One dead as Fiji military cracks down on rebels

12:00 PM

SUVA - At least one person was reported killed today as Fiji's military began a crackdown on supporters of coup leader George Speight after his arrest on suspicion of arms offences.

The military said violence erupted when they tried to disperse rebel supporters from a school at Koluba, 18 km east of Suva, close to where Speight was arrested at a bridge checkpoint on Wednesday.

"One rebel has since died of his wounds and 24 are still in hospital," military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

Thirty-two others were wounded but did not require hospital treatment, he said.

Speight, who sparked a political crisis when he stormed parliament in May taking most of the cabinet hostage, was arrested after allegations of arms offences and threats to Fiji's head of state, ailing 79-year-old President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

Tarakinikini on Wednesday said an amnesty granted to Speight as part of the deal to secure the release of the hostages was only to come into effect once all his weapons had been returned.

A total of 18 M-16s and pistols taken from military arsenals had still not been handed back so the amnesty did not yet apply, he said in a statement.

The military are investigating whether Speight could also be charged with treason.

"The threat on the life of the head of state was linked with the pressure for him (Iloilo) to name a certain lineup for an interim government," Tarakinikini said.

"It depends on how the investigations turn out, but that in itself...can be seen as an act of treason. But that has to be fully investigated before any charges can be laid (against Speight)."

The military deployed troops across the racially split nation fearing renewed civil unrest after a new government and possibly a new prime minister is named on Thursday.

Independent Radio station FM 96 said hundreds of rebel supporters were rounded up and taken to a mobile police headquarters near Koluba after the shooting.

It said about 30 young men, wrists and ankles bound, were driven towards the capital.

Speight had threatened new unrest if his nationalist candidate for prime minister, 60-year-old diplomat Adi Samanunu Cakobau, was not accepted in place of military-backed caretaker premier Laisenia Qarase.

Tarakinikini said five warning shots were fired before Speight was arrested along with his legal adviser Tevita Bukaru, media adviser Joe Nata, and bodyguard Ireli Cakau.

He said Speight and his supporters would be held inside the Queen Elizabeth military barracks on a hilltop overlooking Suva but did not say how long they would be held.

Speight and his gunmen stormed parliament on May 19 in the name of indigenous Fijian rights. The group held Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, and most of his cabinet hostage for 55 days before releasing them on July 13.

Speight won widespread support among Fijian nationalists in his bid to limit the political power of Fiji's Indians, who make up 44 percent of the 800,000 population and dominate the tourism and sugar-based economy which has been hit hard by the crisis.

Sporadic violence flared around Suva and other parts of the country in the wake of his coup and the military declared martial law on May 29 in an attempt to restore order.

A military source earlier told Reuters the armed forces decided to deploy more troops on Wednesday in part because Speight's chief security adviser Ilisoni Ligairi had been seen with Speight's group.

Ligairi, who served with Britain's elite Special Air Service, had not been seen with Speight since the hostages were released.

A presidential aide said before the arrests a new government would be named on Thursday after last-minute meetings between Iloilo, Speight and the military.

There was no immediate response from Iloilo or Qarase about Speight's arrest or future government plans.

Local media said on Wednesday the new government would be sworn in on Friday with Qarase at its head. Presidential aide Joe Browne gave no indication of who would head the government.

International concern over Fiji's protracted political crisis grew on Wednesday with Australia suggesting there could be a role for the United Nations. Australian trades unions called for direct U.N. intervention.

New Zealand welcomed Speight's arrest but Foreign Minister Phil Goff warned of possible reprisals by his supporters.

- REUTERS