Police Planned Coup

Police Planned Coup; Involved Assassination And Kidnapping - Journalist

Issue No: 384 17 January 2001

A coup to depose the elected government was to have taken place on 28 March which involved the assassination of the Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and the kidnapping of the President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, writes veteran Pacific journalist Michael Field.

The AFP article written on 15 January states that the planned coup was led by the Fiji Police, including Commissioner Isikia Savua, who was to be prime minister in the new regime.

Field writes: "Evidence suggests the coup was to have occurred earlier but broke down when two of the special forces men ordered to kidnap the president turned out to be from the same province of which he is the traditional paramount chief. The plotters also had difficulties with vehicles on that day and could not locate

Chaudhry, who was to have been shot."

[Records show that on 28 January, Prime Minister Chaudhry had a cabinet meeting in Deuba. This was a part of Chaudhry's policy of taking the cabinet to the people around the country. The move had received immense support from the citizens.]

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