Fiji PM calls for people power 

Fiji's deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has called on his people to resist the military's takeover.

Fijian army Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama took over the role of president in a bloodless coup on Tuesday, dismissing Qarase and dissolving parliament.

Qarase remains under house arrest in Suva. He is calling on his countrymen to fight peacefully for democracy. He remains defiant, saying he is still prime minister, Bainimarama has "raped" Fiji's constitution and the Fijian people still support his government.

Qarase predicts economic sanctions will be imposed, large quantities of aid will stop flowing to Fiji and he believes half of the country's 900,000 people could be thrown into poverty.

The commodore says he has temporarily stepped into President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's role as head of state, appointing a little known former military doctor as interim prime minister.

At a news conference, Bainimarama said he had been forced to act because of concern about the deteriorating state of Fiji.

He called for calm, saying military road blocks will stay in place for the next five days and he is promising fresh elections when things settle down.

Meanwhile, Fiji's police commissioner Andrew Hughes believes the coup could collapse from within.

Hughes, who is on leave in Australia, has told the ABC there are cracks and fissures appearing right throughout the military.

Hughes believes there will be a popular uprising against the military, which he hopes will be bloodless. And he says a claim police are working with the military is a lie.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has labelled Bainimarama a dictator, while Prime Minister Helen Clark says he's deluded.

In another development, the Fijian military has imposed censorship on local media. The Fiji Times newspaper has opted not to publish on Wednesday, in protest. The late news bulletin on Fijian television was also cancelled on Tuesday night.

Commonwealth suspension

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth said on Tuesday that Fiji would likely be suspended from the group of former British colonial territories after a military coup that has been condemned by Britain and the European Union.

"The likelihood of Fiji to be suspended is very high," Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon told a news conference in London.

Fiji's suspension would mean the end of technical assistance programmes and could damage its trade.

McKinnon joined a chorus of condemnation for Tuesday's coup, the fourth in the South Pacific island nation in 20 years.

"I deplore the actions by Commander Bainimarama and the Fiji royal military defence force," McKinnon said in a statement.

"This is a clear attack on the democratically elected government of Fiji, and a serious violation of shared Commonwealth values and principles.

McKinnon said Bainimarama might say the suspension would have no impact.

"But be assured that the relationship between Fiji and the United Nations will change ... Fiji has an enormous number of soldiers in peacekeeping activities in different parts of the world. Those sort of things are affected by this," he said.

It would be the second time Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth in 20 years. Fiji was suspended after a 1987 coup and declaring itself a republic. It was allowed back in 1997, only to be partially suspended in 2000 following another coup.

"Respect democracy"

The European Union declared its "strongest possible opposition to actions that undermine the democratic process" in Fiji.

"The presidency demands that the military forces stand back and give way to the democratically elected political government," current EU president Finland said in a statement.

Britain called for all those involved to respect democracy.

"As with all coups we condemn it," said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"We are suspending immediately our bilateral military assistance to Fiji and we urge all parties to recognise the sovereignty of the elected government," he said.

Both Australia and New Zealand have already said they will impose sanctions on Fiji's military.

Clark says New Zealand travel bans have been placed on senior Fiji military officials and their families, including Bainimarama.

She also says bilateral defence ties will be suspended, with the exception of maritime patrolling, disaster relief and search and rescue activities. Sporting bans and sanctions on aid are also being considered.

McKinnon said foreign ministers from Britain, Malta, Tanzania, Lesotho, Papua New Guinea, Canada, St Lucia and Sri Lanka and Malaysia would meet in London on Friday to decide whether Fiji should be suspended from the Commonwealth.

"When we are dealing with the issue of a sovereign state, ministers do like to meet face-to-face. There is not a commonwealth country that would like to be suspended by email," McKinnon said.

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