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Hoping to end crisis, Fiji's military takes control |
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May 30, 2000
SUVA, MAY 29 (AP) - Fiji's military commander said Monday night he had imposed martial law to bring stability to the nation that has been in crisis since rebels took the government hostage on May 19.
The army leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, was quoted on Fiji Radio as saying troops would restrict access to the parliamentary compound where the insurgents are holding Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and more than 30 members of his government.
That would isolate the rebels from supporters who have been coming and going freely at the compound.
"I have, with much reluctance, assumed executive authority of the country, and henceforth declared martial law," Bainimarama said in remarks carried on Fiji Radio.
"The country will be run by a military government," the commander told reporters. "The primary objective of this government is to take the country towards peace and stability and the well-being of Fiji at the earliest opportunity."
Although Bainimarama's military had express supported for President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who has been running the country since the coup began 10 days ago, the troops had not done much.
The strategy changed Monday, one day after a mob of people supporting coup leader George Speight killed a policeman and knocked Fiji television off the air. The military declared a 48-hour curfew at 6 p.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Monday and troops and police were out in force patrolling the streets of the capital, Suva.
Bainimarama then said he was in control of Fiji, replacing Mara, who normally holds little power in his job as president.
There was no immediate response from the rebels.
Earlier Monday, negotiators had met to seek a resolution to the standoff, but no progress was reported.
In another development, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the Speight's rebels had threatened to kill Mara's daughter, Adi Koila Mara, a Fijian legislator and one of the hostages.
"This is a measure of the man," Downer said. "This is an appalling thing."
Speight and his gunmen tried to distance themselves from the killing of the policeman on Sunday. Their spokesman, Joe Nata, told New Zealand's National Radio that the attack - the first fatal one in the hostage drama - was carried out by forces beyond their control.
Earlier, the Fijian army ordered all its reservists to report for duty although it was not clear how many troops were involved.
The streets in Suva were largely quiet throughout the day after police advised people to stay home and schools to close.
Speight, a member of the Fijian majority, wants Chaudhry, Fiji's first prime minister from its ethnic Indian minority, removed from power and Indians barred from ever leading the country again. A former insurance salesman, Speight was fired last year by Chaudhry as chairman of two local companies involved in managing Fiji's lucrative timber trade. He had been appointed to both posts by the previous government, in which his father was a senior member.
The United Nations, and countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States, have criticized Fijian forces for failing to crack down on Speight and his allies.
"We strongly condemn the repugnant, criminal actions of George Speight and his band of gunmen who continue to hold hostages in Fiji's parliamentary complex," the U.S. Embassy in Suva said in a statement Monday. "We reiterate our call ... that the hostages be released immediately and unconditionally."
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