Fiji’s Deposed Leader Talks of Separate Nation

The new caretaker government of Fiji met Monday for the first time, but the ousted prime minister refused to recognize it and said he may form a separate nation.

Timoci Bavadra said he will see Governor General Ratu Penaia Ganilau, the British crown’s representative in this former colony, and demand reinstatement of the Indian-dominated government that Bavadra formed after elections in April.

Bavadra was forced from power May 14 in a military coup led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka in this island nation north of New Zealand. Rabuka wants to change Fiji’s constitution to guarantee political control for indigenous Fijians.

New Elections Planned

Ganilau has taken charge of the government until new elections are held in about six months. However, Rabuka remains in charge of the military and police and heads the newly formed advisory panel to Ganilau, called the Council of Advisers. Ganilau formally granted him amnesty Monday for his role in the coup.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Bavadra said that if Ganilau does not restore his government, “my group, the people who are with me now in the western division of Viti Levu, mostly Fijians at the moment, would explore the possibility of breaking away (and) creating our own state here.” Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island, is the site of the capital, Suva.

A source in Bavadra’s coalition, who asked not to be named, said Bavadra plans to lead a campaign of civil disobedience to try to regain power.

Bavadra and his deputy premier, Harish Sharma, an Indian, were named to the 19-member Council of Advisers but have refused to join it. They did not attend Monday’s meeting of the council at the Government House.

Native Fijians have traditionally dominated the nation’s politics although they are slightly outnumbered by Indians, who were brought in by the British as workers in the 19th Century.