July 9, 2000

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — A second hostage crisis erupted Saturday in Fiji as armed rebels supporting coup leader George Speight seized 30 soldiers, police and government officials in a police station outside the capital.

A defiant Speight said there would be more unrest until the military gives in to his demands.

``It is going to escalate,'' he said. ``I can predict it.''

But Speight also offered hope of an end to the crisis that has gripped Fiji since he and six gunmen stormed Parliament on May 19 and took the democratically elected government hostage. The siege was aimed at disenfranchising Fiji's ethnic Indian population and returning power to indigenous Fijians.

``It will be resolved very soon,'' he told reporters. ``The army will see the folly of its ways. They have completely misread a political situation.''

Speight was holding talks with the military late Saturday, and army spokesman Maj. Howard Politini expressed guarded optimism they were progressing well on a deal for ending the crisis.

``Both sides — mind you they've said this before — feel they could sign off on this tonight,'' Politini told The Associated Press.

On Saturday morning, a man who said he was Speight's cousin led about 100 rebels armed with tire irons, steel pipes and other makeshift weapons, taking over a military checkpoint in Korovou, about 40 miles outside Suva. They seized six rifles and stormed the police station, where they gathered their hostages.

Speaking to reporters outside the police station, where the new hostages apparently were being held, Iferemi Tiko said the action was in support of Speight. His group also demanded the resignation of military head of state Commodore Frank Bainimarama — one of Speight's key demands.

``This takeover is from the people,'' said Tiko, his face covered by a ski helmet and sunglasses.

The hostages included local soldiers, police and government officials. Nobody was injured and the rebels said they did not want to see bloodshed.

Also Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Suva said Ambassador Osman Siddique was being recalled to the United States for consultations.

``We deplore both hostage taking and efforts to deny political rights to citizens of Fiji,'' the embassy said in a statement.

The release also said the United States was considering ``a range of steps ... that could have a serious impact on Fiji.''

Tiko said he and his supporters were ``very disappointed'' by the military's recent tactics at Parliament, where Speight and a gang of gunmen are holding 27 hostages including deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

The army had given Speight and his supporters until midnight Saturday to leave the area, but that deadline has now been shelved indefinitely while talks to resolve the crisis are underway.

Korovou, which is close to Speight's home village, was generally calm and most stores remained open Saturday, although there were reports that a gang of armed men had stolen a truck after threatening its owner.

Outside of town, the rebels set up a roadblock made up of a refrigerator, engine parts, a wheelbarrow and two trucks.

Tiko said the hostages were his ``guests'' and said they were being treated well, a claim that Speight has also made.

Days of civil unrest across Fiji — including local landowners shutting down the largest island's main hydroelectric power station — have shown the depth of support for the rebels and prompted the military to restart stalled peace talks.

The military, which took power 10 days after the coup, recently named an all-ethnic Fijian civilian government to prepare for elections. Bainimarama retained leadership of the country, however.

Although the military has met most of Speight's demands to disenfranchise Fiji's ethnic Indian minority — including deposing Chaudhry, the first Fijian of Indian ancestry to lead the country — and scrapping the multiracial 1997 constitution, Speight is still refusing to release his hostages.

Fifty-one percent of the people of Fiji are indigenous Fijians and many resent the clout of ethnic Indians, who account for 44 percent and dominated the ousted government.

``The coup is all about saying we've had 30 years of democracy. We reserve the right as Fijians in our homeland to set that aside and explore a new model,'' Speight said.