Suva: The man who led the 1987 coup in Fiji, Mr Sitiveni Rabuka, said
yesterday that rebel leader George Speight had lost control of events in Suva
but could still become president.
"I think he lost the plot a long time ago. He's not in control anymore,"
Mr
Rabuka told Australia's Channel Ten. "The people who he believed he stood
for are now running the show."
But Mr Rabuka said the weak response of the military to the May 19 coup
could allow Speight to eventually become president. "The way it's going
I
would not be surprised if he gets it," he said. "So much ground has
been given
to him, so if he plays his cards right he could be [president]."
Mr Rabuka, now chairman of the influential Great Council of Chiefs, said the
army's response to the month-old coup had allowed Speight and his group to
win too much. "They've got the upper hand now; they're almost dictating
the
terms of the negotiations and the military have been backpedalling."
Speight could be a target after the coup ended, he said.
"He will have to look after himself after this. The only way he can do
this is if
he gets in the mainstream politics."
Meanwhile, a Fiji newspaper claimed that a man who some believe
masterminded the coup had been trying to prove his reputation after a botched
special forces operation against the Irish Republican Army.
But former colonel Ilisoni Ligairi, 60, denied in another report that he was
head of the hostage takers, although he said he was supporting Speight.
Ligairi was head of Fiji's now disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit
(CRW) and was formerly a member of the British Army's elite Special Air
Service (SAS).
On May 19 Speight, Ligairi and members of the CRW seized Parliament,
where they have since held the Prime Minister, Mr Mahendra Chaudhry, and
members of his Government hostage.
Details of Ligairi - also known here as the "Invisible Man" and "Mr
White" -
had been kept secret but the Fiji Sun and the Fiji Times reported on his
background yesterday.
The Sun said Ligairi was one of nine Fiji soldiers drafted into the SAS in
1962. It said that about 20 years ago while on an undercover operation in
Ireland he was captured by the IRA. He was later released but, it said, he was
removed from the list of operatives who went into the field.
Ligairi told the Fiji Times he was supporting Speight because he believed in
the indigenous cause. "I am head of the military people here and I am also
the
one controlling the crowd and guards," he was quoted as saying, referring
to
the parliamentary compound where the hostages are being held.
Relatives of the 31 hostages met military leaders in Suva yesterday to seek
assurances the captives remained safe.
Agencies
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