Gun shots have been heard around Suva
city as gunmen from coup leader George Speight's group are rampaging
through the city.
More than 150 armed youths, with guns
and knives, have taken over Fiji TV. Shots were fired and equipment must
have been damaged as Fiji One has gone
off air on its normal channel. Pay TV channels have also gone off air, but Fiji
One is available on one pay channel.
The armed men are now progressing towards
the Fiji Trades Union Congress headquarters, according to our reporter
who is following them.
Earlier four shots were fired at the back entrance of the President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's house.
The attack seems very well planned as
police at Suva's Central Police Station say they are in disarray as the station
has
plunged into darkness, with someone sabotaging
the power source.
It is not clear who or what their other
targets are but sources say they may be attempting to take over Government
offices and key media outlets such as Fiji
TV and Radio Fiji as Mara has cracked down on coverage of the illegal
takeover.
The attack also comes as the Great Council
of Chiefs delegation and Speight's group meet at Parliament House.
Coup leader George Speight believes the
crisis facing Fiji is close to resolution and the hostages, including Prime
Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, could be freed
soon.
"I believe in my heart that we're very
close to a resolution," Speight told a BBC journalist who filed a story from
inside
the Parliamentary Complex where the hostages
are being held.
BBC quoted Speight as saying that the
hostages could be released in the next 48 hours but added that Fiji's influential
Great Council of Chiefs would have to discuss
any new proposals.
A delegation from the GCC is currently meeting Speight and his advisors.
The coup leader has already rejected the
GCC's resolutions and a series of concessions from President Ratu Sir
Kamisese Mara, including a pardon for him
and his armed men.
Fiji's coup leaders believe it is Kubuna's turn to lead Fiji and the Fijians, according to political analyst Jone Dakuvula
"This is their coup," Dakuvula, the former SVT and Fiji Labour Party member, says.
Kubuna is one of three traditional Fijian
confederacies. The others being Burebasaga and Tovata. The President, Ratu
Sir Kamisese Mara, is seen as the head
of Tovata while his wife, Adi Lady Lala, as Roko Tui Dreketi, is the traditional
head of Burebasaga.
Dakuvula says the Fijians in Parliament
come from the provinces of Rewa, Tailevu and Naitasiri. Speight is from
Tailevu while his deputy Ratu Timoci Silatolu
is from Rewa.
However this may not be the only reason
as a number of politicians from Tovata and Burebasaga confederacies are alo
involved and it may be more driven by a
need for political power and the perks of office.
There has also been moves in Fiji's recent
political past to form a fourth confederacy for Western Fijians who argue that
despite being Fiji's economic centre, they
have not shared in political power.
This surfaced again this past week. In
the past, pliant Western and Kubuna chiefs have been given token positions to
placate the West and Kubuna chiefs.
Speaking on Fiji TV's Close Up programme,
Dakuvula said the Speight group's disrespect for the Great Council of
Chiefs could be their downfall.
" They are going against the GCC and that
is going to lose them a lot of support. People who were sympathetic to them
now know what they are really about," he
said.
Dakuvula: When you actually ask the Fijians
involved in this what is actually wrong with 1997 constitution they canít
answer that sort of question.
They have a general feeling that we Fijians
are under threat. I think thatís because those who have campaigned against
Chaudhry government last year have effectively
convinced people especially the grassroots that there is a real threat posed
to Fijians and they must get rid of this
government. Otherwise we will loose everything, the political power, land and
everything. Thatís the nature of the sympathy
the Fijian people have for this coup. But that is going to be way off because
of the naked interests that is now going
to be revealed.
What is going to be revealed?
Dakuvula: A bunch of people who want to
get into political power through unlawful means and they could not get it
through constitution. And there fore they
want this coup in the name of indigenous rights. Its not in accordance with
the
Fijian way of thinking which is a peaceful
way, a consensus way give and take, listening, respectful.
They are against the Great Council of Chiefs, they are disrespectful to a high chief Ratu Mara, and this is very un-Fijian.
But they are very adamant, George Speight
and his people that they are going to get rid of the
constitution. They wonít settle for light
changes.
Dakuvula: George Speight is a two-day
wonder. He just decided to champion indigenous right for his own personal
reasons. He has no real track record of
fighting for indigenous rights.
His supporters say he has already decided he wants to fight for indigenous rights.
Dakuvula: He has convinced his people
because he has the gift of gab and presents himself well. But he was running
away from all sorts of things in Australia
and sacked from Hardwood Corporation, Fiji Pine Corporation. He had a lot of
grievances against the Chaudhry Government.
He was seeing that he would lose a lot of business opportunities with this
government in power. They are people like
that who are behind this coup.
So you saying once this is over Speight will fly into obscurity and real player swill come out?
Dakuvula: When this is over they have
to be accountable to the law. They have to go to court. Get a fair trial get
convicted.
It looks like they are going to be pardoned?
Dakuvula: It has to follow the proper
procedure, the constitution that is upheld by the president. They have been
saying
we are willing to go all the way to die
for what we believe in. If they say they are willing to die why arenít they
willing to
go to jail for what they believe in. How
can people believe this people as champions of indigenous rights?
Who do you think are the real players behind this?
Dakuvula: I donít want to name them. I
think it is obvious to most people. You see the nature of Fijian party support,
people who have not criticised this coup,
people who are sitting in parliament.
And they are others like Duvuloco just
turned out from the woodwork and wants to be a minister now. He had fought
elections five times and lost five times.
Why should he become a minister? Why should this poor people from Wainibuka
die for a person like that?
They just mobilise poor Fijians who really
donít understand what they are doing, they are genuine but they donít know the
agenda of this people who have actually
manipulated them to support the coup.
Great Council of Chiefs chairman Sitiveni
Rabuka says the Fiji Labour Party should accept the action of President Ratu
Sir Kamisese Mara in assuming the executive
authority to try and end the hostage crisis.
The Labour Party has rejected Maraís actions deeming it to be outside the Constitution.
Rabuka justified Maraís action saying
it was necessary in order to have some control in leadership and maintain law
and
order in the country.
Mara yesterday moved to become the sole
authority in the country by dismissing the government and prorogating
parliament.
Rabuka said the action was within the
Constitution.
Coup leader George Speight's group and
a delegation of the Great Council of Chiefs have convened another meeting at
the Parliamentary Complex as the hostage
crisis looks set to go into its 11th day.
The meeting started at 5.30pm. A GCC delegate
told Radio Fiji News that talks are moving in a positive direction. He
said their negotiations have "started to
clear doubts" and both parties are working at reaching an amicable solution
to the
crisis.
Speight had earlier rejected the resolutions
passed by the GCC, one of which was the Council's overwhelming support
for President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.
Yesterday, Speight also dismissed Mara's
initiative of sacking the Chaudhry Government as a desperate move to retain
his own position.
By sacking the government, Mara hinted
that the government members held hostage didn't have any powers and there
was no point holding them.
Speight wants Mara to step down and the
1997 Constitution abolished. He also wants amnesty for himself and six
others who stormed Parliament on May 19th
and took government members hostage at gunpoint.
It's not known how long the meeting will
last.
This text may have been edited to protect the writer.
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