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Fiji's President Ratu Josefa Iloilo - Source: Reuters -
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Fiji's President has revoked the politically unstable South Pacific nation's constitution , named himself to replace temporarily a post-coup interim government and called for fresh elections by 2014.
President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who also sacked the judiciary, said he would appoint a new interim government soon but gave no firm time-frame.
His moves come after an interim government headed by military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama since a bloodless 2006 coup was declared illegal by Fiji's Court of Appeal.
Fiji has suffered four coups and a bloody military mutiny since 1987, mainly as a result of tensions between the majority indigenous Fijian population and the economically powerful ethnic Indian minority.
Fijian media reported that Information Ministry officials had told them some emergency powers would be enforced under rules which allow for security forces to prohibit and disperse public gatherings, impose curfews and close roads.
"Let me assure all of you that the basic human rights of all citizens shall be protected in the new legal order," Iloilo said.
"Let me also assure you that I have the full support of all our security forces," the ageing and ailing President said in a national broadcast from his sprawling, colonial-era presidential residence overlooking the harbour in the capital, Suva.
Bainimarama denied he had influenced Iloilo's decision to throw out the 1997 constitution after Thursday's court decision rendered his government illegal under that document.
"I explained to him the result of the court case, the appeal, and I guess he came up with that on his own," Bainimarama told Radio Australia.
"Backwards move"
Iloilo's plans will likely further harm Fiji's international relations, already strained after Bainimarama went back on a promise to hold elections in the first quarter of 2009.
Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth, a grouping of 53 mainly former British colonies, after the December 2006 coup. The United States and European Union imposed sanctions until the tourism- and sugar-reliant island nation held elections.
Bainimarama says Fiji must first change its racially based electoral system, which he blames for Fiji's instability.
The United States said it was "deeply disappointed" by the the constitution's revocation and worried about the future of democracy in the country.
"We are concerned by the implications this abrogation holds for the future of judicial independence, media freedom, and democracy itself in Fiji," State Department spokesman Richard Aker said in a written statement.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week urged Bainimarama to restore democracy and backed a demand by South Pacific leaders for elections in Fiji this year.
Australia and New Zealand, Fiji's main trading partners and aid donors, both condemned Iloilo's moves as "backwards" and backed the appeal court's recommendation for prompt elections.
"This is the right course for Fiji and the only way forward for the people of Fiji," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement on Friday.
Iloilo said Fiji should hold fresh elections by 2014 to give the new interim administration time to make necessary reforms.
"I am sure you will all work together with me and the soon-to-be appointed interim government to ensure that this transition to a new legal order is not only smooth but will reap many benefits for us and the future generations," he said.
Iloilo appointed Bainimarama Prime Minister after the military leader toppled former premier Laisenia Qarase, whom he accused of being corrupt and soft on the leaders of a 2000 coup.
Iloilo's election timetable and call for reforms mirror those of Bainimarama, whom he said had adhered to his mandate and had had a positive impact on the lives of ordinary Fijians.
Qarase had asked the court of appeal to overturn an earlier High Court ruling that Bainimarama's government was legal.
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