By NAOMI LARKIN in Suva
In the afterglow of freedom, Fiji's former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry says reconciliation is the way forward.
But the blueprint for Fiji's future, carved out by George Speight at the point of a gun, suggests only division.
Even as the two men shared kava and hugged just before Mr Chaudhry and his ministers were released from Parliament on Thursday, the military was bowing to Speight's demands and the Great Council of Chiefs was following his wishes.
It began on May 19 when Speight and six armed men stormed Suva's Parliament and took Mr Chaudhry and his MPs hostage.
For 56 days Speight and a core group of 19 members from the Army's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, with an arsenal of weapons, held the hostages - and the country - to ransom.
Their aim: to claim Fiji for Fijians.
By Thursday, Speight had forced the military to hand over executive power to the new President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, thereby sealing the overthrow of the democratically elected Chaudhry Government and the end of the 1997 constitution.
Furthermore, Ratu Iloilo was Speight's choice for President and he succeeded in getting the Great Council of Chiefs to back it at Thursday's meeting.
But the sickly sweet icing on the cake was the amnesty Speight gained for himself, his henchmen and all those around the country who pointed guns, set up roadblocks, took over police stations and held hostages of their own in the name of his cause.
In addition, the rebels who supported Speight, including those from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, can now report back to barracks and assume the positions they held in the military before the coup.
Although Ratu Iloilo has yet to finalise his Government lineup and formulate policies, it is painfully clear that the future for Fiji Indians like Mr Chaudhry will be irrevocably altered.
The supremacy of indigenous Fijian interests in land control, fishing rights, cultural affairs and the right to self-determination are likely to be written into the lawbooks. In short, Fiji for Fijians.
Furthermore, if Speight achieves his ultimate aim of stripping Fiji Indians of their right to vote and be represented in Parliament, they face a path more akin to apartheid than reconciliation.
But yesterday, as he posed for photographs among the rebels' weapons on display in the very room where the hostages were held, Speight claimed that there was no future for him in Fijian politics.
He said he would return home, but he did not say where home was.
"It doesn't mean I forget the cause. I can contribute in a whole number of ways. But my objective was not to come and take power. My objective was to restore power into the hands of indigenous Fijians and to lay the groundwork and foundation for a complete reassessment of our social order, constitution, Government, etc - that's my objective."
But his fingers remain firmly in the pie. He said that although he had left it up to "the discretion of the President" to choose his lineup, "he might want to change a number of names in there.
"There are certain key people and key portfolios that must be in the hands of our people - no question."
Earlier, Speight said that if he was asked by the council to be prime minister, he would be "honoured to serve my country.
"That's the ultimate form of promotion into a leadership position in our country, that the chiefs who represent the people ask you personally. That's the ultimate."
The international backlash, including sanctions and trade bans that Fiji was now likely to face, would be handled in time, Speight said.
"The international backlash is based on a gross misunderstanding of the facts on the ground. It also comes from specific quarters in the international community. It's not worldwide ... [it's] specifically the Commonwealth countries, more particularly Australia and New Zealand.
"The rest of the world is very quiet and waiting because they recognise our right to make our own decisions over here. Fijians must be given the right to elect who they want to serve their country and New Zealand and Australia must stop sticking their noses in."
Speight said it would take a long time to repair the economy, but the vanua (people) were under no illusion that it would be easy.
In contrast, Mr Chaudhry is firm that the repair work must begin now and it must be based on unity.
"What we need to do is deep reflection and reconciliation and reconstruction of the country," he said.
"We all need to work together to put the country back into shape and to try to help the people who are suffering as a result of the events of May 19.
"My priority is that the nation must get back on its feet. There are a lot of people there who are suffering."
Mr Chaudhry, whose political history has been deeply enmeshed with the trade union movement, said his political future was for the people to decide.
"I have been in politics a long time. I'll leave it to the party."
Yesterday, members of his Labour Party met at his home to brief him on the past two months and to discuss future strategies.
Mr Chaudhry's son Rajendra, who was also held hostage, said yesterday that his father believed he had a role to play in the future development of the country.
The military - battered by criticism that it caved into Speight by signing the Muanikau Accord, thereby giving him licence to carry out his demands - is also calling for reconciliation.
"Now it is up to individual Fijians to take stock of what has happened and move to reconciliation. That's what it's all about," Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini said yesterday.
The Army has been clear from the outset that its job was to free the hostages.
As Speight increased his demands during the two-month crisis and civilians staged uprisings around the country in support, the Army admitted it was under pressure to find a solution.
This reached a climax last weekend when villagers took over the Korovou police station, holding hostage 28 people, including police and soldiers. At the same time, land-owners at Lami, just outside Suva, blocked the Nadi-Suva road.
Both groups claimed they were Speight supporters and were taking their orders from the rebel camp.
"The accord was a pragmatic solution." Colonel Tarakinikini said. "The release of the hostages and the return of the weapons were our objectives."
Under seige: map of the Parliament complex
Fire and Emergency said crews were called to the incident just after 8.15pm.