Fijian Military, Hostage-Takers Sign Agreement
Rebels and the military signed an accord Sunday aimed at ending a seven-week crisis and paving the way for the release of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 26 other political hostages, the military government said.
The military said it would allow rebel leader George Speight and his cohorts to have some influence in choosing a new administration in exchange for the release of the hostages Thursday.
The gunmen have held Chaudhry, Fiji’s first ethnic Indian prime minister, since May 19, when they overthrew the government in the name of indigenous Fijians.
Early today, villagers burned down a Masonic lodge and tried to overrun a police station, apparently in support of Speight, officials said.
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