Fiji Minister assures all citizens will have rights in new democracy

SYDNEY - Fiji's interim government has announced it will create a new constitution to protect the rights of all Fijian people, before elections expected by June 2002.

Commerce Minister Tomasi Vuetilovoni said a new constitution would be declared in December 2001 to replace the one thrown out after a May coup by nationalists who wanted to curb the power of Fiji's economically strong ethnic Indian minority.

"There is no intention whatsoever of taking political rights away from any of our citizens," Vuetilovoni told an investment seminar in Sydney.

"The democratically representative constitution we are committed to introducing will protect the freedoms...of everyone," said Vuetilovoni, who is also investment minister in the racially split South Pacific country's military-backed interim government

However, Fiji's interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said on October 10 that Fijians would never again be ruled by ethnic Indians, who make up about 44 percent of the 800,000 population.

Fiji's first Indian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry was toppled after rebels under failed businessman George Speight stormed parliament on May 19.

Chaudhry and most of his cabinet were held hostage for 56 days before being released after a deal between rebels and the military.

Speight and his aides are in prison on treason charges.

Fiji's central bank said today it had halved its early forecast of the contraction in the Fijian economy expected to flow from the May coup.

Reserve Bank of Fiji senior economist Sylvia Ting said the economic impact of the coup, which drew worldwide condemnation and limited sanctions, might not be as bad as first thought.

Qarase said in a July mini-budget that Fiji's economy - dominated by sugar, tourism and garment manufacture - was expected to shrink by 15 percent in the 2000 calendar year as a result of the coup.

Ting said the Reserve Bank had now halved that forecast.

"The forecast contraction has been revised from 15 percent to eight percent," Ting told the investment seminar.

"A bumper crop is expected in the sugar industry and tourism has bounced back after a number of initiatives," she said.

"Next year we expect the economy to rebound as much as five percent."

- REUTERS