Issue No: 1015; 14 August 2001

 Today’s Fiji Sun reports Qarase informing the media that he had been having talks with the NFP on the possibility of joining forces to form the next government. Qarase stated: “It’s a gentleman’s agreement we have reached with the NFP. The agreement is that if the NFP is able to secure more than 7 seats in the election, then we are going to form the government”.

 The NFP has been denying that a deal has been made with Qarase and his political party. Another denial was made by the NFP today.

 The deal between Qarase and the NFP was first exposed by this website many weeks ago (see: (see http://www.pcgov.org.fj/hot_press/no629.htm; http://www.pcgov.org.fj/hot_press/no654.htm http://www.pcgov.org.fj/hot_press/no829.htm ). The NFP had then labelled our sources as insane.

 It is believed that big ethnic Indian businessmen are behind the deal. They have been funding both, the NFP and the Qarase group. The two political parties share similar ideologies.

 Meanwhile David Pickering, who joined NFP this year, has indicated that he wants to become the NFP’s leader. Pickering was Rabuka’s trusted lieutenants after the 1987 military coup. During the last Parliament, he had moved a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.