Fiji imposes state of emergency
By Malenie Judy,WNS Pacific Bureau Chief
SUVA - A state of emergency has been declared on the South Pacific island state of Fiji, as the military tightens its grip a day after a bloodless coup. The army has dissolved parliament, sworn in a caretaker prime minister and sacked Fiji's acting police chief. "The military will suppress very quickly any uprising against us," said coup leader Cmdr Frank Bainimarama. The coup, the fourth in two decades in the Fijian archipelago, was condemned by the international community. The UN secretary general has demanded that the government be restored and the UK, the US and New Zealand have suspended aid.
Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has called on Fijians peacefully to oppose the coup. "I believe there will be a peaceful reaction by thousands and thousands in the next few days," Mr Qarase told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation before leaving for his home village on the remote Lau islands, at the request of the military. Despite being banished, he has insisted he remains Fiji's legitimate leader. Jona Senilagakali, a doctor with no political background, was sworn in as interim prime minister at a ceremony in the capital, Suva, on Wednesday. Cmdr Bainimarama said the military wanted a peaceful transition of power to an interim administration. He said he had declared a state of emergency after intelligence reports suggested some people were planning civil disruption. Lt Col Jim Koroi was appointed as acting police commissioner after the incumbent, Moses Driver, was sacked. He had refused to take orders from the new regime.
"For those who do not agree with what we are doing, we respect your opinion, but do not interfere with the process that is currently under way," Cmdr Bainimarama said in a national broadcast. "There is no point in debating the legality or otherwise of our actions. Qarase and his cronies are not coming back." Cmdr Bainimarama said that next week he would ask the Great Council of Chiefs to restore executive powers to President Ratu Josefa Iloilo. The president would then appoint an interim government and elections would follow at an unspecified date, the military chief said. Urging Fijians to carry on life as normal, he added: "If we are pushed to use force we will do so. The military is staying the course we have set."
posted by wnsworld @ 9:52 PM
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