Fiji's Rebels Delay Release of HostagesFiji's coup leaders said they were unlikely to release on Thursday the last 18 hostages they were holding in parliament, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.Coup leader George Speight had agreed to release the hostages on Thursday, as the Great Council of Chiefs met to select a new president and vice president for the country. But rebel spokesman Joe Nata said the release was unlikely to go ahead Thursday because the martial law authorities, which had negotiated an end to the crisis with Speight, have not gazetted the necessary decrees, the ABC said. "This will torpedo the whole process," Nata said. Under an accord between Speight and the military, which declared martial law on May 29, the 50-strong Great Council of Chiefs was to meet on Thursday to name a new president and vice president. In return, Speight was committed to releasing all the hostages, including Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister. But Nata said that would probably be put off. Of the original 31 people taken hostage eight weeks ago, 13 have been set free. The ABC quoted Radio Fiji as saying candidates the 50 chiefs will consider include the previous president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the council's chairman, Sitiveni Rabuka, and the previous vice president, Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Ratu Iloilo was Speight's nominee for the top job. |
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