Fiji troops pursue crackdown on opposition to coup

Fiji's military continued a crackdown on opposition to its coup yesterday, as deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said he would return to the capital next week to seek a peaceful restoration of democracy.

Fijians were warned yesterday that if they spoke out against the military they would be summonsed to Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva and, if they refused, forcibly taken there.

"The military wants this transition to be smooth," said military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni in issuing the warning.

Several prominent Fijians have already been taken to the capital's barracks and been ordered not to make further comments, while Fiji's human rights commission said it was investigating reports of "inhumane treatment" of one person detained.

Commander Frank Bainimarama staged a bloodless coup on Tuesday, toppling Qarase's government, which he claimed was corrupt and soft on those behind the last coup, in 2000. Fiji has had four coups since 1987.

Opposition to the coup is growing, with the South Pacific nation's chiefs and churches calling it illegal. An unscheduled shooting exercise inside Queen Elizabeth Barracks yesterday sparked a scare in the capital and the military said that while Bainimarama was still in control of the coup-hit nation his whereabouts was being concealed for security.