Fiji power struggle deadlocked 18 days after military coup

Dec 23, 2006, 12:43 GMT

Wellington - A power struggle between the military and indigenous chiefs who have traditionally called the shots in Fiji remained deadlocked Saturday as both sides continued a war of words 18 days after soldiers ousted the elected government and seized power.

After a three-day meeting in the capital Suva, the Great Council of Chiefs acknowledged the 'political reality' that the military was in charge but insisted that President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who is Commander-in-Chief of the South Pacific island nation's military forces, remained head of state, the independent Fijilive website reported.

But the head of the military, Commander Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who declared himself president after the coup, said he did not recognise the 64-member council and would not meet them for negotiations to end the standoff in the racially divided state with an estimated population of 850,000.

Bainimarama rejected the chief's invitation to attend the meeting because they would only invite him as head of the military, not president.

Fijilive said the council had passed a resolution calling on Bainimarama 'to obey the president (Iloilo) who is constitutionally the Commander-in-Chief of the military' and asked him to order all ranks to vacate all non-military establishments and return to their camps.

The chiefs represent indigenous Fijians, who account for about 55 per cent of the population.

Bainimarama launched his coup, the country's fourth in 19 years, because he claimed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's government endangered racial harmony by promoting policies favouring the indigenous population over the ethnic Indian minority.

He said it was planning to grant an amnesty to George Speight, a nationalist businessman serving a life sentence for treason who led a coup in May 2000 that ousted an elected government led by an ethnic Indian.

Qarase fled Suva after the coup and is holed up in his home village on an offshore island.

Bainimarama addressed troops at the main Suva barracks on Friday telling them, 'I would like to remind all of you to remember that there is someone above us that is more powerful than we are and that he is the one that is leading us in the mission we have now embarked on and we are to acknowledge him everyday.'