Thursday, November 30, 2006

This morning Suva and Nausori Volunteers got called into the PC office as a precaution. Below is the latest news from the Fiji Times. Things have been quiet so far, unlike the civil unrest I'm used to in Bolivia, where, when there is unrest, you feel it, you see it thick in the air. That is what is scary about this situation, nobody really knows what's going on, some people think there will be a coup, others don't think so.. I was just downtown, getting mony from the atm. The lines are long and there are people everywhere. Photographers and camera crews running around shooting footage. Police are also around and I've seen a couple of military trucks driving around.
If anything does happen, if the Military in fact does go ahead with their "clean-up campaign" we will be put in a car and taken to a "safe" place. Right now there is about an hour and a half left until deadline, we'll see what happens.
I'll keep you upadated.
read below from Fiji Times...

Calm but tense ahead of deadline
1030 FJTFriday, December 01, 2006
Update: 10.30AM


Fiji's capital, Suva, is calm but tense this morning, with a little under two hours to go until the deadline for government reforms set yesterday by army commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama arrives.
There have been long queues at banks and cash machines around the city and supermarkets are doing brisk business as people stock up on essentials.
There is no increased military or police presence in the city at this time.
Many businesses will be close at 11.30am, sending staff home ahead of the noon deadline for an army takeover.
The University of the South Pacific will close at 11.30am and many schools are thought to be doing the same. Today is the last day of school for the year.
President Ratu Josefa Iloilo and Commodore Bainimarama are now meeting at Government House.
It is expected that Commodore Bainimarama will ask the President to declare a state of emergency allowing the military to move in an maintain control.
Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was scheduled to open the Attorney-General's conference at the Warwick Resort on the Coral Coast, this morning but did not attend. He is engaged in crisis meetings in his office in Suva.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Peace Corps, along with all the International Aids have sent out a warning to standby if this escalates. But don't worry, or as we say in fiji Sega na lega, all is fine for now, and it looks like this too might blow over.

From Reuters
Fiji prime minister rejects coup threat
Fiji's prime minister is refusing to resign in the face of threats of a coup from the country's military chief.
"There is absolutely no question of me resigning ... or of my government stepping down," Laisenia Qarase said on Wednesday in an address to the nation on local radio.
"We have the constitutional authority and the support of the people to rule now and for the next five years."
Military chief Frank Bainimarama has threatened to force Qarase to resign unless he drops two contentious bills, including one offering amnesty to some of those involved in a coup in 2000.
Bainimarama has accused the Qarase government of being soft on those involved and said that while the coup leader, failed businessman George Speight, was in prison those who backed him were now in parliament.
He said he regretted appointing Qarase as interim prime minister following the coup. Qarase has since won two free elections.
Military march
The military plans a march by 3,000 reservists through the streets of Suva on Thursday, a day after Fijian soldiers drove through the streets of Suva and took control of tonnes of ammunition from the waterfront.
Fijian political leaders failed to remove Bainimarama from his position on Tuesday, with the military rallying around him.
Indigenous Fijians fear losingpower to ethnic Indian Fijians"Bainimarama is still commander and now the government is in a dilemma and will have to eat their words," commander Colonel Pita Driti told Fiji media on Wednesday.
Bainimarama, currently visiting troops in the Middle East, said he would remove Qarase from office once he returned to Fiji, saying the government was corrupt.
"I'll be back to see that Qarase and his cronies step down," he told the Fiji Sun newspaper on Wednesday. He is expected back in Fiji later this week.
Qarase said police were investigating Bainimarama's threats. "The rule of law must prevail. No one is above the law, no one has the right to interfere with the legal process."
Fiji has suffered three coups and a failed mutiny since 1987.
Racial tension
The coups have been racially fuelled, with indigenous Fijians fearful of losing political control of their island nation to ethnic Indian Fijians, who dominate the economy.
Australia has placed two warships on standby to evacuate its citizens.
"We are very concerned about the possibility of a coup in Fiji," Alexander Downer, Australia's foreign minister, told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
The US said it could suspend aid if troops do not respect constitutional processes and the rule of law.