Thursday, 13 July, 2000, 09:41 GMT 10:41 UK
Fiji hostage crisis over
Chaudhry (left) said he forgave Speight for his actions
Rebels in Fiji have released their remaining 18 captives,
ending a parliamentary hostage crisis that has
paralysed the country for the past eight weeks.
The hostages, including the former Prime Minister,
Mahendra Chaudhry, were driven away from the
parliament building inside two Red Cross vehicles and
taken for medical checks.
Within hours, Ratu Josefa Iloilo - a candidate favoured
by rebel leader George Speight - was appointed
president. Mr Iloilo said he would announce the
make-up of a new government within the next few days,
but Mr Speight told the BBC he would decline any offer
of a post.
The rebels stormed the parliament in mid-May,
demanding an end to political domination by the
ethnic Indian community, who make up just under half
the population in Fiji.
The hostage releases came shortly after Fiji's indigenous
leaders, the Great Council of Chiefs, issued an ultimatum
to the rebels saying the council would not elect a new
president or interim government until they were freed.
It remains unclear what further concessions have been
made to George Speight and his followers, who have
said they want to play a significant role in the new
government.
The Council will meet again on Friday morning.
On Thursday morning, after 54 days in captivity, the
hostages walked slowly down the path from the
parliamentary compound before boarding the trucks
that would drive them to safety.
At the gates of the compound, the
hostage-takers held a traditional ceremony
seeking forgiveness, and then Mr Speight hugged Mr
Chaudhry.
About 150 Speight supporters cheered as the
hostages were driven away.
Later, Mr Chaudhry told reporters outside his home
that he had no ill feelings towards Mr Speight.
He said there were some anxious moments in
parliament, but that they prayed and took "one day at
a time."
"We were our own therapists," he said.
He described the current political situation as
alarming, adding that, if Fiji was to have a future, its
people had to work together.
Mr Chaudhry said he expected to continue having
a leadership role, but this was up to the people to
decide.
The release followed a deal on Sunday, when the army
agreed to scrap the country's multi-racial constitution,
depose Mr Chaudhry, Fiji's first prime minister of ethnic
Indian descent, and grant the rebels and amnesty.
As part of the deal, Mr Speight said all the
remaining hostages would be freed before the Council
of Chiefs met on Thursday, but he went back on his
word.
The breakthrough came after the Chiefs issued a
statement calling on the rebels to free the hostages.
The BBC correspondent in Fiji says that, while the
hostage drama is over, the political crisis continues.
Tension had been rising as the deadlock continued, with
the United States and Australia advising their citizens to
leave Fiji as soon as possible.
Four tourist resorts have been taken over by local
landowners who sympathise with Mr Speight, and there
are rebel roadblocks around the capital, Suva.
Laucala Island resort, once owned by late American
publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes, has been
taken over by residents of a nearby island as part of a
property dispute.
Turtle Island, Buca Bay and Rukuruku have also been
occupied by locals demanding land rights.
It is unknown how many tourists are at the resorts.
The crisis in Fiji developed as a result of ethnic divisions
between indigenous Fijians and Indians, who have
dominated the country's politics since independence
from Britain in 1970.
A coup in 1987 by the indigenous military leader,
Sitiveni Rabuka, was followed by a new constitution
barring Indians from gaining a parliamentary majority
or becoming prime minister.
But the racial provisions were later abolished, and in
elections last year, an Indian-led coalition won a
majority of votes and Mr Chaudhry became prime
minister.
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