Fiji's ousted Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, says he could not have prevented last year's December 5 military takeover, even if he tried.
Mr Qarase told Fiji Television's Close Up programme that what happened was a combination of a number of events that were happening from as far back as 2002.
These he says included the controversy over the extension of Commodore Frank Bainimarama's contract and the deteriorating relationship between the army and his Government.
He adds the coup was a result of personal differences more than anything else.
He says in a last attempt, he and the Commander had a meeting in New Zealand with their Foreign Affairs minister and when he returned he was quite positive.
But he says December 5 came and things started building up again and there was an intention to carry out the coup.
He explained the reason he left for his home island in Lau, a day after the takeover, was largely due to intelligence reports he was receiving.
