***

URGENT ¥¥¥ Fiji PM taken hostage: report

AUCKLAND, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji's Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has been taken hostage by seven men following a indigenous protest in the capital Suva, Radio New Zealand reported Friday.

***

Fiji PM and seven cabinet ministers held hostage

AUCKLAND, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji's Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and seven cabinet ministers are being held hostage in Parliament in the capital Suva, senior diplomatic sources told AFP Friday.

Shots have been fired, they said, but no other details are available.

Telecom New Zealand advised that the phone service to Fiji has gone down.

***

Fiji prime minister and seven cabinet ministers being held hostage

AUCKLAND, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji's Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has been seized by armed civilians inside the country's Parliament building, diplomatic sources said Friday.

It has been impossible to confirm the events in the capital Suva as telephone lines have gone down.

Sources say shots have been fired and it appears that seven cabinet ministers are being held in an upstairs room in the Fiji Parliament building.

Friday marks the first anniversary of Chaudhry becoming Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

It was to be marked by a pro-nationalist march by indigenous Fijians through the streets of Suva, calling for an end to the year-old government.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

He was in Suva Friday but due to fly out to the Solomon Islands in his capacity as a Commonwealth peace negotiator.

***

Fiji PM being held by armed men, New Zealand government says

AUCKLAND, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and up to seven cabinet ministers are believed to be being held hostage after armed men stormed Fiji's Parliament, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

Ministry spokesman James Funnell said they had been unable to verify the report because communications with the New Zealand High Commission in Fiji were down. Normal phone lines are also not working.

Foreign Minister Phil Goff said through a spokesman that he was "very concerned" about the reports coming out of Suva and was seeking urgent clarification.

The Fiji Embassy in Wellington was unable to confirm the events in the capital Suva.

Diplomatic sources say shots have been fired and it appears that the hostages are being held in an upstairs room in the Fiji Parliament building.

Friday marks the first anniversary of Chaudhry becoming Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

It was to be marked by a pro-nationalist march by indigenous Fijians through the streets of Suva, calling for an end to the year-old government.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

He was in Suva Friday but was due to fly out to the Solomon Islands in his capacity as a Commonwealth peace negotiator.

***

Fiji's phone system disconnected: Telecom New Zealand

AUCKLAND, May 19 (AFP) - Telecom New Zealand said Friday that Fiji appeared to have disconnected its domestic telephone system from its international links.

Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and up to seven of his cabinet ministers have apparently been seized by armed men and are being held in Parliament buildings in the capital Suva.

"This happened in 1987 (when two coups took place in Fiji) and our international people tell us this is quite common in a coup situation or an applicable situation, the first thing they do is pull the plug on communications," a Telecom spokeswoman said.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said through a spokesman that he was "very concerned" about the reports coming out of Suva and was seeking urgent clarification.

Diplomatic sources say shots have been fired and it appears that the hostages are being held in an upstairs room in the Fiji Parliament building.

***

Fiji PM being held by armed men in Parliament

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and up to seven cabinet ministers are being held hostage after armed men stormed Fiji's Parliament, the New Zealand and Australian governments said Friday.

"We are aware of reports that a group of men in civilian clothes have entered the parliamant building in Suva," a spokeswoman for Australia's department of foreign affairs told AFP.

"The prime minister and other government members are among those detained in the building. "We are monitoring the situation closely."

She said events were focused on the parliament building and there appeared to be no immediate danger to civilians in the capital Suva.

New Zealand Ministry spokesman James Funnell said they were aware of the reports but communications with the New Zealand High Commission in Fiji were down. Normal phone lines were also not working.

Radio Fiji said that seven armed men burst into the parlimament building, locking Chaudry and other cabinet ministers in the upstairs chambers.

The men were armed with rifles and shots were fired in the parliament.

Radio Fiji said the gates to the parliament, just outside the city's main business district, had been closed.

Friday marks the first anniversary of Chaudhry becoming Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

It was to be marked by a pro-nationalist march by indigenous Fijians through the streets of Suva, calling for an end to the year-old government.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

He was in Suva Friday but was due to fly out to the Solomon Islands in his capacity as a Commonwealth peace negotiator.

***

Fiji PM, ministers, being held by armed men in Parliament

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and up to seven cabinet ministers are being held hostage by armed men who stormed the Parliament, the New Zealand and Australian governments said Friday.

"We are aware of reports that a group of men in civilian clothes have entered the parliamant building in Suva," a spokeswoman for Australia's department of foreign affairs told AFP.

"The prime minister and other government members are among those detained in the building. "We are monitoring the situation closely."

Local reporters told AFP that seven armed men burst into the parlimament building, and were holding both government and opposition members of parliament.

Radio Fiji said that Chaudry and other cabinet ministers had been locked in the upstairs chambers. The men were armed with rifles and at least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, had been closed.

Police have surrounded the building and begun negotiations but Radio Fiji said the captors have made no demands and the situation appeared to be a stand off.

A protest march in the city to mark Chaudhry's first year in power, which got underway at around the same time as the take-over, had made its way to Parliament and some violence there was reported.

The Australian foreign ministry spokeswoman said the events were focused on the parliament building and there appeared to be no immediate danger to civilians in the capital Suva.

New Zealand Ministry spokesman James Funnell said they were aware of the reports but communications with the New Zealand High Commission in Fiji were down. Normal phone lines were also not working.

Telecom New Zealand said Fiji appeared to have disconnected its domestic telephone system from its international links.

"This happened in 1987 (when two coups took place in Fiji) and our international people tell us this is quite common in a coup situation or an applicable situation, the first thing they do is pull the plug on communications," a Telecom spokeswoman said.

Friday marks the first anniversary of Chaudhry becoming Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

It was marked by a pro-nationalist march by indigenous Fijians through the streets of Suva, calling for an end to the year-old government.

Local journalists reported that the protest march, led by the Taukei movement, took place at around the same time as the takeover, with around 1,600 people marching.

Diplomatic sources in Suva said that police were believed to be behind the seizure of Chaudhry.

There was no confirmation of this theory but one of the armed men has already been identified as a member of the defeated Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) party which lost last year's elections.

Outside Parliament, police spoke to a masked man who then revealed himself to be SVP supporter George Speight, who has been involved in complicated negotiations for an American company to take over the country's valuable mahagony resources.

Last week the police commander urged the government to listen to the demands of the Taukei Movement and indigenous Fijian concerns.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

He was in Suva Friday but was due to fly out to the Solomon Islands in his capacity as a Commonwealth peace negotiator.

Radio Fiji was reporting that a group of Maldives students studying at the University of the South Pacific, who were caught up in the melee in the Parliament building, have been freed.

***

URGENT ¥¥¥ New Fiji PM named by coup leaders: report

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu was Friday named Fiji's interim prime minister by leaders of a coup, a Fiji news internet site reported.

***

New Fiji PM named by coup leaders: report

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu was Friday named Fiji's interim prime minister by leaders of a coup, a Fiji news internet site reported.

Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and seven of his cabinet were seized by armed men who stormed Parliament earlier Friday.

The group said they were staging a civil coup and taking control on behalf on the indigenous Fijian community.

Friday marked the first anniversary of Chaudhry being appointed the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Coup leader George Speight, chairman of Fiji Hardwood Corp., told Fiji radio the hostages were safe.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," Speight said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji and replayed on a Melbourne radio station.

The Fijilive.com website said Speight had also named Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure as home affairs minister.

Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who seized power in a coup in 1987, was reported to have held talks with Speight.

***

Fiji PM overthrown, held by armed men in Parliament

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Armed civilians overthrew Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry Friday, storming parliament and seizing the premier and his cabinet ministers in an apparent bloodless coup.

Coup leader George Speight, the son of opposition MP Sam Speight, said Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu had been named interim prime minister.

He said he had revoked the constitution and all executive control was now in his hands. The military was taking a "passive" role, he said.

The dramatic events unfolded on the first anniversary of Chaudhry's appointment as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Speight told Fiji radio that the hostages were safe, but that he was taking control on behalf on the indigenous Fijian community.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," he said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji and replayed on a Melbourne radio station.

"The purpose of this press statement is for me to make this announcement and to make clear that this reaction (is to lay) the foundation for change once and for all in the affairs of the country of Fiji as desired by the indigenous people of Fiji."

Local reporters told AFP that seven men armed with AK-47 rifles burst into the parlimament building, and were holding both government and opposition members of parliament.

Chaudry and other cabinet ministers had been locked in the upstairs chambers. At least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, were closed and police had surrounded the building and were negotiating with the coup leaders.

State-owned Fiji TV reported violence had broken out around the parliament buildings.

Soon after reports of the takeover were broadcast, thousands of terrified people began fleeing the capital as violence erupted and buildings were burned down.

A sense of panic took over as people rushed to schools to gather up their childen and escape.

The takeover coincided with a nationalist march involving around 1,600 people held to protest Chaudhry's government.

Fiji TV said many of the protesters, joined by others, had marched to Parliament where they began throwing stones and attacking people.

Eye-witnesses told AFP that shops were being torched and looting was taking place.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

A Pacific regional official in Suva said Rabuka, the former prime minister, had arrived in the capital to act as a mediator.

"Rabuka has been sent to negotiate the release of ministers and the prime minister," he told AFP.

"So far he seems to be not involved in any of this mess. Rabuka is presently outside the parliament complex trying to convince Spieght and Co. to release the hostages.

"There has been extensive structural damage to the city and looting has been the top most thing."

Speight is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd. which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure a contract to win rights to the lucrative mahogony plantations here -- the world's biggest.

In a public address, Speight said: "When we executed our (coup) this morning there was a small number of us but as I sit and as I speak and make these announcements to you I speak on behalf of every individual member of the indigenous Fijian community in this country of ours.

"Through these actions I am asserting ownership, I am taking control and I am asserting executive power over Fiji as I speak.

"What these actions do is that I announce that we have revoked the constitution ... we have revoked the powers of the president of the republic of Fiji.

"All executive control ... of this country of ours currently resides in my hands."

Diplomatic sources said two New Zealand frigates and a naval tanker were near Noumea and on standby.

Fiji was scheduled next week to host the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) ministerial meetings where a new treaty between Europe and the developing world was to be signed and known as the Fiji Convention.

***

Armed civilians topple Fiji's Indian PM, rioting reported

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - A group of armed civilians seized Fiji's ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet Friday after storming parliament and announced they had taken power in the name of indigenous Fijians.

"We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji," coup leader George Speight, the son of opposition MP Sam Speight, said in a statement.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said, adding that the members of the previous government were safe.

The coup reportedly took place without bloodshed but there were reports of looting and arson in Suva.

"I would like to announce that Fiji is currently under civilian rule, with the assistance of armed forces, who are passive but will remain at the beck and call and the control of the civilian government that is in place at this time and is headed by myself," Speight said.

He said Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu had been named interim prime minister, replacing Chaudhry, elected premier a year ago.

Speight said he had revoked the constitution at the request of the indigenous people of Fiji and executive control was now in his hands.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," Speight said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji.

"The purpose of this press statement is for me to make this announcement and to make clear that this reaction (is to lay) the foundation for change once and for all in the affairs of the country of Fiji as desired by the indigenous people of Fiji."

The dramatic events unfolded on the first anniversary of Chaudhry's election as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Local reporters told AFP that seven men armed with AK-47 rifles burst into the parlimament building, and seized both government and opposition members of parliament.

Chaudry and other cabinet ministers were locked in the upstairs chambers. At least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, were closed and police had surrounded the building and were negotiating with the coup leaders.

State-owned Fiji TV reported violence had broken out around the parliament buildings.

Witnesses told AFP shops were torched and looting was taking place.

Soon after reports of the takeover were broadcast, thousands of terrified people began fleeing the capital as violence erupted and buildings set ablaze.

A sense of panic took over as people rushed to schools to gather up their childen and escape.

The takeover coincided with a nationalist march involving around 1,600 people held to protest Chaudhry's government.

Fiji TV said many of the protesters, joined by others, had marched to parliament where they began throwing stones and attacking people.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

A Pacific regional official in Suva said Rabuka, the former prime minister, had arrived in the capital to act as a mediator.

"Rabuka has been sent to negotiate the release of ministers and the prime minister," he told AFP.

"So far he seems to be not involved in any of this mess. Rabuka is presently outside the parliament complex trying to convince Spieght and Co. to release the hostages.

"There has been extensive structural damage to the city and looting has been the top most thing."

Speight is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd. which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure a contract to win rights to the lucrative mahogony plantations here -- the world's biggest.

Of Fiji's around 800,000 people 51 percent are ethnic Fijian and 43 percent are ethnic Indians, the descendents of labourers brought here in the late 19th century to work in sugar plantations.

Diplomatic sources said two New Zealand frigates and a naval tanker were near Noumea and on standby.

Fiji was scheduled next month (eds: correct) to host the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) ministerial meetings where a new treaty between Europe and the developing world was to be signed and known as the Fiji Convention.

***

Armed civilians topple Fiji's Indian PM, rioting reported

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - A group of armed civilians seized Fiji's ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet Friday after storming parliament and announced they had taken power in the name of indigenous Fijians.

"We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji," coup leader George Speight, the son of opposition MP Sam Speight, said in a statement.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said, adding that the members of the previous government were safe.

The coup reportedly took place without bloodshed but there were reports of looting and arson in Suva.

"I would like to announce that Fiji is currently under civilian rule, with the assistance of armed forces, who are passive but will remain at the beck and call and the control of the civilian government that is in place at this time and is headed by myself," Speight said.

He said Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu had been named interim prime minister, replacing Chaudhry, elected premier a year ago.

Speight said he had revoked the constitution at the request of the indigenous people of Fiji and executive control was now in his hands.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," Speight said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji.

"The purpose of this press statement is for me to make this announcement and to make clear that this reaction (is to lay) the foundation for change once and for all in the affairs of the country of Fiji as desired by the indigenous people of Fiji."

The dramatic events unfolded on the first anniversary of Chaudhry's election as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Local reporters told AFP that seven men armed with AK-47 rifles burst into the parlimament building, and seized both government and opposition members of parliament.

Chaudry and other cabinet ministers were locked in the upstairs chambers. At least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, were closed and police had surrounded the building and were negotiating with the coup leaders.

State-owned Fiji TV reported violence had broken out around the parliament buildings.

Witnesses told AFP shops were torched and looting was taking place.

Soon after reports of the takeover were broadcast, thousands of terrified people began fleeing the capital as violence erupted and buildings set ablaze.

A sense of panic took over as people rushed to schools to gather up their childen and escape.

The takeover coincided with a nationalist march involving around 1,600 people held to protest Chaudhry's government.

Fiji TV said many of the protesters, joined by others, had marched to parliament where they began throwing stones and attacking people.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

A Pacific regional official in Suva said Rabuka, the former prime minister, had arrived in the capital to act as a mediator.

"Rabuka has been sent to negotiate the release of ministers and the prime minister," he told AFP.

"So far he seems to be not involved in any of this mess. Rabuka is presently outside the parliament complex trying to convince Spieght and Co. to release the hostages.

"There has been extensive structural damage to the city and looting has been the top most thing."

Speight is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd. which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure a contract to win rights to the lucrative mahogony plantations here -- the world's biggest.

Of Fiji's around 800,000 people 51 percent are ethnic Fijian and 43 percent are ethnic Indians, the descendents of labourers brought here in the late 19th century to work in sugar plantations.

Diplomatic sources said two New Zealand frigates and a naval tanker were near Noumea and on standby.

Fiji was scheduled next month (eds: correct) to host the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) ministerial meetings where a new treaty between Europe and the developing world was to be signed and known as the Fiji Convention.

mp/cl Fiji-unrest-emergency

¥¥URGENT -- Fiji president declares state of emergency

SYDNEY, May 19 (AFP) - Fiji's President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Friday declared a state of emergency following an attempted coup.

"I regret to say that what happened today is not in accordance with the constitution and therefore is unlawful," Ratu Mara said in a radio address monitored here.

"I'm now declaring a state of emergency to maintain law and order."

***

Armed civilians topple Fiji's Indian PM, rioting reported

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Armed civilians seized Fiji's ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet Friday after storming parliament and announced they had taken power in the name of indigenous fijians.

"We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji," coup leader George Speight, the American-educated son of opposition MP Sam Speight, said in a statement.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said, adding that the members of the previous government were safe.

Fiji's President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara declared a state of emergency and imposed a nightime curfew.

"I regret to say that what happened today is not in accordance with the constitution and therefore is unlawful," he said in a radio address.

"I'm now declaring a state of emergency to maintain law and order."

The coup reportedly took place without bloodshed but there was looting and arson in Suva and phones lines were cut.

"I would like to announce that Fiji is currently under civilian rule, with the assistance of armed forces, who are passive but will remain at the beck and call and the control of the civilian government that is in place at this time and is headed by myself," Speight said.

He said Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu, a political novice, had been named interim prime minister, replacing Chaudhry, elected premier a year ago.

Speight said he had revoked the constitution at the request of the indigenous people of Fiji and executive control was now in his hands.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," Speight said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji.

"The purpose of this press statement is for me to make this announcement and to make clear that this reaction (is to lay) the foundation for change once and for all in the affairs of the country of Fiji as desired by the indigenous people of Fiji."

The dramatic events unfolded on the first anniversary of Chaudhry's election as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Local reporters told AFP that seven men armed with AK-47 rifles burst into the parlimament building, and seized both government and opposition members of parliament.

Chaudry and other cabinet ministers were locked in the upstairs chambers. At least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, were closed and police had surrounded the building and were negotiating with the coup leaders.

State-owned Fiji TV reported violence had broken out around the parliament buildings.

Soon after reports of the takeover were broadcast, thousands of terrified people began fleeing the capital as buildings were set ablaze.

A sense of panic took over as people rushed to schools to gather up their childen and escape.

The takeover coincided with a nationalist march involving around 1,600 people held to protest Chaudhry's government.

Fiji TV said many of the protesters, joined by others, had marched to parliament where they began throwing stones and attacking people.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

A Pacific regional official in Suva said Rabuka, the former prime minister, had arrived in the capital to act as a mediator.

"Rabuka has been sent to negotiate the release of ministers and the prime minister," he told AFP, although it appeared late Friday that his appeals to hand back the leadership had been turned down by Speight.

Speight is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd. which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure a contract to win rights to the lucrative mahogony plantations here -- the world's biggest.

Of Fiji's 800,000 people 51 percent are ethnic Fijian and 43 percent are ethnic Indians, the descendents of labourers brought here in the late 19th century to work in sugar plantations.

Diplomatic sources said two New Zealand frigates and a naval tanker were near Noumea and on standby. Australia and New Zealand condemned the coup.

Fiji was scheduled next month (eds: correct) to host the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) ministerial meetings where a new treaty between Europe and the developing world was to be signed and known as the Fiji Convention.

***

Armed civilians topple Fiji's Indian PM, rioting reported

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Armed civilians seized Fiji's ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet Friday after storming parliament and announced they had taken power in the name of indigenous Fijians.

"We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji," coup leader George Speight, the American-educated son of opposition MP Sam Speight, said in a statement.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said, adding that the members of the previous government were safe.

Fiji's President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara declared a state of emergency and imposed a nightime curfew.

"I regret to say that what happened today is not in accordance with the constitution and therefore is unlawful," he said in a radio address.

"I'm now declaring a state of emergency to maintain law and order."

The coup, the third in 13 years, reportedly took place without bloodshed but there was looting and arson in Suva and phones lines were cut.

"I would like to announce that Fiji is currently under civilian rule, with the assistance of armed forces, who are passive but will remain at the beck and call and the control of the civilian government that is in place at this time and is headed by myself," Speight said.

He said Fijian Association Party MP Ratu Timoci Silatolu, a political novice, had been named interim prime minister, replacing Chaudhry, elected premier a year ago.

Speight said he had revoked the constitution at the request of the indigenous people of Fiji and executive control was now in his hands.

"The members of the former government who we have just put down are safe and well and are held in a secure place," Speight said in a radio address broadcast in Fiji.

"The purpose of this press statement is for me to make this announcement and to make clear that this reaction (is to lay) the foundation for change once and for all in the affairs of the country of Fiji as desired by the indigenous people of Fiji."

The dramatic events unfolded on the first anniversary of Chaudhry's election as the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Local reporters told AFP that seven men armed with AK-47 assault rifles burst into the parlimament building, and seized both government and opposition members of parliament.

Chaudhry was heard to tell his MPs to "hold your seats" while the Speaker of Parliament, Apenisa Kurisaqila, told the men what they were doing was "illegal", local media reports said.

Chaudhry and other cabinet ministers were then locked in the upstairs chambers. At least two shots were fired.

The gates to the parliament building, just outside the city's main business district, were closed and police had surrounded the building and were negotiating with the coup leaders.

Soldiers fanned out across Suva and other centres to protect property as reserve army personnel were called to the city's Queen Elizabeth Barracks.

State-owned Fiji TV reported violence had broken out across the capital.

Soon after reports of the takeover were broadcast, thousands of terrified people began fleeing the capital as buildings were set ablaze.

A sense of panic took over as people rushed to schools to gather up their childen and escape.

The takeover coincided with a nationalist march involving around 1,600 people held to protest Chaudhry's government.

Fiji TV said many of the protesters, joined by others, had marched to parliament where they began throwing stones and attacking people.

Fiji suffered two military coups in 1987 when strongman Sitiveni Rabuka took over.

A Pacific regional official in Suva said Rabuka, the former prime minister, had arrived in the capital to act as a mediator.

"Rabuka has been sent to negotiate the release of ministers and the prime minister," he told AFP, although it appeared late Friday that his appeals to hand back the leadership had been turned down by Speight.

Speight is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd. which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure a contract to win rights to the lucrative mahogony plantations here -- the world's biggest.

Of Fiji's around 800,000 people 51 percent are ethnic Fijian and 43 percent are ethnic Indians, the descendents of labourers brought here in the late 19th century to work in sugar plantations.

Diplomatic sources said two New Zealand frigates and a naval tanker were near Noumea and on standby. Australia and New Zealand condemned the coup.

Fiji was scheduled next month (eds: correct) to host the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) ministerial meetings where a new treaty between Europe and the developing world was to be signed and known as the Fiji Convention.

***

Looting subsides after Fiji coup: witnesses

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Looting and rioting in Fiji's capital, Suva, following Friday morning's coup subsided by early evening as police moved in to enforce a curfew, witnesses said Friday.

Police arrested about 100 looters who had focussed on Indian businesses after armed civilians seized Fiji's first ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet, one witness told AFP.

The gunmen who stormed parliament said they had taken power in the name of indigenous Fijians.

Looters "were targeting Indian businesses," the witness said.

President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara declared a state of emergency and imposed a nightime curfew following the coup.

Local reporters said the ministers of health, labour and education had defied the gunmen and made a stand outside Parliament House where they called for calm.

They also said coup leader George Speight, an American-educated son of opposition MP Sam Speight, had announced his cabinet line-up but four names on the lists denied being involved in the coup.

This included former foreign minister Bernado Vunibobo.

Speight earlier said in a statement: "We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said, adding that the members of the previous government were safe.

***

Coup highlights Fiji's ethnic tensions once again

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Friday's coup in which Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was deposed "on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji" is the latest dramatic twist in a lengthy ethnic saga which has threatened to split the Pacific state down the middle.

Some 43 per cent of Fiji's 800,000-strong population are of Indian origin, descendants of workers imported by the British in the late 19th century to work in the sugarcane fields.

Die-hard indigenous Fijians, whose ethnic group makes up half the population, have consistently played on fears of Indian domination of power in Fiji, particularly given their control over much of the economically-vital sugarcane industry.

Two bloodless coups in 1987 were undertaken precisely because of those fears, and led to a new, racially-biased, constitution which guaranteed ethnic Fijians a majority of parliamentary seats.

After it gained independence from Britain in 1970, the nation's politics were long controlled by the Fijian-dominated Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

But elections in April 1987 saw the Alliance Party supplanted by a multi-racial coalition which divided ministerial jobs evenly between Fijians and Indians, to the horror of hard-line indigenous nationalists.

The next month, a handpicked team of army officers under Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka deposed the new government, suspending the constitution.

A second military coup in September that year led to Fiji being expelled from the Commonwealth and declared a republic.

Military rule remained in force for eight years, and when Rabuka eventually became civilian prime minister in 1990, he did so under a new constitution which gave paramountcy to indigenous Fijians and did not permit Indians to hold top political posts.

The constitution reserved 37 of 70 seats in the House of Representatives for Fijians, as well as 24 out of 34 Senate seats. It was widely condemned as racist.

A constituional amendment in 1997 removed the in-built Fijian majority, and equality appeared to have been fully restored when Chaudhry took office after the 1999 election.

But even then, many in Fiji held their breath and waited to see how the nationalists would react.

The then opposition leader Jai Ram Reddy, who Chaudhry defeated in the 1999 general election, issued a telling and prescient warning at the time.

"Fiji is not yet ready for an Indian prime minister", he declared.

***

Fiji's troubled history

SUVA, May 19 (AFP) - Key dates in Fiji's turbulent recent political history:

October 10 1970: Fiji becomes an independent state within the Commonwealth.

April, 1987: Indians gain a majority in parliament for the first time, triggering a coup d'etat headed by Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Constitution suspended.

September 1987: Rabuka leads a second coup, installing full military rule.

October 1987: Rabuka establishes Fiji as a republic after the country is expelled from the Commonwealth.

July 1990: Promulgation of a new constitution guaranteeing indigenous Fijians more than half of all seats in parliament and banning Indians from the post of prime minister.

1992: The first elections under the new constitution are held. Rabuka is appointed prime minister by President Ganilau.

June 1994: Rabuka establishes a commission to review the racially biased constitution.

1997: The commission recommends abolition of constitution's racially-biased provisions. Reforms approved by Council of Chiefs in June.

June 1998: The new constitution comes into effect.

March 1999: Rabuka's unpopularity enables the Fijian Labour Party to gain an absolute majority in general elections.

May 19, 1999: Mahendra Chaudhry sworn in as Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister

May 19 2000: Chaudhry and his cabinet taken hostage in parliament in an attempted coup

***

Fijian coup leaders release 20 people

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - Fijian gunmen who have attempted a civilian coup released 20 parliamentary staffers, but no politicians, government-owned Fiji Television reported Saturday.

Reports also said police security had been beefed-up around Parliament which was stormed by armed men on Friday, taking Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 45 parliamentarians hostage.

They said ambulances had tried to enter the building but were turned away at the gates.

Coup leader George Speight has declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in by a man described as the interim president Ratu Jope Seniloli in a ceremony in parliament.

***

Fiji's not quite bloodless coup controlled by looted golf clubs

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - As Fiji's capital Suva burned in the midst of a coup this weekend, policemen armed with looted golf clubs re-asserted control of the streets.

While it might have appeared comical, and so far no one has died in this country's third coup, the tragedy is readily apparent in this ramshackle but attractive capital populated by a mix of Melanesians, Indians, Polynesians and Chinese.

As the weekend started, at least 20 shops were burnt out ruins and dozens of others had been looted.

By Saturday night control had been re-asserted by policemen armed only with golf clubs, curtain rods and pool cues.

When asked where the clubs had come from, a senior police commander told AFP, "Well they were in a shop yesterday." They came from a popular duty free shop.

All this is due to a man who Monday was declared bankrupt and who Friday morning was leading members of the "First Millennium Squadron" armed with M16 assault rifles and nine millimetre pistols to seize parliament.

Coup leader George Speight who despite his name, proclaims his indigenous Fijian ancestory, was Saturday still holding Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and up to 45 legislators hostage.

Speight declared himself interim prime minister and was trying to name a cabinet.

This South Pacific saga has found an unlikely democratic hero in Sitiveni Rabuka who, as the army's number three, himself led two coups in 1987. He was Saturday due to fly to the Solomon Islands to help negotiate a truce in ethnic tensions there but instead he is trying to bring about a peaceful end to the continuing stand-off at home.

His disdain for Speight is deep and he told AFP of his surprise at finding the gunmen seemed to have no plan. He said he asked Speight what he was going to do now that he had seized parliament, and was surprised to find he had no idea.

"Tell us what to do," he said Speight asked him, "you've done it before."

Rabuka, who obtained a masters degree from India in military coups before staging two of his own, wonders why Speight has not moved out of parliament and taken his next step.

"He has no idea, he doesn't know what to do."

Rabuka has in his time used racial rhetoric, but he wonders why an indigenous Fijian is keeping a name identified here with a New Zealand beer brand.

What astonishes Rabuka even more is that Speight and his gang do not seem to have taken the elementary precaution of preparing their own amnesties for criminal actions. He did.

The ethnic Indians, who make up around 45 percent of the 600,000 people here, are tasting a savage betrayal.

On Friday they were quietly marking the first anniversary of the Indian controlled government. The greatgrandsons and daughters of indentured labour, they have helped to make Fiji one of the richest countries in the Pacific, with a wealth of resources and talent.

In a single mad afternoon of destruction their dreams have all but disappeared. Just as they did in 1987, they are looking to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand for help.

The coup has had less obvious casualties -- Saturday night Suva's famous transsexuals and prostitutes who now, in a two-week state of emergency with curfews, have no hope of plying their trade.

A family-owned shop that for a generation crafted elegant gold jewellary is gone too.

Worse, the tenuous trust between Fijians and Indians has been seriously compromised by the gunmen and looters.

***

Fiji's military, police back PM Chaudhry in coup crisis

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - Fiji's military and police Saturday declared their loyalty to the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry as indigenous gunmen bent on a coup d'etat held the premier and 45 lawmakers captive for a second day.

Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka told AFP he has visited coup leader George Speight, a US-educated businessman, five times since the crisis began, and told him to surrender.

"They have no choice. They have to surrender," said Rabuka, who himself staged two coups in 1987, but has become an unofficial mediator in the crisis.

Police commander Isikia Savua told a press conference that his force will only accept instructions from President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who the previous night declared a state of emergency and a curfew.

"Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara is the sole legal authority of Fiji in these trying times," he said.

The crisis erupted Friday when seven masked men armed with assault rifles stormed parliament and seized the premier and parliamentarians from both sides of politics.

Ethnic Indian lawmakers were still under armed guard Saturday but indigenous Fijian members appeared to be free to come and go, sources said.

The coup attempt came on the anniversary of Chaudhry's first year in power. He is Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

"We have executed a civil coup on behalf of the indigenous people of Fiji," said Speight, who is also the son of an opposition lawmaker.

"That civil coup has resulted in the overthrow of the Labour-led coalition government in Fiji," he said.

Shots were heard from the parliament building during the storming, but no bloodshed has been reported.

The coup sparked looting and arson attacks in the capital Suva overnight that witnesses said targeted Indian businesses.

Suva's central business district has been torched and looted and small fires could still be seen burning in the morning. The area has been cordoned off.

Ethnic tensions between the indigenous Fijian and Indian communities have been simmering for months in the capital.

The coup has a precedent -- Rabuka deposed the government of Timoci Bavadra, a Fijian whose colleagues were mostly Indian, in May 1987.

Rabuka, considered the most influential man in Fiji, said he had also visited the hostages, including 21 members of the cabinet, and saw more than 20 civilian conspirators armed with 9mm pistols and assault rifles.

There are also six women among the hostages, he said.

The parliament has now been surrounded by police and soldiers, and military reservists and on-leave soldiers have been called up.

The acting commander of the Fiji Military Forces, Colonel Alfred Tuatoka, said Mara remained commander-in-chief.

"We are still bound by the 1997 constitution ... Our actions will always be within the law," he told a press conference.

Speight, in one of a number of decrees issued overnight, declared the new military commander to be Colonel Vosa Vatu, but Vatu attended the press conference and declared his support for the government.

Savua said Fiji was without an executive government at the moment but that negotiations were continuing to end the hostage situation peacefully.

"We are trying to avoid force. We have had enough bloodshed," the police chief said.

Speight called a press conference for 9:00 am (2100 GMT) to announce a new government and issue decrees, but the briefing did not go ahead and sources said it had been postponed until later in the day.

Rabuka said the gunmen appeared "confused and uncertain" and had even asked him what they should do next.

"They don't know what they're doing," he said, adding he was certain the crisis would be over by the end of the day.

The coup has prompted an angry response from the international community, led by Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon, who called the events "incredibly upsetting."

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher warned ties would suffer greatly unless constitutional order is restored.

"The government of the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the illegal armed takeover of the Fiji parliament building yesterday evening," Boucher said in a statement.

Fiji's third coup in 13 years was also condemned by India, European countries, New Zealand, and Australia.

But unhappy with a proposed constitution he staged a second coup in September the same year and soon after declared Fiji a republic.

About 51 percent of Fiji's about 800,000 people are ethnic Fijian, while 43 percent are ethnic Indians, the descendents of labourers brought here in the late 19th century to work at sugar plantations.

Speight, the son of opposition MP Sam Speight, is a former chairman of Fiji Pine Ltd. and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd., which recently failed in a US-backed bid to secure the rights to lucrative mahogony plantations.

***

Fijian Prime Minister collapses

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry -- who is being held hostage in Fiji's Parliament House -- appears to be suffering from exhaustion, a doctor who was allowed to see him said Saturday.

"He did have exhaustion," said Doctor Bhagat Ram who was allowed in briefly to see Chaudhry.

Earlier Labour Party president Jokapeci Koroi told reporters Chaudhry had collapsed.

The two doctors were escorted to the gate of Parliament House by police and allowed in.

They were allowed to see Chaudhry but did not speak to him as he was asleep, Ram said.

Chaudhry did not appear to have been beaten up, Ram said, adding "We have not been able to attend him" because he was asleeep.

Earlier reports alleged Chaudhry had been beaten up by the gunmen holding him hostage.

Radio FM 96, reporting from inside the Parliament House compound, earlier said the prime minister had collapsed during a meeting with coup leaders.

Soon after Koroi made her comments an ambulance was turned away by a gunman known only as "Apenise," who was allowed by police to walk through the Parliament gates and stroll down the outside road.

Dressed in combat pants, a bandana, no shirt, and waving an M16 rifle, witnesses said he yelled "don't put any of this on the news" and "are you straight in your heart."

He stopped several cars as journalists and police looked on and then turned an approaching ambulance, with lights flashing, away.

"Apenise" then returned to Parliament House, unhindered.

Koroi is also being held by gunmen who stormed Parliament on Friday, declared a coup and claimed they were establishing a new administration.

Gunmen allowed her to brief journalists at the gates of Parliament.

Coup leader George Speight has declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in by a man described as the interim president Ratu Jope Seniloli in a ceremony in parliament.

However, the police and military have declared their support for Chaudhry's elected government.

Earlier the government-owned Fiji Television reported 20 parliamentary staffers, but no politicians, had been released.

***

Fiji PM beaten, threatened after military pledges support

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - Fiji's Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was Saturday beaten and threatened with death by coup plotters holding him hostage in parliament.

The armed men who stormed parliament Friday, taking Chaudhry and 45 parliamentarians captive, apparently became enraged after the military and police pledged their support for the elected government.

George Speight and the armed men under his command declared Friday that they had taken over control of the country in the name of indigenous Fijians.

However, security force leaders Saturday declared their loyalty to the constitution and the government of Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier.

They said they were not taking orders from the coup leaders and would answer only to President Sir Ratu Kamisese Mara.

"I want to state unequivocally that the Fiji Police is the custodian of the law in Fiji and respects the 1997 constitution," said Police Commander Isikia Savua.

It had appeared early Saturday that with the military and police standing firmly against them, the coup leaders had no chance of success.

Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who is acting as an unofficial mediator, had expressed hope the crisis would be resolved before nightfall.

But the situation became unclear when reports emerged that Speight had held a gun to Chaudhry's head and threatened to shoot if he did not call Mara and tell him to order the military away from parliament.

State-owned Fiji Television said that Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, told him to go ahead and shoot.

Deputy Prime Minister Tupeni Baba is then reported to have given his support to the new interim government.

Baba is also being held hostage and may be under duress -- it appeared he was driven to make the statement after witnessing the death threat against Chaudhry.

Speaking on radio from parliament in support of the new regime, he sounded confused and upset. Baba called for negotiations with the new government and for an end to the violence.

During the dramatic broadcast, Chaudhry was then heard in the background to call out "we are not legitimising anything."

Speight reportedly then had Chaudhry hauled off and bashed in retaliation for the outburst. It was not known how seriously he was injured.

Speight Saturday declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in by a man described as the interim president Ratu Jope Seniloli in a bizarre ceremony in parliament.

He also issued a new cabinet list made up of indigenous Fijians only. Its most notable member was former foreign minister Bernando Vunibobo who was soundly defeated in last year's general election.

In a statement broadcast on radio Speight said if anyone tried to force their way into parliament he could not guarantee the safety of those inside.

The conspirators have also gone on national radio speaking in Fijian and calling on supporters to come to parliament to support them.

The chaos in the capital Suva, which saw buildings torched and shops looted Friday, was worsening and police were now closing shops as armed gangs roamed the city.

Unarmed police were seeking to be relieved of duty so they could go home and protect their families, and there were reports the military had moved to surround the president's house.

Savua said Speight had tried issuing decrees through the government printer declaring his group as the new government but the police chief had halted the printing.

The acting commander of the Fiji Military Forces, Colonel Alfred Tuatoka, said Mara remained the commander in chief.

"We are still abiding by the 1997 constitution and we are helping the police restore order," he told a press conference held jointly with the police chief.

In one of a number of decrees issued overnight, Speight declared the new military commander to be Colonel Vunuasia Vatu.

But Vatu attended the press conference and declared his support for the government.

Savua said Fiji was without an executive government at the moment but that negotiations were continuing to end the hostage situation peacefully.

Police were working through former premier Rabuka -- himself the leader of two coups in 1987 -- to find out what the men wanted.

"We are trying to avoid force, we have had enough bloodshed," he said.

He said it was too early to say whether the men could be given amnesty from what could be treason charges.

Savua said a small squad of men armed with pistols and M16s seized parliament Friday and no resistance was offered. He said Chaudhry's bodyguards were armed with pistols but they were no match for the rebels' weapons.

He told AFP that the weapons were Fiji Military arms and he believed a number of the conspirators were serving members of the military.

He added that he believed there were other conspirators outside the parliamentary seige.

Mara declared a state of emergency Friday at the request of the police and Savua said it would stay in place for at least two weeks.

The police chief said that 167 shops had been looted in violence that erupted in Suva and 20 of them were set on fire. Damage, including loss of business, was estimated at 30 million Fiji dollars (15 million US).

***

Fiji coup leader angrily denies PM beaten up

SUVA, May 20 (AFP) - The leader of the gunmen holding Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 45 parliamentarians captive Saturday angrily denied reports that his men had earlier beaten up the premier.

"This is an outrageous lie," coup leader George Speight said.

The armed men who stormed parliament Friday taking hostage the parliamentarians apparently became enraged after the military and police pledged their support for the elected government.

Reports later emerged that Speight had held a gun to Chaudhry's head and threatened to shoot him if he did not call Fijian President Sir Ratu Kamisese Mara and tell him to order the military away from parliament.

State-owned Fiji Television said Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, told him to go ahead and shoot.

Deputy Prime Minister Tupeni Baba, also being held hostage, is then reported to have given his support to coup leader's new interim government.

Speaking on radio from parliament in support of the new regime, he sounded confused and upset. Baba called for negotiations with the new government and for an end to the violence.

During the dramatic broadcast, Chaudhry was heard in the background to call out "we are not legitimising anything."

Speight reportedly then had Chaudhry hauled off and beaten in retaliation for his outburst. It was not known how seriously he was injured.

Earlier Amnesty International reported the gunmen had also beaten and taken to an unknown location the prime minister's son and private secretary, Rajendra Chaudhry.

Security force leaders Saturday declared their loyalty to the constitution and the government of Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier.

They said they were not taking orders from the coup leaders and would answer only to President Sir Ratu Kamisese Mara.

Speight Saturday declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in by a man described as the interim president Ratu Jope Seniloli in a ceremony in parliament.

***

Fiji MPs released

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Four Fiji MPs and at least five others being held hostage in Parliament House were released here Sunday morning as the city remained under curfew.

Assistant minister of information Lekh Ram and another member of parliament were driven away in a police car.

"I'm going home," Ram said when asked where he was going.

Assistant minister of housing John Ali, female MP Suraj Nand, and MPs Krishna Chand and Muthuswamy (eds: one name) were also released.

A further five or six people were released but it was unclear whether they included two other MPs whose names were on a list released by the gunmen of people they were going to release.

One MP who was released, who did not wish to be named, told AFP Sunday morning that Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was beaten up Saturday night at around 10 pm (1000 GMT).

The MP said Chaudhry was in quite a bit of pain but did not appear to have sustained major injury.

The parliamentarians who were released said they had resigned from parliament in order to win release in order to tell people what was happening, the MP said.

Gunmen lead by businessman George Speight attempted a coup on Friday, seizing Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 45 other parliamentarians and holding them hostage inside the Parliamment Building.

Chaudhry collapsed late Saturday and two doctors were allowed in to examine the prime minister but were unable to speak to him because he was sleeping.

One of the doctors, Bhagat Ram, said Chaudhry appeared to be suffering from "exhaustion."

Speight on Saturday denied reports that Chaudhry had been beaten up by the gunmen holding him hostage.

State-owned Fiji Television reported that Speight had held a gun to Chaudhry's head and threatened to shoot him if he did not call President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and tell him to order the military away from parliament.

Chaudhry told him to go ahead and shoot, the television station reported.

During the dramatic broadcast, Chaudhry was heard in the background calling out "we are not legitimising anything."

Speight reportedly then had Chaudhry hauled off and beaten up.

Speight declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in by Ratu Jope Seniloli, a man described as interim president, in a bizarre ceremony in parliament.

The security forces Saturday pledged loyalty to the president and the constitution.

Mara then made a televised address to the nation and condemned the gunmen as a "terrorist group."

***

Fijian PM mentally "fine" as standoff drags on: Red Cross

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry is mentally "fine" as gunmen hold him and other MPs for the third day in a tense standoff with security forces, a Red Cross official said Sunday.

Fiji Red Cross chief John Scott said the prime minister was talking and did not appear to have been beaten or sedated.

"He's in a chair in the corner. He looks OK. He was talking to me," Scott told journalists after visiting Chaudhry in the parliament building which some 20 gunmen stormed Friday in a bid to overthrow the government.

He did not elaborate, except to say the prime minister's mental state was "fine" and there were no obvious signs that he had been beaten.

Deputy Police Commissioner Jahir Kahn said Sunday that four coup conspirators had beaten up the prime minister on Saturday. He did not elaborate.

Other doctors who visited the captives earlier Sunday said Chaudhry was suffering from "exhaustion".

The wife of the oldest MP being held hostage, Michael Columbus, 65, tried to enter the building Sunday but was turned back at the gate.

Jiu Columbus was held back by one of the gunmen but eventually received a handwritten note from her husband saying "Dear Mummy, I'm OK. Mickey."

She said she wanted him to stay strong and resist pressure to resign.

"As long as Mahendra is in there I want him (Columbus) to be with him," she said.

Security forces have ringed the building and are demanding the gunmen give themselves up.

***

Fiji coup plot thickens as opposition threaten civil war

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has refused to yield to gunmen holding him in the besieged parliament after some of his cabinet colleagues were forced to resign at gunpoint Sunday.

Some 10 MPs and about 20 parliamentary staff were released early Sunday morning and government negotiators were seen leaving the legislative complex.

But after three days the armed gang's attempted coup had turned into a tense stalemate with the security forces holding fast in their loyalty to the elected government.

Police and troops had set up road blocks around the parliamentary complex which the gunmen, led by a local businessman, stormed on Friday in a bid to overthrow Chaudhry's year-old administration.

Some of the 10 MPs who were released from captivity said the gunmen had demanded resignations in exchange for their freedom.

Associate Minister of Information Lekh Ram Veyeshni was freed at around 3 a.m. (1500 GMT Saturday) and later told AFP that coup leader George Speight held a "machine gun" to his head and made him sign his resignation.

"If not, pointing the gun at me, he said 'That's it, I'm going to shoot you'," Veyeshni said.

"It's a matter of deciding your last minutes ... your fate depends on your voluntary acceptance of resignation or you face being killed."

He said the coup leader's self-appointed deputy prime minister, Ratu Timoci Silatolu, added: "Mr Veyeshni, we are running out of time."

Speight has said he wants to return the country to the control of indigenous Fijians. Chaudhry is the first ethnic Indian prime minister in Fiji, where some 43 percent of people are of Indian origin.

Other nationalist opposition groups came out in support of the coup plotters Sunday, demanding the resignation of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara who has united the police and military in support of the elected government.

"Ratu Mara has lost touch with the Fijian people and we call on him to resign with immediate effect. His present and current course of action could lead to civil war," an opposition statement said.

The statement was issued by Jone Banuve, the secretary of a joint committee of nationalist opposition parties including the extreme Taukei movement, as well as Taukei President Ratu Tevita Bolobolo.

They called for the abolition of the 1997 constitution and warned President Mara "that any intervention (to end the standoff) by force will lead to all-out civil war."

"We warn that we, Taukei, are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice so as to return this country to the Taukei," the statement said.

Taukei is an indigenous nationalist movement which has backed coups here in the past but was soundly defeated in elections last year.

Fiji Red Cross chief John Scott, who was allowed into the parliament building, said Chaudhry is mentally "fine".

He said the prime minister was talking and did not appear to have been beaten or sedated.

"He's in a chair in the corner. He looks OK. He was talking to me," Scott said.

Deputy Police Commissioner Jahir Kahn said earlier that four coup conspirators had beaten up the prime minister on Saturday.

Other doctors who visited the captives said Chaudhry was suffering from "exhaustion" and appeared to have collapsed from fatigue.

The wife of the oldest MP being held hostage, Michael Columbus, 65, tried to enter the building but was turned back at the gate.

Jiu Columbus was held back by one of the gunmen but eventually received a handwritten note from her husband saying "Dear Mummy, I'm OK. Mickey."

Meanwhile the government's main negotiator, former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, was seen leaving parliament Sunday after another round of talks but made no comment to reporters.

Speight has declared himself interim prime minister after being sworn in Friday in a parliamentary ceremony described as bizarre.

He also issued a new cabinet list of indigenous Fijians.

***

Fijian president warned that hostages will be executed

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Fijian coup leader George Speight has warned he will start executing hostages including Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry unless he is allowed to rule the country, the president said Sunday.

President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara said Speight had demanded a meeting and threatened to start executing the hostages he and his armed followers have held in the parliament building since Friday.

"I learnt in a round about way that if I don't follow what he says he will start executing them one by one, if I don't allow him to run the country," Mara said in a special television broadcast to the nation.

"I said that I will not be able to oblige."

He said he asked Speight, a local businessman and the son of an opposition MP, what he wanted to discuss at the meeting but did not receive an answer.

"I asked on what subject and he would not say," the president said.

"I had made a vow to the country that I was not having any dialogue with those imprisoning the parliamentarians and carrying arms inside the parliamentary complex."

Speight and some 20 gunmen stormed the parliament complex on Friday and announced the formation of a new government to be run by indigenous Fijians.

They are holding some 35 MPs including Chaudhry. Some 10 MPs were released early Sunday morning after signing statements of resignation.

Chaudhry is the first ethnic Indian prime minister in the Pacific island state, which has a long history of ethnic tensions between Indians and indigenous Fijians.

***

Military involved in Fiji coup attempt: president

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Members of a special forces unit of the Fijian military are backing an attempted coup which has seen Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and some 30 others MPs taken hostage, the president said Sunday.

President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara said in a nationwide television address that members of a special "counter revolutionary warfare unit" were involved in the bid to seize power.

He said Fiji needed no outside help to "terminate what's happening."

"I do not want to see any overseas intervention physically. We have the personnel to terminate what's happening," he said.

Coup leader George Speight told a local radio station that shots had been fired at the parliamentary building where the hostages were being held, but he said they came from a "third force" on the perimetre of the complex. He did not elaborate.

"My people are very highly trained and qualified in situations of this type," Speight said, adding that two shots were fired.

"It makes us ask whether there might be third parties in the perimetres intent on creating situations that may be contrary to our non-confrontational stand," he said.

***

Fiji coup pushes bankrupt Speight out of obscurity

SUVA, May 21 (AFP) - Fiji's coup maker George Speight has emerged from obscurity and is now a household name in the South Pacific.

Son of Opposition MP Sam Speight of the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party, George Speight carried out a civilian coup on Friday morning in the name of the indigenous people.

But what many would like to know is who is George Speight and what business is it of his to carry out illegal operations in the name of the indigenous people.

According the The Fiji Times, Speight, an undischarged bankrupt, is a descendent of a fourth generation white colonialist.

His father's mother is from rural Wainibuka on the main island of Viti Levu while his mother is from Ra, on the western side of the island.

He appeared in Suva's High Court last Monday where he was charged and pleaded not guilty to extortion.

Four days later he staged a coup although he has no military links and was possibly the least likely coup maker.

According to reports on the Internet site fijilive.com, Speight holds a Commerce degree from Australia plus a bachelors degree in management and a masters in finance and marketing from Andrews University in Michigan, United Sates.

He was director of the Wattle Group, an Australian investment company which siphoned off millions of dollars in life savings from the Australian police and Fiji citizens.

During that time he also had a consulting firm in Brisbane, Australia, called Quantum Investment Limited.

After the winding-up of Wattle group, Speight came to Fiji and entered the insurance brokering industry. He was a partner in local company Heath Fiji Limited which is a subsidiary of Heath Australia.

He was sacked from Heath last year over allegations of misuse of funds.

He later became the head of the Fiji Hardwood Corporation, a multi-million company. He was also chairman of Fiji Pine. He was sacked from both positions by the new government.

Through his actions over the past few days, he has become unpopular. Many have condemned his actions and demanded he be charged with treason.

In his personal life, Speight left the mother of his children, Shauna Bull, more than two years ago.

In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Ms Bull, his ex-wife said she and Speight lived together in Fiji in the 1990s and flew to Brisbane for the birth of their son Jordan.

"Over a year ago was the last time he came to see the kids," she said.

Ms Bull said Speight had worked at a bank in Brisbane and at a computer sales company that had also collapsed. She said she had "no idea" why he would stage a coup.

"Actually I'm quite shocked," she said.

***

Military deploys units throughout Fijian capital

SUVA, May 22 (AFP) - Troops were seen taking up positions around the Fijian capital Monday as hundreds of supporters of indigenous coup leaders appeared to gather for a march through town, witnesses said.

Witnesses said around 60 troops had moved onto the streets in the past hour while a large crowd was forming at a closed market where a violent protest march originated on Friday.

Security forces failed to control Friday's march, which erupted into violence and looting.

The marches are linked to the unfolding political crisis at the parliament building, where armed gunmen have been holding Prime Minister Mahendhra Choudhry and his cabinet hostage since Friday.

The gunmen, backed by elements of the military, have declared an interim government made up of indigenous Fijians.

Choudhry is the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

***

Reserve Bank slaps on financial controls to prevent capital flight

SUVA, May 22 (AFP) - The Reserve Bank of Fiji said on Monday it was lifting its minimum lending interest rate to banks to 15 percent as part of restrictions aimed at preventing a flight of capital following the coup late last week.

The increase compares with the previous minimum lending rate of 2.5 percent.

The measures follow the storming of Parliament by armed men on Friday and the central bank said it "needs to ensure that Fiji's foreign exchange reserves are protected," the central bank said in a statement.

Foreign reserves currently stand at 800 million Fiji dollars (400 million US), well in excess of the amount required for usual operations and sufficient to "provide a substantial buffer in the event of any temporary pickup in capital outflows," it said.

The bank tightened capital controls across a variety of transactions, reducing monetary limits in several categories, increasing documentary requirements and rejecting requests for certain foreign exchange transactions, the bank said.

In other measures, the Reserve Bank imposed a credit ceiling on individual banks, to be held at or below levels on May 19, the day a group of armed terrorists stormed parliament and took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and members of his government hostage.

Three days later, they were still being held captive at parliament by nominal coup leader, businessman George Speight.

The strong measures were needed to ensure that reserves are maintained during the present crisis, the central bank said.

They would be under regular review and relaxation would be considered once the crisis was resolved, the bank said.

***

Mysterious army unit holds Fijian government hostage

SUVA, May 22 (AFP) - A coup in Fiji entered its fourth day Monday with a businessman who faces extortion charges and a mysterious army unit holding the government including Prime Minister Mahendhra Choudhry hostage in parliament.

While a denouement may still be days away, the coup seems to be succeeding to the extent that a once powerful but failed coalition of business and political elites, often masquerading as an indigenous Fijian movement, is reasserting itself at the expense of democracy.

It is as yet unclear which of the following figures has real power: - 80-year-old President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara who is also a traditional paramount chief

- Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who mounted two coups in 1987 and was a mediator between the government and the coup plotters

- George Speight and a group made up of the Fiji Military Force's Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) Unit who have seized parliament in the name of indigenous Fijians.

Most members of the year-old Chaudhry government have been taken hostage.

Speight has since proclaimed the "Taukei Civilian Government," and called himself interim prime minister. With an estimated 35 armed men the "government" has since remained in the garden-like setting of the parliament.

Speight has said that on Monday he will take his government out of the complex and begin the business of administering the country.

Behind the scenes however all is not as it seems.

Although the television images speak of a classic siege with barricades and barbed wire, it is no stand-off. Through the weekend a steady flow of people came and went in government vehicles and Speight himself has been out of the compound several times.

Speight issues statements, makes phone calls and now and again invites journalists into his compound.

Police and the military assert light control on the traffic around parliament but there are no crack marksmen, skilled negotiators nor signs of any serious attempt to end the crisis.

In general elections a year ago Chaudhry defeated Rabuka and became the first ethnic Indian prime minister in a country where ethnic Indians make up around 43 percent of the 600,000 population.

Chaudhry endured continued rumours he was about to be overthrown by the indigenous Taukau -- a movement based on the native claim to land and a belief that only Fijians should be allowed to run the country.

Officially Rabuka was not part of it and he left politics to work on a book and unsuccessfully mediate peace in the neighbouring Solomon Islands which is being torn by ethnic unrest.

During the year the military began training an elite special force on a farm owned by Rabuka.

Last Sunday, Rabuka now admits, he spent the day with CRW drinking kava. He also attended a church service with many of the men now holding parliament.

On Friday the loose Taukau Movement mounted a protest march which ended in the destruction of Suva. Fijian Police Commander Isikia Savua, in a political gesture, had warned Chaudhry before the march that his forces may not be able to control future marches.

Later he said there were 15,000 marchers and a police force of 250. Journalists who saw the march said there were about 1,600 marchers.

Rioting and destruction of Indian and Chinese businesses came at the same time as the coup events nearby.

Shortly after the seizure Rabuka went to the US embassy, diplomatic sources say, and then later became the negotiator.

Speight represented a timber company that was working with an American firm for cutting rights to the world's largest mahagony plantations.

Rabuka and Mara have long been adversaries but with parliament taken Rabuka became the mediator between Mara and Speight. On Sunday Speight said he did not trust Rabuka any longer, and while Mara publicly endorses Rabuka, privately he has told senior people he has no trust at all in him.

Mara has also wondered why Chaudhry has not offered a letter of resignation of Speight, claiming that any such letter, produced under duress, would have no standing.

But Chaudhry, perhaps aware that his continued refusal to sign is his only hope, has remained resolute.

Indigenous Fijians in whose name the coup was staged, are now managing the stand-off. Indians appear only as victims here; not as the managers of a crisis.

On a human level Speight and whoever is behind him face a humanitarian issue of what to do with Chaudhry. The indigenous Fijian movement has effectively retaken power from Indians and it remains only to come up with the appropriate design to talk to the world.

***

Fiji's president says no assurances government will be restored

SUVA, May 22 (AFP) - Fiji President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara said Monday he could give no assurances that Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his government, currently being held hostage in parliament, would be restored to their jobs after the crisis is over.

Fiji's capital came to standstill meanwhile as troops took up key positions and large crowds gathered in support of last week's coup attempt by indigenous Fijians linked to the military.

Shops, banks and schools were closed and supporters of the takeover were milling around a market where a violent protest march erupted on Friday.

There were few signs that Choudhry and some 35 legislators, held hostage by gunmen who stormed the parliament building on Friday, were likely to be released any time soon.

Police and the military chiefs have pledged their loyalty to the constitution and the state under president and respected elder statesman Mara, who has assumed executive powers to deal with the crisis and declared a state of emergency.

But it is now clear the coup is being led by hardcore elements of a special forces army group called the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRWU).

Mara said he could not guarantee the government would be returned to power after the end of the crisis which began when a Fijian businessman with Australian citizenship, George Speight, and a group from the CRWU stormed parliament.

"I cannot say that I will put back the government that caused all this problem," Mara told a press conference at Government House.

He said he wanted the grievances of the Speight group resolved in terms of a section of the constutition dealing with conflicts arising between the different ethnic communities.

Asked by AFP whether he could give an assurance that Chaudhry and his elected government would resume office when the crisis was over, Mara said he could not give that assurance.

"What I intend to do is to talk to them and say 'you've seen what has happened. What is your possible solution for it?'"

He denied this sounded like an invitation to Chaudhry to resign. "No, if Mr. Chaudhry wants to resign he can resign, but it must come from him."

Asked if the current coup plotters would face the full force of the law, Mara said, "I have no power under the present constitution, nor the (Great) Council of Chiefs (GCC), to issue a pardon."

Mara said his government was in effective control of the country "and not the militant group in parliament...

"So, the self-proclaimed regime led by George Speight has no domestic or international standing or status.

"And I again call on them to lay down their arms, release the hostages and then enter into dialogue on their grievances and concerns."

Mara appears to have accepted the ill-defined grievances of the indigenous Fijian political groups and said he had noted the concerns of the people who had seized parliament.

"These will be thoroughly examined and solutions considered to further protect and enhance the position of the indigenous Fijian community," he said.

He had a proposal to take to a special meeting Tuesday of the GCC in Lami, near here. Former prime minister and two-times coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka is chairman.

The GCC, made up of leading chiefs, has an advisory role in the wider political domain but has an authority among Fijians.

Speight, who cannot attend as he is not a chief, said Monday the GCC would come out in support of him, while Mara saw it differently.

"I am convinced that the GCC will support me," he said. "We have to address the concerns of the Fijian community. But we must act within the constitution."

Speight has said he wants to return the country to the control of indigenous Fijians. Chaudhry is the first ethnic Indian prime minister in Fiji, where some 43 percent of people are of Indian origin.

Ethnic tensions are a recurring problem in the Pacific state, where many indigenous Fijians look with envy on the commercial and political success of ethnic Indians.

***

Chiefs back president over coup leaders

SUVA, May 23 (AFP) - Fiji's powerful Great Council of Chiefs Tuesday called for leaders of a coup to release Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet, as international pressure on the rebels mounted.

In a dramatic and unexpected twist in the five-day crisis, the traditional chiefs unanimously supported President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara instead of the gunmen who overthrew Chaudhry in the name of indigenous Fijians.

Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier, has been held hostage with his cabinet in Parliament since the plotters stormed the building Friday.

The coup leaders have admitted Chaudhry has been beaten during his ordeal. The acting leader of his coalition government, Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, said the premier had suffered serious internal injuries.

Former prime minister and council chairman Sitiveni Rabuka said that at Tuesday's meeting the chiefs expressed support for the president and his efforts to negotiate with the rebels' spokesman George Speight, a failed businessman who holds Australian citizenship.

"They do not approve of what Speight has done, although there is a lot of sympathy for his views," he said.

Speight could end up being tried for treason, he suggested.

Rabuka, who himself led two coups in 1987, said he doubted Speight, would bow to the chiefs' demands to release Chaudhry and an unknown number of ministers being held captive with him.

Tuesday's dramatic developments came as Fiji's neighbours turned up the pressure on the coup leaders.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned that aid and diplomatic ties could be withdrawn if the coup was allowed to succeed.

Similar sentiments were aired by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark who warned that "if power changes at the barrel of a gun the Commonwealth for one will not stand for it."

Rabuka said that Mara had presented the chiefs with a proposal to end the crisis, where the president would maintain executive powers currently held under a state of emergency.

The former premier said the council would convene again Wednesday to discuss the future of the premiership, the shape of the government and the constitution.

But there was no guarantee it would call for Chaudhry's return to office.

Rabuka appeared to indicate the final decision would be unpopular.

"We must expect a backlash, we must expect international censor," he said.

The council of chiefs is a key institution for indigenous Fijians. While its role is theoretically advisory, council agreement is deemed crucial for most major political decisions in Fiji.

Mara, who is also a chief, said Monday that Chaudhry could not expect to return to his job if he was released.

A noticeable increase in security was taking place on the streets of Suva, where military trucks moved through the city. Unusually, many soldiers were carrying arms.

Tensions flared now and again and Tuesday one of the rebel soldiers opened fire with his automatic rifle in the parliament complex when he suspected a government soldier was in nearby bushes.

The plotters were joined at the siege Tuesday by up to 1,000 people who were let through the police lines. They led in pigs which were to be slaughtered and cooked in preparation for a traditional feast following what Speight had expected to be a vote of support from the chiefs.

The coup is being led by a group of soldiers from the special forces' Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) Unit, led by retired Colonel Ilisoni Ligairi and accompanied by Speight, a failed businessman who holds Australian citizenship.

The coup leaders say they want to return the country, where some 43 percent of people are of Indian origin, to the control of indigenous Fijians.

Ethnic tensions are a recurring problem in the Pacific state, where many indigenous Fijians look with envy on the commercial and political success of ethnic Indians.

Much of downtown Suva remains in ruins after the looting and burning that followed the coup attempt.

Until Monday it was believed Speight was leading the coup but it later emerged that soldiers were involved, Rabuka, acting as mediator between the soldiers and Mara, said the rebels were not under Speight's orders.

Sources close to Rabuka Tuesday told AFP the leader was Ligairi, who is known to be strongly loyal to Rabuka.

In his early 60s, he was trained by the British Army trained and served with the Special Air Service (SAS).

***

Fiji's Indian community shattered by coup attempt

SUVA, May 23 (AFP) - Fiji's capital Suva, once home to a unique and charming blend of Polynesian, Melanesian and Indian cultures, has been shattered by the ugly and ethnically motivated attempted coup.

In the ruins of a burnt-out shop, a once beautiful but now torn and partly burnt salwar kameez, the graceful suit worn by many Indian women, symbolises the plight of Fiji's ethnic Indian community.

The country's first prime minister of Indian origin, Mahendhra Chaudhry, is now in his sixth day as a prisoner in parliament, held by failed businessman, George Speight.

The drama has been accompanied by looting and burning in Suva and as events have unfolded, Indians have disappeared from the streets, too afraid to show their faces in "no go" zones where it is still too dangerous for them to venture.

Even President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara blames them for the crisis, saying they "caused all this problem."

"Nobody cares about the opinions of elected Indians, from Mara down," one senior diplomat here said.

"Everybody is talking about what the Fijians want, and the landslide (in which Chaudhry was elected) a year ago is totally forgotten."

No Indian is seen negotiating, no Indian is consulted and to read the main daily, the Fiji Times, one is given the impression that Indians barely exist at all.

Of Fiji's 800,000 people, 43 percent are the descendants of workers brought from India by the British in the late 19th century to work in the sugar cane fields.

Their influence has helped make Fiji one of the most prosperous states in the Pacific.

But in the process they inspired jealousy from the indigenous people who, despite owning almost all of the land, have been far less successful in the modern economy.

Die-hard indigenous Fijians have long played on fears of Indian domination of power in Fiji.

After two coups in 1987 which saw military strongman Sitiveni Rabuka seize power in the name of indigenous Fijians, an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 Indians fled, mainly to Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In the last five years, as Fiji moved towards multicultural reconciliation, some of them drifted back.

Because Fiji forbids dual nationality, a number even renounced their new New Zealand and Australian citizenships.

Now they will have to go through the whole ordeal again.

One Indian woman, the mother of a young boy, reflects the feeling of many Indians here.

"I don't want to stay any more, they have destroyed my home," she says.

Others are reluctant to leave the only home they know.

"These people are my brothers," said Mahendra Prasad, a resident of the Fjian village of Sawani.

"We have been here for so many years and it is more or less our village," he told the Fiji Times.

But now the youth of the village have found sport in threatening and beating up the Indians they grew up with.

Fiji's loss is destined to be a major gain for Australia and particularly New Zealand which is desperate for more migrants.

The Pacific nation has a well educated, highly motivated and sophisticated population it does not want -- and Wellington and Sydney may very well again put out the welcome mat.

But Suva will be the poorer for it.

***

Fiji coup's secret leader a former special forces soldier: sources

SUVA, May 23 (AFP) - Fiji's secret coup leader was Tuesday identified as a former special services soldier loyal to former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, himself the leader of two previous coups.

Sources close to Rabuka told AFP that the actual leader of last Friday's coup is one colonel Ilisoni Ligairi, 60 and that he has trained in Britain.

As a member of the Fiji special services he is virtually unknown in his homeland.

He is in charge of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRWU) which the civilian George Speight used Friday to sieze Fiji's parliament and leads a continuing standoff.

Sources told AFP seven members of the CRWU, all crack marksmen, were inside parliament with Ligairi while the rest of the unit is in the main army base here.

The unit has a special loyalty to Rabuka. The CRWU, considered Fiji's version of the Special Air Services, frequently operates with the special forces of Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

A Fiji SAS member played a crucial role in the breaking of the seige of the IRanian embassy in London a decade ago.

Rabuka revealed Monday that the CRWU is not taking orders from nominal coup leader George Speight, an indigenous businessman and the son of an opposition MP.

"They are listening to the old man, he is their leader," he said.

The "old man" is a military term for the unit's commander, now being identified as Ligairi.

Speight has said he wants to return the country to the control of indigenous Fijians. Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, whom he is holding hostage, is the first ethnic Indian premier of Fiji, where some 43 percent of people are of Indian origin.

Ethnic tensions are a recurring problem in the Pacific state, where many indigenous Fijians look with envy on the commercial and political success of ethnic Indians.

The police and the military have pledged their loyalty to the constitution and the state under respected elder statesman President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

***

Commonwealth secretary-general meets with Fiji PM and coup leader

SUVA, May 24 (AFP) - Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon Wednesday said he had met with Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and coup leader George Speight in the besieged parliament and that the premier appeared to be in good health.

McKinnon arrived in Fiji earlier Wednesday with Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nation's chief in East Timor.

The Commonwealth chief told reporters as he left parliament that he had been allowed to see Chaudhry and that he looked quite well.

There were fears for Chaudhry's health after coup leaders admitted he has been beaten during his ordeal.

Acting leader of his coalition government, Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, said the premier had suffered serious internal injuries and needed urgent medical treatment.

Chaudhry and his cabinet have been held hostage in the building since Friday when gunmen led by Speight stormed parliament and claimed power in the name of indigenous Fijians.

McKinnon and de Mello held a meeting with Speight in a conference room and left parliament just before 6:00 p.m. (0600 GMT).

News reports said the two envoys and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who has been acting as a mediator with the coup leaders, would hold a press conference later Wednesday.

McKinnon met earlier with President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara over the continuing political crisis which has stretched into a sixth day.

De Mello was also expected to convey UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's concern over the affair.

***

Foreign students in Fiji get close-encounter with coup

SUVA, May 24 (AFP) - University students from the Maldives and Samoa have ended up having an unexpectedly close encounter with Fiji coup leader George Speight, they reported Wednesday.

Speight has been holding the Fijian government in Parliament since Friday.

Noora Ali from the Maldives, a journalism student at the University of the South Pacific, reported on their email news service that she had really wanted to see the drama but was aware that with "my Indian looks crossing the line into the Parliament where all the indigenous Fijians were gathering, would be kind of scary."

Journalism however overwhelmed her.

"I was not harassed, but eyes were certainly laid on me just curious and confused as to what an Indo-Fijian was doing in an indigenous Fijian gathering."

Fellow students Losana McGowan of Fiji and Laufa Eli of Samoa went in with her and sought out an interview with Speight.

"Noora got to him first, and when he saw her, he seemed a little shocked but held out his hand to Noora for a handshake and asked: 'You're Indian and you liked me?' Noora replied, saying she was actually from the Maldives.

"Speight quickly leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek."

Commented Ali: "Being kissed by the rebel leader was something - but being the only Indian-looking person in the middle of hundreds of indigenous Fijians made the day for me."

McGowen said the men inside the compound told them they did not trust the media.

"We slowly made our way back to the gate," McGowen reported.

"When we were about to go out, the rebel in a balaclava asked if we were coming back. I told him the police officers down the road are not letting any local media to go in.

"Oh....don't worry about that, when you come again just tell the police officer in charge to come and get me and I'll bring you people inside, O.K."

***

Fiji coup leader's former offices on fire in Suva

SUVA, May 25 (AFP) - Offices of the company formerly headed by Fiji coup leader George Speight were ablaze after a suspected arson attack Thursday morning, witnesses said.

The offices were occupied by Fiji Hardwood Corporation which last year sacked Speight for alleged misappropriation of funds.

"One of our guards saw a person throw a firebomb and run away," said Praveen Chand, the general manager of City Security Services Ltd.

Australian and New Zealand tourists in an adjacent hotel were evacuated as the fire threatened to spread.

The fire was the biggest since the outbreak of a wave of looting and arson attacks following the Friday coup in which gunmen led by Speight took Prime Minister Mahendhra Chaudhry and members of his government hostage.

A total of 22 buildings have been destroyed in arson attacks in Suva since Friday.

***

Fiji premier will be forced to resign, president tells UN

SUVA, May 25 (AFP) - Fiji's Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry will be forced to resign as soon as he is released by coup plotters, and a caretaker government will be appointed, President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara has told the United Nations.

Documents obtained by AFP Thursday revealed Mara is convinced the year-old government led by Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier, must go.

But Mara has been told this scenario was unacceptable to the UN and the Commonwealth, sources here said.

Chaudhry and his cabinet were taken hostage last Friday by a small group of gunmen led by part-Fijian businessman George Speight who seized parliament in the name of indigenous Fijians.

Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon and Sergio Vieira de Mello, personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary General, arrived in Suva Wednesday and met Mara, Speight and the captive Chaudhry.

The visitors left Fiji Thursday.

The sources said the two men were stunned by Mara's endorsement of Speight's nationalist views which appear to exclude any political role for Indians who make up 45 percent of the population, in violation of the 1997 constitution.

Mara told the envoys that Fiji's chief justice was giving advice on how to change the government.

Under the president's plan outlined in the documents, the premier would resign along with his cabinet and a caretaker prime minister would be appointed and hold office for three years until new elections were held.

The new parliament would then write a new constitition, replacing the multi-racial 1997 version under which Chaudhry won power in a landslide victory a year ago.

Speight supported the 1990 constitution under which indigenous Fijians had exclusive rights to leadership.

Mara revealed that he was reluctant to use force against the coup plotters because the hostages were held in such a way that a single grenade could kill all of them.

Speight was already seeking an amnesty for himself and his supporters.

Mara said that after Speight released the hostages the law would take its course but that later the president would exercise his powers to cut the sentence.

***

Coup rebels in control after showdown with army

SUVA, May 26 (AFP) - Fiji's president was under armed guard Friday after leaders of a racially-motivated coup forced government troops to back down in a showdown outside the besieged parliament.

Heavily armed troops had taken control of security around the building, where Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian is being held by an armed gang which claims to have acted in the interests of the indigenous population.

The troops set up roadblocks and sealed parliament, preventing food deliveries and more supporters of coup leader George Speight from entering.

Civilians streamed out through the gates as a battle between Speight and the troops which back President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara appeared imminent.

But Speight, accompanied by about 40 heavily armed men, then marched out of the compound, challenged the soldiers and began tearing down the barricades.

Civilians were sent scattering as the soldiers and rebels pointed guns at each other and screamed threats, but no shots were fired.

The soldiers regrouped and negotiations began between Speight and their colonel. The coup leader eventually secured their agreement and the two sides shook hands.

A soldier at the barricade said they did not resist the rebels because "they were armed."

"We are here to stop civilians from getting hurt. We are not here to shoot anyone. What we want to do is to create an atmosphere where the talks can go on between the two parties," he said.

When asked if the soldiers supported Speight's stand he replied: "We are behind the Fiji government."

But he admitted that the troops had some sympathy for what they saw as the rebels' campaign to strengthen the rights of indigenous Fijians.

Speight and his men, armed with Uzis, Kalashnikovs and at least one grenade launcher, then walked on to challenge soldiers at other barricades, ordering them to let his supporters through. He was not challenged.

The rebels returned to parliament in an exultant mood, singing and cheering and clearly feeling they had reclaimed control of the situation.

Fiji's traditional chiefs on Thursday backed the coup leaders central demand for the removal of Chaudhry and his replacement by an indigenous Fijian in a caretaker government led by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

But Speight rejected the proposal and demanded that Mara, who has condemned the coup, resign. He is also holding out for an amnesty for him and his men -- rather than the pardon offered by the chiefs.

Sources said Mara and his relatives had been gathered together and brought to his official residence, Government House, for their own safety. Military security was substantially stepped up there.

As the tension in Suva increased, the president's family spent the afternoon inside the building praying.

Elsewhere in the capital, the streets were deserted as panicky residents closed shops, offices and schools and returned to their homes.

They were alarmed by rumours of an attempt on Mara's life which swept Suva Friday.

Flyers purportedly printed by the coup plotters circulated in the market place, saying that Mara had been targetted for assassination.

A government source who was present at a meeting at Government House earlier Friday said the president had given Speight an ultimatum to fall in line with his proposal to defuse the crisis, or to surrender.

***

Police Commissioner says no military solution to crisis

SUVA, May 26 (AFP) - Police Friday ruled out any hope of a quick military solution to Fiji's coup hostage crisis following the sudden buildup of soldiers around the parliament complex where government ministers are being held captive.

"We are now trying to find a soft solution. There are 1,500 people in

the complex, among them women and children... There are friends of ours

in there, and soldiers in there. The last thing you want is for us to

start shooting at each other," Police Commissioner Savua Isikia told a media conference Friday.

"The last thing we want is to go through that option ... that is to

mount an assault," he said.

The Fiji crisis entered its second week Friday with Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 32 members of his goverment held captive by gunmen led by a Suva businessman George Speight, claiming to have executed the take-over in the name of the indigenous people of Fiji.

Savua said the soldiers were brought in because the police were powerless to stop people with guns. The police arrested 60 people Thursday night, several of them armed, in a crackdown on those who break the 8pm to 6am curfew.

"We are thankful that we are no longer there. They are now around.

They know what to do and are well equipped to deal with any situation,"

Savua said.

Criminal elements in the city were taking advantage of the situation,

he said, warning that "if they break the law, or are breaking the curfew,

they can expect to be arrested."

He said the soldiers were now carrying shotguns with the magazines

on.

"There is now some parity beween those outside the parliament and

those inside who are armed," Savua said.

"I will not have pistols pointed at our police," he asserted. Fiji

police are not armed. At the height of the crisis in the city last

Friday, they were equipped with golf clubs as weapons.

Savua was also asked about an incident at the exit leading to

parliament Fridau when his brother Major Josefa Savua, left the

military barricade he was manning to keep civilians from entering the

complex and joined in with hostage-taker George Speight.

"My brother is 46 years old. He is matured, he can make up his own

mind. He can make his own decision. He has decided to go that way, I

have to accept that." Soldiers were told to allow civilians through," he said.

***

Fiji's captured leader no longer premier but still prisoner

SUVA, May 27 (AFP) - Fiji President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Saturday dismissed the civilian government being held hostage by armed coup plotters leaving himself as sole authority of the South Pacific nation.

Speaking at a press conference here, the Fijian president said he had sacked the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and appointed a caretaker administration.

The leader of the caretaker government appointed by Mara -- acting prime minister Ratu Tevita Momoedonu -- immediately resigned, leaving the president as Fiji's sole authority.

Parliament would be suspended for the next six months, Mara said, adding that his actions were allowed under Fiji's constitution.

On May 19 part Fijian businessman George Speight and six soldiers from a special forces group seized the Fiji Parliament and took Chaudhry and more than 30 government politicians prisoner.

There was no immediate reaction from Speight to the latest announcement.

Mara's moves came in a day when Speight's men provoked a shoot out on the main road outside Parliament, wounding two government soldiers and a cameraman from Associated Press Television. None of their injuries were life threatening.

Mara said it was "highly likely" that Speight and six others would be given immunity from prosecution.

In another development the head of the Fiji Military Forces Frank Bainimara said they understood the feelings of the soldiers but did not support the means being adopted in the current crisis.

But only a "handful" of special forces were involved.

"There is total support for his Execellency the President."

Mara told a press conference that he had been trying to make contact with Chaudhry for two hours Friday. This was unsuccessful.

"Therefore I was looking for and I think I have found a constitutionally alternative viable route through the crisis," Mara said.

There was a section in the constitution providing for the removal of a minister who is unable to perform his functions.

"I think there can be little doubt now, given the existing hostage crisis, that the present Prime Minister Mahendhra Chaudhry is not only absent from duty, but is also unable to perform the functions of his office."

He was obliged to appoint an existing minister as caretaker prime minister, and several had avoided being taken prisoner.

Momoedonu was approached and told he would be appointed briefly and would then be expected to resign to give Mara a clean slate and "enable me to provide unfettered executive authority."

A caretaker prime minister would be appointed by Monday along with a Council of Advisers. He said Speight, who was not a member of parliament, could not be caretaker, while former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka would continue to have a place in advising the government.

He termed it a move that "will release all the ministers who are under arrest from their responsibility and possibly remove the grounds under which they are being held hostages.

"They are no longer ministers, I am the only person who is governing the country."

Speight is also demanding Mara's resignation before he released the hostages.

"Some of the steps I have taken may be considered by the hostage takers and they may review their thoughts about whether they should be kept under or released.

"They want to remove me, I cannot consider that is possible under the present circumstances. I have been given a responsibility by the Council of Chiefs to carry on and I am carrying on."

He said he was slow in acting because he wanted to be sure he was acting within the constitution and he was still within it."I want to make absolutely certain that I stayed within the constitution. It will be on the edge but I am still within it."

Mara said he believed the Commonwealth and the world would react "very badly" to his moves.

He said two thirds of Fiji's trade was with Australia and if that was cut "that is two thirds of our life blood".

Bainimarama in a seperate earlier press conference said the army was loyal to the president and the GCC.

He denied there was any significance in the failure of the army to fire at those firing at soldiers.

"The dissident group used the protection of the crowd and the army can do nothing about it."

***

Soldiers, TV cameraman wounded outside besieged Fijian parliament

SUVA, May 27 (AFP) - Two soldiers and a British journalist were shot and wounded Saturday outside Fiji's parliament where indigenous gunmen are holding the prime minister and some 30 other members of the government hostage in a coup attempt.

One soldier was shot in the arm and the other in the leg, according to Fijilive.com, a Fiji-based website.

The journalist, a television cameraman f