17 Feb 2011

Funeral for Fiji's former President

11:01 am on 17 February 2011

Thousands of people have gathered in Fiji to farewell former President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who died last week following a long illness.

Ratu Josefa became president in 2000 after his predecessor Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was deposed by the George Speight-led coup.

He himself was forced out of office by Commodore Frank Bainimarama in the 2006 military coup but was restored to the presidency a month later.