spirits.
The AMHC denounced perceived social criticism of Hindus and alleged that Roman Catholic Church was solely responsible for the problem of Creole exclusion.
[2] A monument to the riot and Kaya's death, depicting two crossed guitars, stands at the entrance to the Roche-Bois neighbourhood of Port Louis.
[18] Véronique Topize, Kaya's wife from Beaux-Songes, sued the Government of Mauritius for damages and loss of income worth Rs 10 Millions through her lawyer Rex Stephen.