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| Down Under | |
| Fiji PM to hold crisis talks with army chief | |
| 2006-11-28 | |
| SUVA - Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase will leave on Tuesday for crisis talks in New Zealand with his defiant military chief to avert a fourth coup in 20 years in the South Pacific nation. “The discussions are to find a solution for the betterment of the country and to put an end to the impasse,” Qarase told Reuters. News of the New Zealand-brokered talks, to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, came only hours before Commander Frank Bainimarama was due to return to Fiji from a private visit in New Zealand amid fears that a coup would be launched within days. Armed soldiers are patrolling the streets of the capital, Suva, while others dressed in camouflage uniforms guard the president’s residence. Hundreds of army reservists have been recalled for unscheduled exercises across the island nation. Bainimarama has repeatedly threatened to remove Qarase’s elected government unless it drops several pieces of contentious legislation, including a bill that would grant amnesty to those involved in a coup in 2000. Bainimarama issued Qarase a list of “non-negotiable demands” and a two-week deadline before he left for New Zealand last week, at the same time threatening a “clean-up” of Qarase’s government. “I am ready to listen to the commander on the concerns of the military,” Qarase said.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 He wants to lead a coup, because the government wants to pardon the previous coup's leaders. Go figure! |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-11-28 03:31 |
| #1 Commodore Frank, at it again..... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-11-28 00:52 |