Heavily armed Fijian troops were ordered on to the streets of the capital, Suva, last night after military chiefs said that they feared that foreign powers were set to invade the country to quell an imminent military coup.
Australia and New Zealand, considered the most likely countries to intervene in Fiji, have denied any plans. The Australian Army confirmed, however, that a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed while trying to land on an Australian navy ship off Fiji late yesterday was carrying six members of the Australian Special Air Service (SAS).
One person died in the crash and another is missing. Air Marshall Angus Houston, the chief of the Australian Defence Force, said that the aircrew and SAS members were part of an Australian force stationed off Fiji to help to evacuate Australians if a coup took place. “We were preparing for evacuation operations out of Fiji,” he said.
Foreign ministers from Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand, will gather in Sydney tomorrow to discuss the Fijian crisis.
Laisenia Qarase, the Fijian Prime Minister, requested the meeting under the terms of the South Pacific Forum’s Biketawa declaration, which stipulates that a Pacific nation may request intervention from other regional states to counter a threat to its security. He has not ruled out seeking armed foreign intervention in Fiji, saying only that he hoped “it would not come to that”.
Advertisement
In Suva late last night, Fijian soldiers had secured strategic sites, including the headquarters of Vodafone and Telecom Fiji, the Fijian electricity authority and government offices. Troops were also stationed outside the Fijian parliament.
Colonel Pita Driti, the Fiji military’s land force commander, said: “We are just taking precautionary measures tonight because a foreign intervention could be imminent.”
He said that troops had been stationed around the Suva peninsula. “This is to prepare for any invasion and the military has maintained its stand that we will not accept any foreign intervention,” said Colonel Driti. “Even though we are a small army, we are not afraid.” Mr Qarase and the country’s military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who have been in a tense stand-off for two months over increasingly strident threats by Mr Bainimarama to use the military to oust the Government, met yesterday in Wellington.
Their meeting was organised by Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister, in an eleventh-hour attempt to stem a coup that had been expected to take place this week.
Mr Bainimarama, said: “He [Mr Qarase] is going to be wasting his time debating issues with me. The meeting’s going to be the shortest meeting he’s ever attended.”
Advertisement
Mr Bainimarama, however, emerged subdued after two hours of talks and boarded a commercial flight to Fiji.
Mr Bainimarama and his senior commanders threatened a coup unless Mr Qarase dropped legislation that would exonerate the leaders of a coup that happened in 2000, sacked the police commissioner, Australian Andrew Hughes, and curtailed investigations into whether Mr Bainimarama was guilty of sedition. Mr Bainimarama was almost killed in a failed but bloody mutiny linked to the coup six years ago.
Mr Hughes left Fiji yesterday after saying earlier this week that Mr Bainimarama considered himself above the law.
Mr Qarase said that the meeting in Wellington did not reach any conclusions but added: “We made substantial progress on the request and demands from the military.”
Oceans of strife
Advertisement
East Timor Achieved independence in 2002 after centuries of Portuguese rule and 24 years under Indonesia. Conflict between Army and police ended in a security collapse earlier this year, leading to the entry of Australian and New Zealand troops and police
Papua New Guinea Former Australian colony granted independence in 1975. Gangs are a threat and Australian attempts to impose order have so far been resisted
Solomon Islands Bitter ethnic conflicts divide the nation. The Malaitan Eagle Force staged a coup in 2000. Australian and New Zealand troops and police arrived in July as part of the Regional Assistance Mission
Tonga The only monarchy in the Pacific but it has a vocal pro-democracy movement. After rioting this month, 150 Australian and New Zealand troops enforced martial law in the capital
Source: Times database