Fijian President Ratu Mara has dismissed the Labour
Government of Fiji led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
who remains a hostage within the Fijian Parliamentary
compound held by a group of gunmen.
While earlier this
evening it appeared the decison of Mara - which he said he
took with great regret - would resolve the crisis, later in
the night a spokesman for George Speight rejected the move
as insufficient even to allow the release of "good faith"
hostages.
Fijiliive.com reported at 9.15pm, quoting the
gunmen's PR officer Joe Nata, saying George Speight and his
group remain insistent the the President be dismissed and
the constitution thrown out.
Meanwhile the Fijian Labour
Party has condemned Mara's move saying it is unconstitutiona
anywayl. Mara, for his part, maintains his actions are very
near the line of being unconstitutional, but are within that
line.
George Speight's decision to reject the offered
resolution came in spite of a "guarantee" from the President
of pardons for any criminal conduct by the hunmen during
the kidnapping of the Prime Minister and other hostages
over the past nine days.
Ratu Mara is expected to appoint
a new Prime Minister as early as Monday and has in the
interim assumed all Governmental authourity himself, "in the
absence of a functioning Cabinet".
In a press conference
at Government house this afternoon, Ratu Mara said he would
appoint a new PM and a council of ministers on Monday. The
new PM will be chosen from the existing MPs.
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On the
constitution, Mara said it will be amended to fit in demands
made by coup leader George Speight. He said the dissolution
of parliament should lead to an early release of the
hostages held by Speight.
"I am saddened at having to do
this," said Mara, adding that "Fiji will suffer when the
rest of the world realises this is the course of action I
have taken."
Mara said he was particularly concerned about
Australia, Fiji’s major trading partner, and New
Zealand.
"I have been warned we will be on the bottom of
the pariah list of countries"
Mara said he would not bow
to Speight’s demands for him to step down as he has the
support of the chiefs, the military, the police and the
civil service. "There are 400,000 Fijians. I believe I have
the majority support."
Technically Mara beleives he is
within the constitution because he first swore in a new
Prime Minister Ratu Tevita, who then asked him as President
and Head of State under Section 99 of the Constitution to
dismiss the Parliament.
One of the leading cases in this
area of the law relates to the actions taken by Mara during
the 1987 coup. That case went all the way to the Privy
Council.
Speight rejects
Mara's plan New PM by Monday? Momoedonu
Aids Mara - How Mara Says He Is Within The
Constitution
Speight rejects Mara's plan
Coup
leader George Speight has rejected President Ratu Sir
Kamisese Mara's plan to put an end to the hostage
situation.
Speight's Special Advisor Jo Nata told the
media a short while ago that they don't agree with what Mara
has offered them. Nata's announcement came almost
simultaneously with Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's
Labour Party also rejecting Mara's moves.
Earlier today,
Mara sacked the People's Coalition Government and said he
was considering providing amnesty to Speight and his group
of six other men who stormed Parliament over a week ago and
took government members hostage at gunpoint.
Nata says
Mara's plan does not address their request. Speight is
demanding that Mara step down as President and that the 1997
Constitution be abolished.
Asked if any hostages will be
released in good faith, Nata said he didn't think so because
"the others were not acting in good faith".
New PM
by Monday?
Time : 27/05/00 - 7.30 pm
The President
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara may appoint an interim prime minister
by Monday.
The appointment will be made from within the
existing members of Parliament.
This follows today's
dismissal of government members and the prorogation of
Parliament.
Mara is also considering immunity for Speight
and six others who were instrumental in the initial takeover
of Parliament.
"The reason I have been slow in coming to a
decision is that I want to be absolutely ceratin that we are
within the Constitution. We may be right on the edge but
still within," Mara said.
Labour rejects Mara
plan Time : 27/05/00 - 8.35 pm
The Peoples
Coalition government has insisted that no settlement outside
the constitution is acceptable to them.
The statement
came after Labour Minister Ratu Tevita Momaidonu accepted
Ratu Mara's proposal of appointing and acting Prime Minister
and suspending the government for six months.
The
Statement read:
"The People's Coalition government
understands that Ratu Tevita Momaidonu has agreed to the
proposal of the President.
Governments position of
rejecting the proposal was made clear to Ratu Tevita. It was
also communicated to the President's office well in advance
of the presidents press conference this afternoon
Ratu
Tevita had absolutely no mandate to make a commitment on
behalf of the government.
Accordingly any agreement
entered into by him on a personal basis has no authority,
legitimacy or validity.
It in direct breach of the
official position of the government.
The president's
proposal was rejected by the government on the grounds that
it was clearly intended to pave the way for the dismissal of
the Prime Minister, the dissolution of Parliament and the
establisment of an alternative appointed government.
The
government made clear to the President that it could not
accept such a proposal because it would effectively
legitimise the overthrow of a constitutionally and
democratically elected government by a group of
terrorists.
The Peoples Coalition government maintains
that any action that has been taken by the president since
the swearing in of Ratu Tevita as Prime Minister is
therefore unconstitutional.
We insist that no settlement
outside the constitution is acceptable to us."
The
statement was signed by Education Minister Pratap Chand &
Labour Party spokesperson Jokapeci Koroi
Momoedonu
Aids Mara - How Mara Says He Is Within The
Constitution
Time : 27/05/00 - 7.05 pm
The
President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, appointed an acting Prime
Minister to aid in his prorogation of Parliament and
dismissal of the government.
Chaudhry government Minister
for Labour and Industrial Relations, Ratu Tevita Momoedonu,
of Vuda was appointed Prime Minister by Mara and resigned
after asking the President for a prorogue - discontinuing of
the Parliament sitting without dissolving it. "Thus buying
time for me to set things in order," said Ratu Mara.
Under
this scenario, the President also had the option of
dissolving Parliament.
Ratu Tevita, in his capacity as
acting prime minister, also asked the President to dismiss
all members of government under section 99 (1). This let the
President "with a clean slate to appoint a caretaker prime
minister or other adviser".
Ratu Tevita was appointed
acting prime minister under Section 106 of the 1997
Constitution and gave his advice for prorogation of
Parliament under section 108. He tendered his resignation
after advising the President of the dismissal and
prorogation. "…to enable me to retain unfettered executive
authority to govern the country in the absence of a prime
minister or a sitting Cabinet," Ratu Mara said.
This
effectively, and constitutionally, makes the President the
sole authority in Fiji.