Qarase says Indians will not rule Fiji again

SUVA - Fiji's interim leader has delivered a blunt message that minority ethnic Indians will never again rule the troubled South Pacific nation.

Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said in a speech at the University of the South Pacific in the capital Suva: "They will not allow a return to a leadership that was seen by many Fijians to be blatantly discriminatory against Fijians..."

"The general feeling among Fijians is that there must be better and stronger guarantees for indigenous Fijians to be in control of their political destiny."

Qarase's interim government was installed by the military in July at the height of a coup crisis that began in May when gunmen stormed parliament in the name of indigenous rights and then held ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and much of his cabinet hostage for 55 days.

Qarase, who has been given the task of reviewing Fiji's constitution and organising elections within two years, has previously said the country's multi-ethnic constitution will not be reinstated.

Indians first arrived in Fiji during British colonial rule in the 19th century to work in sugar plantations. They now comprise 44 percent of the population.

Fiji marked its 30th anniversary of independence on Tuesday, a day when those opposed to the May coup had called for people to wear blue as part of a nationwide "Blue Day" protest.

Businesses and trade unions, which are dominated by ethnic Indians, had called for the protest. However, it failed to materialise.

George Speight, who led the coup attempt, is due to appear in court on Wednesday on charges of treason, with a full trial possibly slated to begin in the next few weeks.

Fiji has been suspended by the 54-nation Commonwealth, whose 11-member ministerial action group said last month that Qarase's administration was "the product of an unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government".

Other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States and France, have imposed sanctions on Fiji, cutting military links, reducing aid, ending foreign scholarships and banning visits by Fijian sports teams.

- REUTERS