From Stuff...
Rugby delays military action
01 December 2006
By MICHAEL FIELD in Suva and Stuff.co.nz
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]UPDATED REPORT - 2.55pmThe threatened military "clean-up" in Fiji may not take place until after a rugby match between the army and police today.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]An hour-and-a-half after the deadline of midday (1pm NZT) there were still no troops in Suva and Fijian Military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said no action would be taken this afternoon due to the annual army versus police sports event. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He told a local radio station the deadline had passed and the "clean-up" campaign would get underway. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]However, it would not be until after the rugby match that is the culmination of the sporting tournament. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Having met with President Ratu Josefa Iloilo at Government House this morning, Bainimarama arrived at the sports competition about 12.30pm local time. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He made no comment to reporters and has not said if he will hold a press conference later today. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Meanwhile, as he returned to Suva, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase told news website Fijilive.com that he will not resign. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He denied rumours he had been offered evacuation to New Zealand but said some government ministers had been moved to different locations in the city. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]There were still some people on the streets of Suva this afternoon but it was much quieter than normal. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With the threat of another coup in the air, the atmosphere in the city this morning was like that ahead of the arrival of a tropical cyclone.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The tension was palpable in Suva's sticky heat, along with resignation that almost nothing now will stop the military launching some kind of take-over - the fourth in 20 years to afflict Fiji. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Suva people know what to do in a coup - stock up on food and cash and head home - and long lines formed outside ATM machines and at petrol stations while supermarkets were crowded. Six years ago when military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama declared martial law, he imposed tough curfews, initially for 24 hours and then from 8pm to 7am. They lasted for months and life adjusted around it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Fiji's schools close for the summer holidays, but few students went today. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]In the last coup in May 2000 Suva's central business district was looted and burned. Today retailers and shop owners were out preparing storm shutters, while many shops did not open at all. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Government offices were also closing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"All the Chinese are shut," a shopper near the Central Police Station said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The Chinese are recent arrivals, replacing the Indo Fijians who have mostly emigrated. With Chinese businesses destroyed in recent riots in Tonga and the Solomons, the Fiji Chinese were taking no chances. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Meanwhile, acting Australian Prime Minister Mark Vaile said Australia would consider intervening in Fiji if asked to by the nation's government. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Three Australian warships are currently off Fiji's coast ready to evacuate any of its own citizens. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The AAP news service reported Vaile being asked on Sky TV if Australia would consider intervention if requested by Fiji. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He answered: "It's a very difficult issue and one that we would have to consider very seriously ... our first concern is that of Australian nationals in Fiji." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Bainimarama was not calling it a coup but angrily dismissed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's peace offerings saying they were all lies. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Two weeks ago the Commodore issued a two week deadline for the government to meet 12 demands he set. These included scrapping bills pardoning 2000 coup plotters and dealing with indigenous land rights. He also wanted anybody in the government who had connections to the George Speight coup removed and he wanted the Police Commissioner, Andrew Hughes, sacked. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]On Wednesday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters acted as a mediator when Qarase and the commodore met at Government house in Wellington. While Qarase was yesterday upbeat about the outcome, Commodore Bainimarama said he had agreed to nothing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Last night he told a startled press conference that at midday today there would be a peaceful transition but urged the government not to resist. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Asked if he was staging a coup or declaring martial law, he replied it was a "clean-up" campaign. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]While Mr Qarase had said hours before he was meeting the Commodore's demands, the military chief said of the prime minister: "I can say they are all lies, I never said yes (in Wellington). [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"I want all the demands met, today, in fact tomorrow (Friday), every one...everything that I demanded for must be met by midday tomorrow," he said, seemingly contriving new policy as he spoke. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"We hope there will be no confrontation." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]In a strange backdrop to the tension, Suva's iconic nearby peak, Joske's Thumb, is obscured by a heavy pall of smoke from a Chinese fishing boat that has run aground on a harbour reef and is now on fire. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With nobody aboard and no interest in fighting the fire, Suva occasionally gets a foul stench from the ship fire. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Radio stations were running normal programmes although DJs were plainly trying, without much success, to reduce the tension. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Commodore Bainimarama remained for much of the morning at his home; quaintly he flies a green general's pennant from a flagstaff at the entrance. He lives next door to the New Zealand High Commissioner. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Government House, the official home of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, was under heavy military guard this morning. [/FONT]
Rugby delays military action
01 December 2006
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]UPDATED REPORT - 2.55pmThe threatened military "clean-up" in Fiji may not take place until after a rugby match between the army and police today.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]An hour-and-a-half after the deadline of midday (1pm NZT) there were still no troops in Suva and Fijian Military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said no action would be taken this afternoon due to the annual army versus police sports event. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He told a local radio station the deadline had passed and the "clean-up" campaign would get underway. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]However, it would not be until after the rugby match that is the culmination of the sporting tournament. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Having met with President Ratu Josefa Iloilo at Government House this morning, Bainimarama arrived at the sports competition about 12.30pm local time. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He made no comment to reporters and has not said if he will hold a press conference later today. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Meanwhile, as he returned to Suva, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase told news website Fijilive.com that he will not resign. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He denied rumours he had been offered evacuation to New Zealand but said some government ministers had been moved to different locations in the city. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]There were still some people on the streets of Suva this afternoon but it was much quieter than normal. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With the threat of another coup in the air, the atmosphere in the city this morning was like that ahead of the arrival of a tropical cyclone.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The tension was palpable in Suva's sticky heat, along with resignation that almost nothing now will stop the military launching some kind of take-over - the fourth in 20 years to afflict Fiji. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Suva people know what to do in a coup - stock up on food and cash and head home - and long lines formed outside ATM machines and at petrol stations while supermarkets were crowded. Six years ago when military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama declared martial law, he imposed tough curfews, initially for 24 hours and then from 8pm to 7am. They lasted for months and life adjusted around it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Fiji's schools close for the summer holidays, but few students went today. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]In the last coup in May 2000 Suva's central business district was looted and burned. Today retailers and shop owners were out preparing storm shutters, while many shops did not open at all. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Government offices were also closing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"All the Chinese are shut," a shopper near the Central Police Station said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The Chinese are recent arrivals, replacing the Indo Fijians who have mostly emigrated. With Chinese businesses destroyed in recent riots in Tonga and the Solomons, the Fiji Chinese were taking no chances. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Meanwhile, acting Australian Prime Minister Mark Vaile said Australia would consider intervening in Fiji if asked to by the nation's government. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Three Australian warships are currently off Fiji's coast ready to evacuate any of its own citizens. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The AAP news service reported Vaile being asked on Sky TV if Australia would consider intervention if requested by Fiji. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He answered: "It's a very difficult issue and one that we would have to consider very seriously ... our first concern is that of Australian nationals in Fiji." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Bainimarama was not calling it a coup but angrily dismissed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's peace offerings saying they were all lies. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Two weeks ago the Commodore issued a two week deadline for the government to meet 12 demands he set. These included scrapping bills pardoning 2000 coup plotters and dealing with indigenous land rights. He also wanted anybody in the government who had connections to the George Speight coup removed and he wanted the Police Commissioner, Andrew Hughes, sacked. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]On Wednesday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters acted as a mediator when Qarase and the commodore met at Government house in Wellington. While Qarase was yesterday upbeat about the outcome, Commodore Bainimarama said he had agreed to nothing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Last night he told a startled press conference that at midday today there would be a peaceful transition but urged the government not to resist. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Asked if he was staging a coup or declaring martial law, he replied it was a "clean-up" campaign. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]While Mr Qarase had said hours before he was meeting the Commodore's demands, the military chief said of the prime minister: "I can say they are all lies, I never said yes (in Wellington). [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"I want all the demands met, today, in fact tomorrow (Friday), every one...everything that I demanded for must be met by midday tomorrow," he said, seemingly contriving new policy as he spoke. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"We hope there will be no confrontation." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]In a strange backdrop to the tension, Suva's iconic nearby peak, Joske's Thumb, is obscured by a heavy pall of smoke from a Chinese fishing boat that has run aground on a harbour reef and is now on fire. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With nobody aboard and no interest in fighting the fire, Suva occasionally gets a foul stench from the ship fire. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Radio stations were running normal programmes although DJs were plainly trying, without much success, to reduce the tension. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Commodore Bainimarama remained for much of the morning at his home; quaintly he flies a green general's pennant from a flagstaff at the entrance. He lives next door to the New Zealand High Commissioner. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Government House, the official home of President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, was under heavy military guard this morning. [/FONT]
