Chaudhry wants his govt in Fiji restored

Chaudhry wants his govt in Fiji restored
JAMES REGAN

SUVA, JULY 15: Fiji's deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who was held hostage by nationalist rebels for 56 days, today called for the reinstatement of his multi-racial coalition government.

His stand risks provoking the rebels who have threatened further violence and unrest if the country's military does not stick to a deal for political dominance by indigenous Fijians.

But Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic-Indian Prime Minister, was unbowed, saying the country could not give in to such threats but must uphold democracy, the constitution, and the rule of law.

``Our commitment to these principles requires the reinstatement of the legitimate, democratically elected people's coalition government,'' he told a news conference at his Suva home two days after being released from captivity.

``The opposite of that would be to condone an act of anarchy and unlawful seizure of a government elected by the people,'' he said. ``We don't have much of a choice.''

The former trade union leader, who has now survived two coups in the name of indigenous Fijian rights, ruled out seeking exile from Fiji.

Chaudhry was finance minister when the military backed a 1987 coup against an Indian-dominated government.

``I have never run away from a problem in all my life,'' he said, flanked in the garden of his home by his wife Virmati and coalition members, some who had also been hostages.

Armed rebels, led by businessman George Speight, seized Fiji's parliament on May 19 and held Chaudhry and other key politicians hostage for two months.

The predominantly indigenous Fijian military, which admitted sympathy with the rebels' aims, took control of the country after the coup sparked violence and looting.

After weeks of tense negotiations, the military last weekend struck a deal with Speight, bowing to many of his demands aimed at enshrining indigenous Fijian power and stripping the ethnic Indian minority of a political role.

Indians, who were brought to Fiji a century ago by British colonialists, now make up 44 per cent of the 800,000 population and dominate the economy.

The military said today that it had extended for another two weeks an emergency decree authorising it to impose checkpoints on key access routes and a night curfew in Suva, saying civil unrest was continuing although the hostages were free.

``It certainly isn't over as far as the military's concerned,'' spokesman Captain Howard Politini told Fiji television.

The military was also expecting hundreds of rebel supporters who have made the parliamentary compound their home for the past two months to leave within the next two days.

Local media said the rebels were planning to bury in the parliamentary grounds a supporter who died after a brief shootout with soldiers early this month.