Hopes in Fiji that defiant military leader Voreqe Bainimarama would bury the hatchet with Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase appear to have been dashed with the military saying it has "given up" on the government.
A recording of Bainimarama's closed-door address on Friday to Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs revealed the military leader denouncing the prime minister's leadership and policies.
"Mr Prime Minister, we've had enough of your lies," Bainimarama told Qarase at the meeting, a copy of the meeting's recording said.
PHOTO: AP
The emergency meeting of the Pacific island nation's traditional leaders was called in an attempt to broker a settlement between Bainimarama and Qarase.
Although fears of a fourth military coup in Fiji in two decades have eased, tensions remain high.
The military commander has kept up his assaults on the premier, but backed away from threats to force him and the government from office despite accusing them of lies and corruption.
In yesterday's address, Bainimarama said he was "alarmed" by an announcement from the prime minister that he would not withdraw two pieces of legislation that the military wants expunged.
"This action by the prime minister tells the military that the prime minister has given up on us," Bainimarama said.
"By the same token, we want to tell you, Mr Prime Minister, that we've also given up on you."
Qarase, who left the meeting chamber 10 minutes after Bainimarama, has not spoken publicly about the harsh attack.
However, a communique issued by the chiefs at the end of their meeting showed they stood firmly behind the government.
"The Bose Levu Vakaturaga [council of chiefs] remains committed to supporting at all times the legally elected government," their statement said.
They also indicated they would not condone any attempt to oust the government, saying the "rule of law, respect for democracy as well as customary laws" must be upheld.
The chiefs agreed to set up a mediation committee to try to bring Bainimarama and Qarase to the negotiating table.
An exchange of correspondence on Thursday between Qarase and Bainimarama's deputy Captain Esala Teleni showed the military making several demands.
It wanted proposed legislation relating to royalties from fisheries, land claims and reconciliation to be shelved, police commissioner Andrew Hughes to be sacked, investigations into the army's commander and the Fiji army terminated and the abolition of the Fijian police's new tactical response unit.
"Having another armed element is not good for the country, in particular if the rules of engagement are not clear," Teleni wrote.
The military also warned Qarase it would not "accept any foreign intervention" in the Fiji crisis.
"Fiji is neither a failed state nor collapsing and doesn't warrant foreign intervention. Any foreign intervention will not augur well to the maintaining of stability in our country," it said.
Although there have been no steps towards an intervention force, Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola was reported saying in the Fiji Times newspaper yesterday that countries including Australia and New Zealand could discuss the possibility if the standoff continues.
"The Biketawa Declaration provides for that [foreign intervention] and it is for foreign affairs ministers to meet and consider a situation, in this case the standoff between the military and the government," Tavola said.
"But such a meeting has not been invoked yet. However, there is a possibility of having a meeting," he said.
"From Fiji's position, we want to see first what will develop from initiatives taking place now, especially with the Great Council of Chiefs meeting, and have it solved internally," he said.
The Biketawa Declaration, which was agreed upon in 2000, allows for an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in the region in the event of instability.
Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to Nicaragua after years of war and was the first woman elected president in the Americas, died on Saturday at the age of 95, her family said. Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, “died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children,” said a statement issued by her four children. As president, Chamorro ended a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the “Contras” fought the leftist Sandinista government. That conflict made Nicaragua one of
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Canada next week, his first since relations plummeted after the assassination of a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver, triggering diplomatic expulsions and hitting trade. Analysts hope it is a step toward repairing ties that soured in 2023, after then-Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau pointed the finger at New Delhi’s involvement in murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims India furiously denied. An invitation extended by new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Modi to attend the G7 leaders summit in Canada offers a chance to “reset” relations, former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. “This is a
RSS