Speight rejects military regime as martial law takes effect

Fiji Military Force (FMF) commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama on Monday assumed executive authority in a military takeover prompted by Speight’s May 19 seizure of parliament in the name of indigenous Fijians. But the coup leader said on Tuesday the military regime had no authority to govern because it did not have the united backing of the armed forces. "We have a severe split in the military," he said. "We have one hundred per cent support from our people and when they have one hundred per cent support of the army we will agree." The self-proclaimed acting Prime Minister said he was confident he could convince the army to defect to his side.

His men have been holding elected Prime Minister Chaudhry and most of his government at gunpoint in parliament since Speight, a bankrupt businessman, and a squad of special forces soldiers stormed the building. He reiterated a list of demands on Tuesday, including the drafting of a new constitution reserving power for ethnic Fijians, which he said must be met before the captives are released.

"We also want to see a change in the leadership in Fiji," he said, referring to President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara who has served as either Prime Minister or president since Fiji’s independence. Bainimarama would not take questions on Monday night so the nature of the military government and its leaders was unknown. He was expected to hold another news conference on Tuesday.

The army’s move came after a night of rioting on Sunday by Speight’s supporters, who rampaged through Suva armed with weapons and sticks, attacking the offices of the national television station and killing one policeman.

The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) reported President Mara stepped down after a delegation of senior FMF officers presented a whale’s tooth to him – a symbol of respect for a tribal chief. Mara, 80, has led the country since independence in 1970. Speight said one sign of the split within the military was the arrest of four of his supporters overnight after they left the parliament compound with curfew passes issued by soldiers sympathetic to their cause.

Three of the group were identified as Speight’s adviser Joe Nata, and "ministers" in his self-declared interim government Simione Kaitani and Meli Loki. The identity of the fourth was not known. "When we woke up this morning we discovered that the four had been detained and beaten up," Speight said. "Two of them have been taken to hospital and two of them have been detained in prison."

Fiji police confirmed four arrests had been made. Former Fijian president Ratu SirKamisese Mara was safe on a patrol boat sailing off the coast of Fiji, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Tuesday. The Australian High Commission in Suva understood Mara had stepped aside to allow martial law to be imposed in the South Pacific island nation while being safely housed on the boat. "We understand, although we are not entirely sure, that President Mara has stepped aside to allow martial law to be imposed," Downer told parliament.

Fiji’s army seized power and declared martial law on Monday, 10 days after gunmen first stormed parliament and overthrew the country’s elected government.

The move to impose military rule — effectively the third government in 10 days — came hours after the army took control of Suva and announced troops had been given "shoot to kill" orders to enforce a curfew across the capital.