SUVA, Fiji (AP) -- Indigenous Fijian rebels freed nine of their 27 government
captives
Wednesday, moving Fiji closer to the end of a near two-month crisis. Other rebels
seized a
beach resort where ``The Blue Lagoon'' was filmed, later releasing its 40 guests.
The nine government hostages were turned over to the Red Cross as rebels appeared
trying to
ease a crisis that began May 19 when they stormed Parliament and took several
dozen
hostages, including then-Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
Red Cross doctor Bhagat Ram said the nine freed hostages were unharmed. They
included all
the ethnic Indian parliamentarians except for the deposed prime minister and
his son. The
other remaining hostages are all ethnic Fijian legislators.
``They looked happy to get out of that (Parliament) complex,'' Ram said. ``They
conversed
very well and they have gone to their homes.''
The release of the government captives came hours after an unrelated rebel
group seized a
posh resort on Turtle Island over what they said was a land dispute.
``We saw a crisis in Fiji and we're thinking this is a good time,'' rebel Mavi
Ratulevu said.
The 40 guests, including 15 Americans, were later placed on a cruise ship heading
to Fiji's
main island, Viti Levu. The resort's owner, American Richard Evanson, was still
being held.
``We're going to keep an eye on him for a while,'' Ratulevu said. He added
the group might be
occupying the island for a week, unless a satisfactory resolution could be reached.
The tourists included 19 Australians, four New Zealanders and two Britons.
There was a total
of 11 children among them.
The Turtle Island resort, where some cottages rent for $1,000 a night, was
the site of the 1949
filming of ``The Blue Lagoon'' and parts of the 1980 Brooke Shields remake.
Those responsible for the takeover were believed to be from a tribe in the
Yawawa islets off
the northwest coast of Viti Levu. They have been involved for years in a dispute
over who
owns Turtle Island.
Wednesday's developments came three days after the rebels, led by former businessman
George Speight, signed an agreement with Fiji's military government to end the
hostage crisis.
Under the agreement, Speight was supposed to release all his hostages Thursday.
It was unclear what the early release signified.
Speight's spokesman, Jo Nata, said the hostages were released because ``we
felt -- apart from
being a gesture of good will -- it is a consideration of security. If we released
them all at once
it could cause a stampede outside Parliament.
``They also had asked us if and when they were released if we could do it at
night to avoid the
humiliation of being liberated in front of our supporters.''
Mary Aull, the wife of freed Parliamentarian Bill Aull, said his release was
``unbelievable.''
``It's been a long time,'' she said. ``God was good.''
Mary Aull said her husband appeared to be unhurt, but he did not want to talk
about his
ordeal. ``We still have hostages inside,'' she said.
The rebels are ethnic Fijians who say the nation's large ethnic Indian minority
has too much
power. They demanded that the country's multiracial constitution be scrapped
and that
Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, be deposed.
In the days after the seizure of the hostages, Speight supporters looted and
burned ethnic
Indian homes and businesses, and many Indians made plans to flee the country.
The violence
led Fiji's military to take control and declare martial law.
On Sunday, after weeks of negotiations, military leaders and Speight reached
the deal to free
the hostages in exchange for the granting of many of Speight's demands, including
a new
government and a new constitution curtailing Indian rights.
There has been speculation that Speight may end up with a Cabinet post, perhaps
even the
prime minister's job. He told a news conference that such a move would be a
perfect end for
the coup.
But unrest has persisted despite the deal. Speight supporters have engaged
in widespread civil
disturbances across the nation, occupying police stations and blockading roads
in an apparent
effort to wring more concessions from the military regime.
Part of the civil disturbance Wednesday included limited access to the airport
at Suva
although flights were taking off and landing normally.
Indo-Fijians, whose ancestors were brought to the islands by English colonialists
over a
century ago to work in the rich sugar cane fields, make up 44 percent of the
nation's 812,000
people. Many of the indigenous Fijians who comprise 51 percent of the population
resent
their economic clout.
Fiji's tourist industry has been devastated by the government crisis, with
some of the
hundreds of resort hotels scattered across dozens of islands reporting occupancy
rates as low
as 10 percent. However, around 1,000 Americans a week have been among tourists
still
coming into Fiji.
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