13 Jul 2009

Fiji military says no truth in claim of change in responsibilities for Bainaimarama

1:32 pm on 13 July 2009

A Fiji military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni, has denied reports that there's been a change in the military leadership.

There have been claims that Colonel Pita Driti and Colonel Roko Ului Mara had taken over the military's leadership from Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

The reports were carried by blog sites which have assumed a media role in view of the continued censorship imposed as part of the emergency regulations.

There had been claims that the two had told the interim prime minister that he should decide between running the military or the government, with some suggesting that he had been denied access to the barracks.

But Lieutenant Colonel Leweni says these reports as rubbish.

Commodore Bainimarama is the interim prime minister, foreign, sugar and finance minister, and heads the military.

He survived a mutiny in 2000.