Coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama slammed the door yesterday on any return to power by Fiji's ousted prime minister Laisenia Qarase, who admitted his chances of a comeback were becoming "more difficult."
At a press conference at military headquarters 10 days after seizing power in the South Pacific country's fourth coup in under two decades, Bainimarama said there was no way back for Qarase.
"I think we've made it very clear in the last few days that Qarase is not coming back," Bainimarama said.
"We'll make sure of that, even if the GCC [Great Council of Chiefs] tries to bring him back," he said.
Earlier, Qarase admitted that the prospects of his government returning to power were dimming by the day.
"If the takeover is ultimately firmly established, that's it, that is the situation in Fiji," he told commercial radio from his home in the remote Lau group of islands.
"What I've been trying to say is there is still room for the military to pull back and let the elected government continue," he said.
"That has been my stand ever since the takeover, but that seems to be becoming more and more difficult now as time goes by," he conceded.
His plans to appoint a caretaker government have been blocked by the GCC, a powerful advisory body of indigenous leaders which appoints the president.
The GCC has been resisting pressure from the military to meet to reappoint Ratu Josefa Iloilo as president, which would allow Bainimarama to press ahead with plans to form a caretaker government.
The military chief, who has named himself interim president, continued his cleanout of government organizations, appointing a new board to the government pension scheme, the National Provident Fund (NPF).
He said the previous "corrupt" government used the scheme as a "bottomless pit of funds to finance extravagant spending" and ignored the interests of worker members.
But dissent continued to be expressed in Fiji's media with an influential alliance of Fiji's churches issuing a strong condemnation of the coup.
"We wish to remind the commander that it was the church that brought light and civilization to this nation and not the military," the churches said.
The churches warned against military propaganda based on "conspiracy, lies and deceit."
"Such an evil force characterizes itself through domination, intimidation and manipulation," the statement said.
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