Rescue operation ruled out in Fiji

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, JUNE 6. As the crisis in Fiji over the continued captivity of the Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry, and 30 others remained unresolved, the military ruler, Commodore J. V. (Frank) Bainimarama, today discounted the option of using force to rescue the hostages in the context of the intransigence by their captor and self-styled ``civil coup'' leader, Mr. George Speight.

Following Mr. Speight's threat to shoot the hostages in the event of a rescue effort by the military, the disinclination of Cmdr. Bainimarama to free them may have somewhat eased the threat to the lives of captives at this moment.

Cmdr. Bainimarama cited the hostages' safety as the prime reason for his reluctance to mount an armed operation against Mr. Speight. In a statement in Suva today, he said the ``concerns'' of the hostage-takers would be ``addressed and reflected'' in a ``new Constitution'' planned to be drafted. These ``concerns'' pertain to the stated objective of according political primacy to the majority natives as distinct from the minority ethnic Indians.

Noting that the ``concerns'' of ``all the Fijians'' as also those of ``the community at large'' would be addressed as part of an exercise to frame a new Constitution, Cmdr. Bainimarama urged the hostage-takers to release their captives and lay down arms in exchange for a total ``amnesty''.

If there was a political message in seeking to address the ``concerns'' of ``the community at large,'' Cmdr. Bainimarama did not make that explicit. He cited the possibility of ``international repercussions'' as the reason for wanting to keep Mr. Speight out of any interim government that might be formed in the future. Cmdr. Bainimarama indicated that the military could not give up power in these uncertain circumstances.

At a press conference in Suva, Cmdr. Bainimarama was quoted as saying that the military would try to bring peace and stability during the next three months and then appoint an interim Prime Minister as also a transitional government mandated to frame a new Constitution and call a general election. This

new timeframe would not, however, negate the military's earlier plan of being at the helm for about three years to oversee the transition.

On the issue of securing the hostages' release, the military ruler said he would seek to use the influence of the people, especially the native chiefs, to force the pace.

At least three military deserters, who had earlier defected to the ranks of Mr. Speight, were reported to have rejoined the Army today in response to Cmdr. Bainimarama's call to do so. There were also accounts of how the anti-Speight groups had begun to mobilise themselves in the more prosperous western part of the main island.

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