Hostages agree to leadership change at gunpoint

It appears only those who are held at gunpoint have agreed to the leadership of George Speight in Fiji.

There have been no supporting statements from anyone outside Parliament, where about twenty gunmen have been holding the Government hostage since late Friday morning.

Elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was given five seconds to surrender and endorse Mr Speight's leadership or be shot. The five seconds passed, while Mr Chaudhry bravely refused.

Speight than escorted Mr Chaudhry back to chambers, where the People's Coalition government is held hostage, and locked him in. There are unconfirmed reports that Mr Chaudhry was then beaten.

Speight then made a public statement in which he said he would not be responsible for "fatal consequences" which might follow if his claim to power was not accepted.

After meeting with the hostages, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tupeni Baba went to Speight and told him that Fijian members of the government had agreed to surrender.

Minutes later Speight announced that Prime Minister Chaudhry had also surrendered.

A State of Emergency, imposed by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, remains in effect.

Police Commissioner Isikia Savua and Acting Fiji Military Forces Commander Colonel Alfred Tuatoko have announced that their forces remain loyal to the President and to the 1997 constitution.

Acting Army Commander Alfred Tuatoko confirmed that President Mara is still the Chief Executive. Major Uliasi Vatu, who was present at the press conference, denied that he was appointed Commander of the Fiji Military as announced by Speight Friday night.

Police went to the Government Printery Friday morning and stopped the gazetting of decrees propagated by Speight's new 'interim government.' Commissioner Savua said the police would only take orders from President Mara and urged the public to do likewise. Savua also announced that curfews from 7pm to 6am would continue for the next two weeks.

Savua estimated about 10,000 people took part in the anti-government march through Suva on Friday and about 15,000 were involved in looting that followed. He said there were only one thousand police officers on the street to deal with the situation.

A police survey Friday night found 167 shops were broken into and looted, while 15 shops and 5 kiosks were burned down. The 269 people arrested for looting filled all the cells at the Central Police Station. Police had to move the overflow to Nabua Police Station on the outskirts of the capital city. They also converted rooms in the Police Academy at nearby Nasese into temporary cells.

- FIJI VILLAGE NEWS