30 Mar 2004

Fiji PM rejects condemnation of coup

4:35 pm on 30 March 2004

The Fiji prime minister has spoken out against the wholesale condemnation of the May 2000 coup, saying some of the comments amount to a warped view of the events.

Laisenia Qarase was speaking in Wellington ahead of talks with the New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark.

Mr Qarase says the crisis brought to the fore people who acted out of concern for their country.

And he likened his entry into politics to the decision by Fiji's first prime minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, to join the interim administration after the 1987 Rabuka coups.

"The perception in some quarters is that all who showed up in parliament during the crisis were criminals and terrorists. It is a warped view. When our first prime minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, joined Sitiveni Rabuka's interim government after the 87 coups, he was harshly criticised overseas. The critics were judging Ratu Sir Kamisese by their own standards. Ratu Sir Kamisese used a graphic image to describe his position. He said he felt that if his house was on fire with his family inside, he must try to rescue them."