Fiji coup leader says checkpoint shooting was assassination attempt

Filipo Tarakinikini. He said the country’s martial law authorities had apologized to Speight, who took the government of Fiji’s first ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, hostage in parliament on May 19. “I have assured them (Speight’s men) that we are in control of the situation on our side now.”

But Speight’s spokesman Joe Nata said the shooting was no accident. “We believe it was an assassination attempt by the military because those shots could not have been fired without orders from above,” he said. As the shots rang out, witnesses inside parliament said dozens of armed men, not seen before now, suddenly emerged from hiding. Fiji TV said some people inside parliament fired down a road, but did not cause injury. Nata said Speight was a “bit shaken” but “we will not be retaliating, although there was a knee-jerk reaction from our people here”.

Fiji’s military has been seeking a peaceful resolution to the political crisis sparked by the takeover, and Speight has been allowed to leave the parliament complex on numerous previous occasions for talks. He left on Monday to visit former vice-President Ratu Josefa Iloilo and his own nominee for President, Ratu Jope Seniloli. Martial law commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama was also there at one point. A military statement said Speight then left to go to hospital.

Nata said the coup leader left to see the head of the Methodist Church. When the convoy drove through a checkpoint “warning shots were fired into the air”, Tarakinikini said, and when the vehicles still refused to stop shots were fired at the tyres of the front car, which was not carrying Speight.

The military spokesman said about 20 rounds were fired from M-16 Automatic rifles by “more than one soldier”.

In a statement, the military said “soldiers had signalled for the vehicles to stop but they forced their way through”. “Speight’s backup vehicle was hit by a bullet and was forced to stop, resulting in the arrest of the occupants. But Speight is back at the parliament complex” and the occupants of the second vehicle were later released. Nata, who was not at the scene, denied the convoy was ordered to stop, and said the soldiers fired deliberately as they recognised Speight.

“They were yelling saying `he’s here, he’s here’ and they fired shots,” Nata said. “They claim it was an act of ill-discipline, a case of misjudgement. We fear it was more than that.” Nata said they wanted an explanation from the military by sunset. “We hope that good sense will prevail and they will not have trigger happy pricks out there on checkpoints because it is very very dangerous.”

A policeman who witnessed the incident said half-a-dozen soldiers opened fire with M-16S, Letting off around 60 rounds. “Bullets were flying everywhere,” the policeman said. Two rounds hit the wall of the vice-President’s residency. The military has declared martial law in the Pacific nation following the coup attempt by Speight, who is seeking power for ethnic Fijians who make up 51 per cent of the 800,000-strong population. Ethnic Indians account for around 43 percent of the population.

The martial law authorites meanwhile halted an anti-coup march before it could begin on Monday. The march was organised by Ben Padarath whose mother, Lavenia Padarath, is one of the 31 hostages held by Speight and a group of armed special forces soldiers. Military spokesman Captain Howard Politini told AFP that the march had been stopped because organisers “had not followed the proper procedures”.