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This week is 14 years since the first Fiji coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka and a year since George Speight took temporary control.
The troubled island state is in the run-up to a general election and the instability continues.
Battles continue in court
The Suva high court in Fiji resumes a hearing of a case on Tuesday seeking the presiding judge to disqualify himself from a constitutional case which could restore the elected parliament.
The Citizens' Constitutional Forum has alleged that Justice Daniel Fatiaki helped the chief justice in trying to abrogate the 1997 Constitution only three days after Speight and his gunmen had taken the government hostage.
The Forum has affidavits from two other high court judges corroborating its claim that Justice Fatiaki advised the then-president to sack the captured prime minister.
This is alleged to have happened although the judges were sworn to uphold the constitution.
Forum member Jone Dakuvula says the court has heard the affidavit by high court judge Justice Byrnes on Justice Fatiaki's role.
The Forum's action against Justice Fatiaki aims at getting another judge to hear its case against President Iloilo whom it accuses of acting unconstitutionally in March when he appointed Ratu Tevita Momoedonu as prime minister for a few hours to dismiss parliament.
Should the Forum win its case and the ruling be enforced, the planned election would be cancelled and the elected parliament reconvened with Mahendra Chaudhry as prime minister.
Army brass involved in coup to be identified
A report says the identity of senior military officers involved in last year's coup should be known soon.
The Fiji Times says this follows the re-arrest of Lieutenant Penaia Baleinamua of the now-disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, which carried out the coup.
The military has refused to disclose the nature of charges brought against the officer, only saying that he would answer to charges of breach of serious military discipline.
But the newspaper quotes a source as saying that he would answer to charges of authorising the release of firearms on the day of the coup.
The source adds that the release of firearms can only be carried out by a junior officer on the instructions of someone senior to him.
A military spokesman, Lieutenant Ilaisa Tagitupou, says the officer will remain detained because of security reasons as soldiers from the same unit released last year carried out the army mutiny only a week later.
More industry fails
Another garment factory has closed in Fiji's western city of Lautoka, leaving 200 more workers without jobs.
Victoria Apparels is the sixth garment factory to close in Lautoka in recent months, taking the total of garment workers made redundant in the city to more than 1,500.
Many of the closures have been blamed on lack of continuing orders because of the political instability in Fiji.
The lay-offs are reported to have caused havoc in Lautoka where there are strong fears of further social problems and an economic downturn.
A similar situation is feared in the northern town of Labasa, where 900 timber industry workers have lost their jobs.
Around 600 workers at Valebasoga Tropik Boards had to go home when the company went into receivership.
Three hundred employees of Fiji Forest Industries went off the payroll when the company closed down to restructure.
The post-coup economic slump has been blamed for the two companies' problems.
Chaudhry now viewed as a liability
The Fiji Labour Party has suffered another setback with a prominent member saying he will not stand in the August election for Labour if Mahendra Chaudhry remains its leader.
Lautoka lawyer Haroon Ali Shah, a former attorney general in the Chaudhry government, announced his decision less than 48 hours after the Labour deputy leader, Dr Tupeni Baba, withdrew over the leadership issue.
Shah says more Labour Party members are likely to follow them. Dr Baba says a new party, already dubbed the Democratic Labour Party, is a possibility if there is sufficient support.
The elections are three months away.
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