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Down Under |
Fiji faces coup within two weeks: Australian FM |
2006-11-24 |
SYDNEY - Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there is ‘clear evidence’ that Fiji’s maverick military chief is planning to stage a coup in the island nation within two weeks. ‘There is clear evidence he is planning a coup in the next couple of weeks,’ Downer told ABC television’s Lateline programme late Thursday, referring to commander Voreqe Bainimarama. ‘He made a public statement along those lines and we are particularly concerned about that.’ Bainimarama earlier this week gave the government two weeks to meet a series of demands, but denied there would be a coup if the deadline was not met. The nine ‘non-negotiable’ demands reportedly include dropping police investigations into Bainimarama and the sacking of police commissioner Andrew Hughes. |
Posted by:Steve White |