SUVA, Fiji Islands (May 25, 2000 - PINA Nius Online) - The Great Council of
Chiefs (GCC) reconvened this morning, after
burning the midnight oil but coming up with no concrete resolutions.
Last night, the GCC presented two concessions: to possibly grant amnesty to
civil coup leader George Speight and his armed
men, who have been holding Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and Members of Parliament
hostage for almost one week; and
to call upon Fijian lawyers to form a committee to assess the legalities of
any decisions they render.
Self-styled leader Speight held a press conference and reiterated that he will
not surrender. He told reporters that the GCC
should accept his interim government, which he began appointing last week almost
immediately after seizing Parliament. He said
he would not compromise on his call for the President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara,
to step down, and added that he doesn't believe
the GCC will find any early resolutions.
Speight continues to stress that the indigenous people of Fiji are behind him,
as evidenced by the hundreds of supporters who
have streamed into Parliament over the past few days. He has asked for the GCC
to form a subcommittee to deal directly with
him and his demands.
According to Radio Fiji, President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara has recommended that
an interim government be established to rule
Fiji for three years.
This government would make amendments to the Constitution of 1997, and after
the three-year period an election would be
called. Ratu Sir Kamisese said that were this to occur, Prime Minister Chaudhry
would be asked to step down.
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon - who arrived with UN envoy
Sergio Viera de Mello early Wednesday
morning on a United Nations plane - said that the Commonwealth would find it
"very difficult" to accept a three-year interim
government. They added that if a solution is found outside of the constitution,
it would further tarnish Fiji's reputation in the
international community.
Mr. McKinnon and Mr. de Mello met with George Speight at Parliament last night,
and paid a brief visit to the Queen Elizabeth
barracks, where the Great Council of Chiefs is meeting.
At a press conference last night, McKinnon said, "one can't help but be
pessimistic" with the current situation. He said that the
fact the chiefs are meeting for a third day shows "there is quite a strong
division in the ranks." The United Nations and the
Commonwealth said they still support the President and the constitution and
want to help resolve the situation. But they have
stressed that the Fijians have to sort things out themselves.
And last night, arsonists struck at Fiji Hardwood Limited, burning the downtown
Suva office to the ground. George Speight was
chairman of Fiji Hardwood until last year, and was reported to be "surprised"
by the event. This was the second major arson
incident in as many days. Early Wednesday firefighters were called to the Crest
Chicken factory on the outskirts of Suva, but
managed to contain the fire. It has not been determined whether the cause of
the blaze was arson or accidental. Police are
investigating both cases.
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)
Website: http://www.pinanius.org
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