Mob on rampage through Suva

Fiji teetered on the brink of chaos last night as a mob of George Speight's supporters rampaged through the streets of Suva.

Gunshots rang out and Fiji's main television channel went off the air.

Unconfirmed reports said Speight supporters had firebombed the Fiji TV station and cut power to the central police station.

Auckland's Fiji Indian station Radio Tarana reported that the mob had fired shots into the house of Fiji's President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

A police officer was also shot when driving in his car.

Suva's Colonial War Memorial Hospital confirmed he was admitted and said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Earlier, nine journalists, including New Zealanders Naomi Larkin of the Herald and Lisa Owen of Radio New Zealand, were rescued by their colleagues after being held in the parliamentary complex against their will.

Larkin said she and Owen were covering talks between Speight's group and the Great Council of Chiefs when about 200 Speight supporters silently walked out, grabbed rocks and headed for the streets.

The journalists hid with a group of Fijian women.

However, they were found by a security guard who took them to the normally secret coup control room, where they met Ratu Ilisoni Ligairi, regarded as the tactical mastermind behind the coup.

They were made to hand over their cellphones and were not allowed to leave - supposedly for their own safety - or make phone calls.

Ligairi's supporters complained bitterly about media coverage of the coup.

Larkin said she got the impression they might not be set free because they were regarded as hostile to Speight. The journalists were eventually allowed to go when a group of their colleagues, led by Herald photographer Kenny Rodger, walked in and demanded their release.

Only hours earlier, Speight said the hostages could soon be released after "fruitful discussions" between his group and representatives from the Great Council of Chiefs.

"Not 24 - say 48 hours. But keep in mind that whatever resolutions we [his group and the council's committee] come to, will have to go back to a council meeting which will probably be on Monday or Tuesday [today or tomorrow] this coming week.

"That's when all the bombshell announcements will take place and the release of the hostages will naturally follow."

However, Speight has cautioned that the release of the former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, and his ministers, rests on the removal of the 1997 constitution and the President.

His claims follow Ratu Mara's decision on Saturday to sack Mr Chaudhry and his democratically elected Government.

The President took constitutional control of Fiji by invoking a section of the constitution that allowed him to dismiss the Prime Minister because he was "unable to perform the functions" of his office.

Ratu Mara appointed Labour Minister Tevita Momoedonu Prime Minister "for a matter of minutes" - long enough for the new appointee to dismiss the cabinet and hand over control to the President before resigning himself.

Ratu Mara said Parliament had been suspended for six months to enable him to appoint a caretaker Prime Minister and a council of advisers, "thus buying me time to try and set things in order."

Dismissing the ministers would also remove "the grounds under which they are being kept hostage - they are no longer ministers," he said.

Ratu Mara said he was aware the move would bring down the wrath of other Commonwealth countries on Fiji and could have a huge impact on trade - particularly with Australia.

However, there was no alternative.

* Fijians were rocked early today by news of their Sevens rugby side's 35-21 loss to Argentina, putting them out of the world series tournament in Paris.


More Fiji coup coverage

Under seige: map of the Parliament complex