Fiji purges legal services

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Fiji's military regime is purging its legal services, firing four prosecutors and three magistrates without giving reasons.

The action comes as the military's number two, Brigadier Pita Driti, issued a public warning for regime critics.

Fiji military chief Voreqe Bainimarama has ruled Fiji since a coup in December 2006 and last year created what he called "a new legal order".

After earlier removing the chief justice, he now rules by decree, advised by a military council whose members are not known.

Fiji's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions plays a key role in the country, but this week the military installed a new director, Aca Rayawa, a supporter of the regime.

Rawaya then sacked his predecessor John Rabuku and three other prosecution lawyers who he did not name.

Sources name them as Heilala Tabete, Nancy Tikoisuva and Navinesh Nand - who were all fired and told to leave immediately, without explanation.

All were survivors of the democratic government.

Last year when Bainimarama removed the constitution he also sacked judges and magistrates and replaced them with those more acceptable to the regime.

However three of them - Eparama Rokoika, Elsie Hudson and Mary Muir - were fired this week, also without explanation.

When Bainimarama took over the country he vowed to end "high level corruption" and created the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption.

But in the four years since then, the commission has had no significant prosecution success and not revealed any major corruption.

Yesterday it announced it was bringing charges against a prominent lawyer, Imrana Jalal, who has been critical of the military regime.

She and her husband Sakiusa Tuisolia have been charged with operating a restaurant, Hook and Chook, without a licence.

Jalal denies the charge.

In a broadcast yesterday on military-censored Fiji Broadcasting, Driti, who is commander of Land Forces and is effectively the second ranked head, said 2010 should be a very stable and peaceful year.

"As a member of the military council and interim government I know that the majority of our citizens do agree with that," he said in his broadcast.

"There are only a few people who could term as adversaries - but I would discourage them from doing anything and I would like to tell them to keep low and try to co-operate with us in trying to maintain peace, otherwise they will be in for something really hard in terms of how we will treat them this year."

Driti's plain speaking, which has included an attack on New Zealand, has caused problems in the past. Bainimarama attempted to have him made Fiji's high commissioner to Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpar would not accept him as a diplomat.

- © Fairfax NZ News