FIJI: REBEL LEADER GEORGE SPEIGHT

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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English/Nat XFA Rebels holding more than 30 hostages in Fiji's parliament have accused the military of reneging on an earlier deal to end the crisis - raising doubts about the captives going free this weekend. Coup leader George Speight told a news conference on Saturday that the release had been put back as the new martial law regime now insisted it would keep running Fiji after the hostage crisis ends. He added this broke what he called an earlier promise to let Fiji's tribal chiefs decide on Monday whether the nation should be controlled by a military or civilian government. The military has never publicly said it would let the chiefs resolve the crisis and a spokesman on Saturday said no such assurances had been made in the private negotiations, either. After Speight seized control of Fiji's democratically elected government on May 19, the military eventually took charge, declaring martial law and throwing out a constitution that granted equal rights to the ethnic Indian minority. Former Prime Minister Chaudhry, among those still held in the parliamentary complex, was the first ethnic Indian to serve as prime minister. Speight said he wanted to prevent the ethnic Indians, who dominate many businesses, from running Fiji - reserving power for members of the indigenous Fijian majority. About 600 people, many of them ethnic Fijians, attended a rally in the western part of Fiji on Saturday to express support for Chaudhry's democratically elected government and to condemn Speight. David Momoeon, Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Immigration with Chaudhry's deposed government, addressed the meeting. SOUNDBITE (English) "They wish to see a military council preside over the affairs of Fiji and that military council will report to the head of state which will continue to be Commodore Bainimarama, in the first stage, which is anywhere from three to six months maximum, and then beyond into the interim government." SUPER CAPTION: Rebel leader George Speight SOUNDBITE: (English) "The head of state will continue to be the commander of the military, with his military council advising him. And as far as, from where we stand that's just completely unacceptable." SUPER CAPTION: Rebel leader George Speight SOUNDBITE: (English) "We don't see the necessity to retain executive authority as head of state in this country by the army, for them to continue with their normal processes of maintaining law and order. So we want that to be passed immediately over to the great council of chiefs and let them decide once and for all and get on with this thing so we can get on with it." SUPER CAPTION: Rebel leader George Speight SOUNDBITE: (English) "But I'm quite happy to go back to the village after this, as I said. It's not a mandatory requirement that I be prime minister of that I take any role. I'm quite happy not to have a part of it. I'm just determined to make sure that we achieve what the objectives of the 19th of May coup was all about." SUPER CAPTION: Rebel leader George Speight SOUNDBITE: (English) "As far as the West is concerned we don't give a damn about Speight, whether he is going to prison or whether he jumps in the sea, that is immaterial, because we don not recognise him." (Q: What about the military government?) "That too will not be a turning point for the Western people, I think we are coming to a point where we say enough is enough." SUPER CAPTION: David Momoeon, Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Immigration You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/05bf880942bf564aa33e2f18891ba385 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork