Stand der Dinge - leider

Fiji army chief's high noon deadline
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Update: 7.30PM: Fiji's army commander, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, says he will overthrow the Qarase Government by midday tomorrow unless all his demands are met before then.
He said it was time to end the stand-off between the military and the Government.
"There will be a peaceful transition. We do not expect resistance," he said.
Commodore Bainimarama said the Wellington meeting yesterday had been a total failure and he had not agreed to anything.
He said comments earlier this afternoon by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase that agreement had been reached were all lies.
These comments come hours after Mr Qarase made concessions on key demands by the military.
The demands, which the army terms "non-negotiable", include:
the withdrawal of three controversial land legislations the Qarase government hopes to introduce in Parliament;
the dropping of all investigations against the army commander;
the termination of Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes' contract and
the disbanding of the armed Police Tactical Response Division;
a review of the role of the Native Land Trust Boards tourism arm and
the expulsion from government of everyone suspected of involvement of the events of 2000.
Addressing concerns over the events of 2000, the army commander said not one Cabinet minister admitted in the past five years had admitted that the events of 2000 were wrong.
"People sent to jail have come out and are taken back on board. We need to get rid of those," the army chief said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Qarase said it was "unlikely" the military would overthrow his government after his meeting yesterday in New Zealand with the army chief.
The military leader has repeatedly threatened to oust Qarase's administration, accusing it of corruption in the Pacific island nation that has suffered three coups in the past 19 years. The army staged a military exercise in Suva early today before withdrawing to barracks.
Qarase has warned that another coup would have "dire consequences" for Fiji's tourism industry, the biggest direct employer and earner of foreign exchange.