A policeman was reported to have been shot and wounded when gunfire erupted
in Suva last night as supporters of coup leader George Speight stormed the state
TV station.
Fiji's TV One went off the air after more than 100 Speight supporters marched
from the parliamentary compound to the station headquarters, housed in a
complex of government buildings nearby.
The attack came less than an hour after a 7pm news magazine program, Close
Up, showed a Fijian political commentator Jone Dakuvulu heavily criticising
the
Speight insurrection.
Volleys of shots were fired as the mob smashed its way into the government
building. A TV One staff member said about 60 youths broke in and smashed
equipment worth thousands of dollars.
Police sources said the main group later left the station and headed towards
central Suva about three kilometres away. When the mob passed close to the
residence of President Kamisese Mara, soldiers guarding the mansion fired
warning shots into the air. The crowd backed off. There were no other reports
of
injuries.
Hotels in central Suva were barricaded as reports spread of the mob's progress
through the city. Shooting was also reported near the Centra hotel, where many
of the international media are staying.
Police trucks raced through the streets and people were advised to stay home.
Just before returning to the parliamentary compound, members of the group fired
shots into an unmanned police
vehicle at a road block. By 10pm, police said the situation was under control.
The shootings, after a day dominated by religious observance, came as the political
crisis heads into its 11th day with
no let up in the battle of wills between Mr Speight and the veteran President
Kamisese Mara for control of the country.
Yesterday Mr Speight again rejected as insufficient the removal of the Mahendra
Chaudhry government and the
prospect of an amnesty for his coup team, which is holding more than 30 MPs
and staffers at gunpoint.
He continues to demand the President's resignation; a constitution preventing
Indian Fijians holding the country's top
political posts; and a prominent role for himself in the nation's leadership.
He called for a new meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs today and indicated
he believed he was winning the chiefs
over. He said it was possible there would be a resolution of the crisis and
that sacked prime minister Chaudhry and the
other hostages would be released "in 24 to 48 hours". But there was
no sign of a breakthrough when he met a council
delegation at parliament last night.
President Mara was unavailable yesterday because of his religious observance.
He intends to name a council of
advisers, possibly today, after engineering the dramatic removal of the Chaudhry
coalition within the letter of the
constitution on Saturday.
With Mr Chaudhry unable to run the country because of his incarceration by the
rebels, the President appointed cabinet
minister Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as Prime Minister. Ratu Momoedonu immediately
advised President Mara to dismiss
government members held hostage and take control of the country. Either Mr Speight,
43, or President Mara, 80, will
have to concede ground if a peaceful solution is to be achieved.
While Ratu Mara has sacrificed Chaudhry's democratically elected government
and agreed not to punish the coup
leaders, he has steadfastly held to the primacy of his position.
So far he has been publicly backed by the council of chiefs and the head of
the armed forces, Commodore Frank
Bainimarama.
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