Military Seizes Power in Fiji; Hostages May Be Freed Soon

The head of Fiji’s military seized power Monday night and established martial law, saying he needed to restore order to a country that seemed to be quickly sliding toward mob rule 10 days after its top government leaders were taken hostage.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama acted one day after an armed gang went on a rampage through the deserted center of Suva, the usually bustling capital, killing an unarmed police officer and wrecking the headquarters of the national television station. He said he was taking charge reluctantly but gave no indication of when he would be willing to restore civilian rule.

Government spokesman Evoni Volavola said today that the military had already begun negotiating for the release of the hostages and that they would probably be freed by Wednesday evening. He said the military was prepared to offer rebel leader George Speight immunity from prosecution.

Two of Speight’s key demands--the dismissal of the prime minister and the resignation of the president--had reportedly already been met. It appeared unlikely that he would be given control of a new government, however.

The president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, was reported to have stepped down earlier Monday after senior army officers came to him bearing a whale’s tooth, a traditional sign of respect in this island nation that lies roughly two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and Australia and fiercely guards its distinctive South Pacific culture. As indicated by the title “ratu,” Mara, like many of Fiji’s top leaders, is also a tribal chief.

It was not immediately clear what means Bainimarama might use to free the deposed prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, and about 30 other government officials being held hostage in the Parliament compound. But a spokesman for Speight said his group welcomed the military takeover and expected the hostage crisis to end quickly.

“It is the best way to resolve this impasse,” Simione Kaitani said by telephone from the Parliament compound, where a crowd of rebels could be heard cheering the news in the background. “What the military has done is the most effective means of restoring law and order.”

Ordinarily, the restoration of law and order might be considered low on a hostage taker’s list of priorities. But this has been far from an ordinary act of terrorism, and even Speight’s supporters had begun to worry that things were spiraling out of control.

Speight and six other armed men stormed Parliament on May 19, taking Chaudhry and his Cabinet hostage and issuing a set of demands aimed at getting rid of Mara and installing Speight as the head of a new government.

Speight, a controversial businessman, fanatical golfer and fiery nationalist, portrayed the attempted takeover as a crusade for the rights of indigenous Fijians.

Indigenous Fijians account for 51% of the nation’s population. The second-largest group consists of ethnic Indians whose ancestors were brought by the British to work in the islands’ sugar cane fields a century ago and who now account for 44% of the population.

Chaudhry was the country’s first prime minister of ethnic Indian descent and almost certainly its last for many years. He deeply alienated many indigenous Fijians with policies that were perceived as challenging Fijian control over land and as favoring ethnic Indians, who have come to dominate Fiji economically.

The last time Indo-Fijians gained significant political power was in 1987; the response was a military coup that reestablished indigenous power. So Speight had some historical precedent on his side. But his civilian coup attempt, with the hostage crisis at its center, was taken from an entirely new playbook.

The 80-year-old Mara, whose daughter is among the hostages, has been determined not to spill blood and has done little to thwart the rebels. As a result, their freewheeling coup has come to resemble a Woodstock of hostage crises. Armed rebel guards allowed hundreds of people daily to enter the barricaded Parliament compound; inside, beneath coconut palms, people sang, danced, prayed, barbecued whole pigs and consumed vast quantities of kava, the mildly tranquilizing, milky brown beverage that is the coffee, tea and soda, only more so, of Fijian culture.

On Saturday, a tired, saddened Mara announced that he was dismissing Chaudhry, in effect dissolving Parliament, and said he was “highly likely” to grant Speight immunity from prosecution in order to end the crisis. He acknowledged that his actions could make Fiji an international pariah and cause devastating economic harm, particularly since its largest trading partner, Australia, had threatened economic sanctions if he gave in to Speight.

The shooting of the police officer the following night changed everything. Fijians, who pride themselves on gentleness and courtesy, were horrified that the crisis had turned violent. It was only then that Bainimarama acted.

Bainimarama is a 46-year-old, highly respected career soldier who once led Fijian contingents of U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and the Sinai Peninsula.

“The primary objective of this government is to take the country toward peace and stability and well-being in the earliest possible opportunity,” he said Monday.

Checkpoints manned by armed soldiers and sailors quickly appeared throughout the capital.

After a quiet night, however, the curfew was lifted this morning, and it is expected to be in force only after dark.

Although Bainimarama invited reporters to his announcement, he refused to answer questions, leaving it unclear whether he would pursue a negotiated settlement with Speight or use force to end the standoff. Speight had said earlier Monday that he had reached basic agreement with a team of government negotiators on a plan to end the crisis and expected the hostages to be released by the end of Wednesday.

Kaitani, the rebel spokesman, said he expected the talks on releasing the hostages to go forward and culminate with a decision Wednesday by the Great Council of Chiefs, the organization of tribal leaders, who still wield immense power in Fiji.