Commonwealth may suspend Fiji

Fiji's military took over running the country in a bloodless overthrow today after confining the elected prime minister to his home in the South Pacific island nation's fourth coup in 20 years.

Military Commander Frank Bainimarama said he had temporarily stepped into President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's role as head of state and dismissed the government of Laisenia Qarase after a power struggle that had simmered all year.

Promising that the takeover would not be permanent, Commander Bainimarama said he had appointed little known Jona Senilagakali Baravilala, a former military doctor and political novice, as interim prime minister before fresh elections are called.

"The stalemate has forced me to step forward and the military has taken over government," Commander Bainimarama said, adding that the chief executives of government ministries would run their departments until Baravilala appoints an interim government.

Commander Bainimarama had repeatedly threatened to topple Qarase's government, which won a second five-year term in May, calling it corrupt and too soft on those behind Fiji's last coup in 2000.

"We trust that the new government will lead us into peace and prosperity and mend the ever-widening racial divide which currently besets our multi-cultural nation," he said.

Fiji's three earlier coups, the first in 1987, were racially motivated with indigenous Fijians who make up 51 percent of the 900,000 population fearing they would lose political control of their nation to minority ethnic Indian Fijians who already dominate the economy.