Gunshots, an armed guard called Rentokil, roasted pigs, and a coup leader who refers to himself in the third person... it is all part of the strange atmosphere at the heart of the Suva hostage drama. SETH ROBSON reports from Fiji.
A surreal combination of high drama and low farce envelops Fiji's Parliament, where George Speight and his armed rebels hold sway.
Tensions are exacerbated by sleep deprivation, punctuated by the odd outbreak of gunfire, and penetrated by the smoke of the ubiquitous cooking fires of the Fijian villagers who have gathered in support.
In the kitchen block, a refrigerator offers Coca-Cola, but no sign of Speights beer.
From the inside looking out, it's a bizarre kind of coup. The parliamentary complex is a 10ha fenced area that surrounds the legislative chamber, four office blocks, and a kitchen building.
The perimeter is surrounded by armed rebels. Other men with guns wander around the buildings, and as the crisis wears on, increasing numbers of rebel supporters are allowed to enter.
As darkness falls most of the journalists inside, who had entered en masse during a shooting incident on the first night, leave.
That night rebel leader George Speight, who first addressed the international media from behind the gates that morning, meets a handful of reporters, from Fiji and New Zealand, who have decided to stay.
There is talk late into the night about the rebels' dreams and aspirations.
One guard, who has a tattoo on his forehead, greets me with a warm embrace, and offers some advice: "Do your job properly because God is watching". He points at the ceiling. He wants to change his name to Rentokil, the name of a popular fly spray.
He wants a story written about him because he has a son in New Zealand.
At dawn the rebels can be heard praying and singing before moving to their positions along the perimeter fence.
On the other side of the fence is a jungle where supporters of Ratu Mara, soldiers, and even foreign special forces are rumoured to be hiding.
Much of the next day is spent in a bure shelter allocated to the media. Village delegations arrive. The men, in shirts or rugby jerseys, and women in floral dresses sit in different groups singing and meeting Mr Speight, who is cheered wherever he goes.
About noon an incident occurs involving a suspected breach of the perimeter. Mr Speight says a gun was held to Mr Chaudhry's head to deter invaders.
During regular press conferences in the bure, Mr Speight updates the media on the latest events, and reiterates his position.
He speaks about himself in the third person a lot, talking about decreeing this and that, and uses a lot of stock phrases such as "George Speight is the repository of the will of the Fijian people".
The second night in the complex is more tense than the first.
The Great Council of Chiefs is due to meet the next day, and the rebels are sure that this will be the last night of the siege.
Hundreds of people roam the grounds, and many journalists become nervous. During the night there is a sudden disturbance: people start to yell about a drunk rebel with a gun, and journalists rush into the kitchen block to seek cover.
A rebel wearing a balaclava arrives to say that Rentokil has been thrown out of the complex. Tension remains high, and some of the journalists leave.
The balaclava-clad rebel sits down with the remaining journalists, and allows them to inspect his Israeli Uzi machine-gun.
In the morning more supporters arrive. A group near the kitchen has brought a small pig to butcher, and is building a fire out of sticks and coconuts.
The pig lies panting on the muddy ground. A Fijian takes out a long kitchen knife, and cuts the cord tying the pigs legs, then places his foot on the pig's stomach, and plunges the knife into its heart.
Blood pours onto the ground. The pig lies dead. An hour later lunch is served.
Fijian parliamentary staff have vowed to remain at their posts until captive members of Parliament are freed.
The staff have been performing their duties inside Fiji's parliamentary complex since the rebel takeover last Friday.
Head caterer Elizabeth Levy and 12 kitchen staff have been cooking non-stop, supplying meals to the hostages, their captors, and journalists in the complex.
Food is supplied by villagers coming into the complex to support the rebels.
They bring bundles of tapioca, taro, and animals including cows, chickens, and pigs, which are butchered on site. The meals include a variety of traditional Fijian, Indian, and European cuisine, including rice, roti, curries, pastries, soup, coffee, tea, and crackers.
"A lot of the Indian ministers are vegetarians, and they get different meals to the detained Fijian MPs," says Mrs Levy. "The security personnel prefer taro cooked in a Fijian earth oven, called a lovo." Reporters, dreaming of hotel luxuries, christen the kitchen Cafe de Coup.
This site is best viewed using Netscape 4.0 or higher.
Any problems or kind suggestions, please email: webmaster@lookinglassdesign.com
last revision 5/26/00