Ousted Fijian leader back in new post-coup government

Jan 9, 2007, 9:34 GMT

Wellington - Mahendra Chaudhry, who was ousted as Fiji's prime minister in a coup six years ago, was returned to government on Tuesday by the country's military chief who has assumed power after a military takeover last month, according to reports from the capital Suva.

Military Commander Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who has had himself sworn in as prime minister, named Chaudhry as finance minister with additional responsibilities for national planning, public enterprises and reform of the sugar industry, in his new cabinet.

Bainimarama's overthrow on December 5 of a democratically elected government has been condemned internationally with Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States imposing economic and defence sanctions and the British Commonwealth suspending membership as it did after coups in 1987 and 2000.

On behalf of the New Zealand government, cabinet minister Jim Anderton said Chaudhry's agreement to join the new administration was very disappointing.

'He should know better,' he told Radio New Zealand. 'This is a government put into place at the point of a gun and it's not acceptable to New Zealand. We've made that very clear.'

Both New Zealand and Australia have said that they would refuse entry to anyone who joined Bainimarama's government.

Although Bainimarama insists it is an interim government, another minister, Jona Senilagakali, who has the health portfolio, told Australia's ABC Radio that he believed it would be at least a year before new elections will be held.

Chaudhry, who was the first ethnic Indian to become prime minister after his Labour Party won an election in 1999, was overthrown the following May by an armed group of indigenous Fijian nationalists led by businessman George Speight.

He and members of his cabinet were held hostage at parliament by Speight and his supporters for more than seven weeks before the military installed indigenous Fijian banker Laisenia Qarase as prime minister.

Bainimarama overthrew Qarase on December 5, claiming his government was corrupt, introduced policies favouring indigenous Fijians over the Indian minority and was planning to pardon Speight, who is serving a life sentence for treason, and his fellow coup plotters.

Chaudhry said his appointment was a 'strange twist of destiny,' because he had been given the same post in 1987 when former military chief and prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka overthrew the first government dominated by ethnic Indians, although it was led by Fijian Timoci Bavadra.

Senilagakali said the interim administration would look for economic support from China if Australia and New Zealand continued to shun the new military-backed regime.