Issue No: 990; 1 August 2001

The newly formed Labour breakaway party, the New Labour Unity Party has claimed that if people voted for the Fiji Labour Party, then there would be another coup in Fiji. The media has quoted Tupeni Baba as saying that if he was the Prime Minister then there would be no coup in Fiji. "I would have paid heed to security concerns", Baba is quoted as saying. Baba was the Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Coalition Government. At no time in the Cabinet did he raise the matter of security for the nation.

Baba's claim has been condemned by the Labour Party. A Party campaigner stated that it the type of leadership demonstrated by Baba and the group was reprehensible. He stated: "Leaders should instil faith and courage in the people in law and order; they should not instil fear".

The National Federation Party has also been telling the ethnic Indian population that if they do not win, there will be another coup in the country. The campaign slogan is the same as that which it used in the last election. The party failed to secure a single seat in the election, but a coup deposed the elected government. The coup was financed by people who are closely associated with the NFP.

Elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry told the Labour Party on Saturday that parties claiming that there would be a coup should not be trusted because if they lose, they will go around organising a coup. "How did the NFP know that there would be a coup last time", asked Chaudhry. He claimed that the NFP people were involved in the coup.

All other political parties, except the SVT, have either plainly stated or hinted that they will not accept the election result if it leads to Chaudhry again becoming the Prime Minister. Laisenia Qarase is on record that the country is not ready for an ethnic Indian Prime Minister. The nationalist political parties have also stated that they will not accept an ethnic Indian PM.