Issue No: 784; 22 May 2001

Today's Fiji Times reports that the military has identified two sources of uprising. Both sources concern the victory for justice and democracy in the country.

One source is the likely decision of the High Court declaring as illegal the decisions of the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo in reappointing Laisenia Qarase as Prime Minister.

The paper quotes a military source as saying: "A lot of [ethnic] Fijian people, especially Ratu Josefa's people, will not be happy if the President loses his case. They have publicly shown their disappointment when the case was first registered in court. If he loses, we know that some will see it a s a direct insult on the vanua and an affront to the authority of the Great Council of Chiefs".

The army officer is further quoted as saying: "We do not want to take such responses lightly which is why our field officers are presently concentrating on gathering and assessing information on the likely places emotions are likely to erupt".

The military identified the second source of conflict as an election result where the Fiji Labour Party would win government. The military is quoted as saying: "If we have to have an election and Chaudhry's party wins, we really have to prepare for the worst possible scenario. Right now we do not know exactly how people will react. But it is good to be prepared."