Coup leader George Speight and his group are blaming the Tui Vuda and
hostage talks mediator Ratu Josefa Iloilo for their rejectionof the military
ultimatum.
Ratu Timoci Silatolu says they reject the ultimatum because Iloilo failed to
convey the deadline to the rebels.
This has been refuted by the military, with spokesman Capt.Eroni Volovola
saying that Lt. Col. Filipo Tarakinikini personally delivered the ultimatum
to the Parliamentary Complex. The rebels' reaction is the death throes of a
dying animal, says Volavola.
He says the reaction proves what the military had been saying all along -
Speight's team will hit out at anyone, any chief they are not happy with.
The rebels must realise that the man they were criticising was their own
nominee for presidency, he says.
Now that the rebels have failed to keep the midday deadline, the military
will go ahead and form an interim civilian government on their own. The
line-up for the civilian government was the prerogative of the army
commander, says Volavola.
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