You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Down Under
Army threat to Fijian government
2005-07-12
The head of Fiji's military says he will remove the country's government if it proceeds with plans to grant amnesty to those involved in a coup in 2000. The army "will have no qualms about removing a government that will bring back chaos", Commander Frank Bainimarama said in a statement. But Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said the measure would remove resentment lingering after the coup. It could mean the release from jail of coup leader George Speight.
Speight launched the coup to claim power for indigenous Fijians, removing the ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. Speight and six gunmen stormed parliament, taking hostages including the prime minister. Order was restored by the military, led by Cdr Bainarama, and Mr Qarase was installed as interim leader before winning free elections in 2002. Speight is now serving a life sentence for treason.
Should the bill pass, Cdr Bainarama threatened, "I will take the people back to the evening of 28 May (2000)", when he declared martial law.
"I am issuing a stern warning as commander that the military will dish out the same treatment to people breaking the law as we did to George Speight and his colleagues," he told Reuters.
I was wondering when the military would decide they'd had enough. Fiji troops have been deployed around the world on UN peacekeeping missions and word has it they are very professional. So much so the local government isn't happy when they are sitting around back home viewing the coruption and cleaning their guns.
He said he believed the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill would leave Fiji vulnerable to further unrest. He said the law could lead to oppression of Fiji's ethnic Indians, who make up around 40% of the 900,000 population, and that the government was trying to appeal to the indigenous vote ahead of elections due next year. Fiji's opposition Labour Party has also expressed hostility to the bill, walking out of parliament last month, and police and civil rights groups have voiced concerns.
The proposed law states that anyone already convicted and serving a prison sentence for involvement in the coup will be able to have their case reconsidered if they seek amnesty on the grounds that their actions were political rather than criminal. Any person granted amnesty will then be released "forthwith", the bill states.
Your basic "Get Out Of Jail Free" card.
Mr Qarase said: "The bill will go on despite whatever opposition comes our way. "The bill is offering a political solution, that is legally binding, to end the investigations into the 2000 crisis."
Posted by:Steve

00:00