The Fijian rebels, who seized the country's elected Prime Minister and his cabinet hostage two weeks ago, have said they will release their 34 hostages at the weekend. This follows an agreement between the rebels and the country's new military rulers which is designed to pave the way for a new government.
Reports say that the leader of the Fijian coup d'etat, George Speight, and the self-appointed military chief, Commodore Bainimarama, have agreed to let the country's indigenous leaders decide at a meeting next Monday whether the military or civilians should form a new interim government. Mr Speight, an ethnic Fijian nationalist, took the hostages to try to break the political power of Fiji's large Indian minority.
This afternoon, there were reports that gunshots were heard from inside the Parliament Buildings where the hostages are being held. Radio Fiji reported that one man was seen being rushed away from the building in an ambulance – he was said to be a Speight supporter.
Meanwhile, the British government has warned that the coup in Fiji could lead to the island nation's suspension from the Commonwealth. Britain's Foreign Office Minister, John Battle, said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group would meet next Tuesday in London to consider a range of options. He pointed out that Fiji was locked out of the Commonwealth in 1987 for ten years.
