M A I N   N E W S

Fiji chiefs for interim govt
Property of Indians looted

SUVA, May 25 (Agencies) — Fiji’s influential great council of chiefs will seek an interim government and favours a pardon for George Speight, the man holding the country’s Prime Minister hostage, website www.Fijilive.com said early today. The independent website said the council had given the President of the Pacific island nation the go-ahead to form an interim administration. “They will recommend a pardon for George Speight and his group,” the site said.

However, a diplomatic source said there was still some dispute among the 50 chiefs about whether to pardon Speight, who stormed parliament and took the country’s first ethnic Indian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, hostage last Friday.

The council represents the indigenous Fijians in whose name Speight, a failed businessman, had seized power.

“There is a clear split in the Council of Chiefs,” the diplomatic source said.

Looting and arson of ethnic-Indian Fijian property were reported today.

A chicken processing factory was burned down overnight, and there were reports of outlying villages inhabited by minority ethnic Indians being pillaged and burnt by mobs of masked men.

Late yesterday, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he feared the coup might not end peacefully. “We’re deeply concerned about the risk of bloodshed. It’s an extremely ugly and unacceptable situation,” he said.

Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon and United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello met President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara today before travelling to Parliament for a one-hour meeting with Speight and a brief inspection of the hostages.

Mr McKinnon did not comment on the talks, but said the hostages, “all appear to be in reasonably good spirits considering the obvious pressure they’ve been under.”

About 300 coup supporters were in the complex today and an impromptu church service was held on a lawn with a choir of indigenous women singing Fijian songs. Yesterday, hundreds of supporters stood in line to congratulate Mr Speight for his act.

Mr Speight claims to be acting on behalf of majority ethnic Fijians who believe they are being marginalised by Mr Chaudhry’s government.

Sitiveni Rabuka, a Former Prime Minister and leader of the influential tribal Great Council of Chiefs, said he was optimistic the crisis would be resolved today.

But Mr Speight appeared intransigent, repeating his call for the resignation of Mr Mara and accusing Mr Rabuka of misleading the tribal chiefs.

Mr Mara imposed a state of emergency in Fiji and took control of the government from outside Parliament after coup.

“I don’t recognise Sitiveni Rabuka’s right to broker a deal anymore,” the Speight told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

Mr Speight’s representatives presented a statement from his self-styled “Taukei Civilian Government” to the chiefs, which accused Mr Mara of trying to shore up power for himself and of misleading the council and Fijians.

Mr Speight and his gunmen were left in a weaker position yesterday when the chiefs, who hold moral authority over Fiji’s indigenous population, backed Mr Mara’s condemnation of the coup and demands that the hostages be released.

However, the police and ethnic Fijian-dominated army both have sided with Mr Mara, who is trying to broker an agreement expected to involve Mr Chaudhry being replaced by an ethnic Fijian Prime Minister in return for the release of the hostages.

WASHINGTON: The USA continues to recognise the democratically elected government of Fiji led by ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, a State department official has said.

“Washington continues to recognise Fiji’s legitimate democratically elected government and any change of government should be done only through constitutional means,” State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said.

He pointed out that the USA could also impose sanctions if democratically elected government are toppled by force, adding Washington had not yet officially determined whether Fiji’s case amounted to toppling of government or a hostage situation.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was closely following events in Fiji, Mr Reeker said.