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Fiji's military overthrows government- again

The takeover is the fourth coup in the country since 1987.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 6, 2006

SUVA, Fiji - Fiji's military overthrew the government Tuesday after weeks of threats, locking down the capital and putting the prime minister under house arrest in the fourth coup in the South Pacific country in 19 years.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the armed forces chief credited with resolving Fiji's last coup, announced in a nationally broadcast statement that, "The military has taken over the government, has executive authority and the running of this country."

The takeover, like the previous three coups, has its roots in the ethnic divide between the descendants of ancient Melanesian warrior tribes and those of Indian laborers brought to work in sugar plantations.

In his declaration, Bainimarama justified seizing power to prevent legislation that favored indigenous Fijians, contending the measures "would undermine the constitution and deny many citizens their rights."

Bainimarama said he had assumed some powers of the president and was using them to dismiss Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. In the 2000 coup, Bainimarama set up an interim government and hand-picked Qarase, a former banker, to lead it.

Bainimarama named Dr. Jona Senilagakali, a military medic with no political experience, as caretaker prime minister and said a full interim government would be appointed next week.

Bainimarama grew frustrated with legislation that offered pardons to the 2000 coup plotters and handed coastal land rights - lucrative to the tourist industry - to indigenous Fijians.

"The government they want to set up will be totally illegal," Qarase said at his house in Suva. "What the military commander has done has raped our constitution."

Fiji is among the richest and most developed nations in the South Pacific, attracting up to 400,000 tourists a year to resorts built on idyllic beaches. It also exports sugar and gold.

[Last modified December 6, 2006, 01:46:34]