Ousted Fiji ministers seek compensation

10:00 AM

SUVA - Three ousted ministers from Fiji's deposed government have filed suit seeking compensation for being held hostage for nearly two months after the coup by nationalist rebels.

They also began legal proceedings against former president Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and military commander Frank Bainimarama for their actions taken after the coup led by rebel leader George Speight which toppled the multi-racial government of prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

The ex-ministers lodged a writ of summons in Fiji's High Court in which they sought a declaration from the defendants that they were entitled to compensation "for wrongful capture or arrest and detention".

Former public works ministers Deo Narayan and assistant ministers Ratu Isireli Vuibau and Gunasagaran Gounder said they should receive compensation for their time in captivity and full salary entitlements.

The writ did not specify how much compensation was being sought.

The plaintiffs said Mara "acted unlawfully, wrongfully and/or unconstitutionally" to prorogue parliament and to declare that Chaudhry was unable to carry out his duties after the coup.

Chaudhry and most of his government were held hostage by the rebels in the parliament complex for 55 days.

The former ministers said military chief Bainimarama, who took control of the country on May 29 after the coup sparked violence and looting, had no lawful right or authority to make laws.

Mara stepped down when the military imposed martial law. He was replaced by Ratu Josefa Iloilo in mid-July.

The former ministers also said Bainimarama and Iloilo had acted wrongfully and unlawfully in entering the Muanikau Accord, which finally secured the release of the hostages by Speight.

Speight won most of his demands for indigenous Fijian control of the country during the prolonged hostage drama, but was last month arrested and has been charged with treason.

Chaudhry, who is in India rallying international support, has demanded his multi-racial government be reinstated.

New Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who was appointed by Iloilo and is committed to a programme of entrenching indigenous rights, has rejected the call as "unrealistic".

The deposed ministers in their writ also said Iloilo had not been lawfully appointed. Iloilo was installed last month with the backing of the nationalist rebels following the Muanikau Accord.

The former ministers also cited Fiji's Chief Justice Sir Timoci Tuivaga in the writ, charging that he had failed to take necessary steps in the interest of justice.

Australia on Wednesday dropped its warning against travel to Fiji, saying some risks remained but that security in the South Pacific nation had improved after a military crackdown on nationalist rebels.

"While the security situation in Fiji has improved recently, it remains uncertain," Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said in its latest consular advice.

Australia also said it had added Fiji to the list of countries whose citizens required visas to transit Australia.

- REUTERS