Fiji's re-elected government plans to bar the nation's armed forces commander from politics in the South Pacific island nation, the prime minister said on Sunday. Laisenia Qarase, who was sworn in on Thursday for a second five-year term following a narrow election win, said he will seek a "proper interpretation" from the Supreme Court on the constitutional role of the military a move that could put him on a collision course with armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Bainimarama, who backed the opposition Fiji Labour Party in the election, marched troops through the capital, Suva, during the May 6-13 election, fuelling fears of a coup if Qarase retained power. "The role of the army is confined to the operation of the military and within the barracks," Qarase said in an interview with a newspaper. |