JourneyOnline
Suva, 6 December (ENI)–The head of the Fiji Council of Churches
has condemned the administration set up by army commander
Commodore Frank Bainimarama after a military seizure of power as
"illegal and unconstitutional" and has urged prayers for God’s
intervention.
"We are deeply convinced that the move now taken by the commander
and his advisors is the manifestation of darkness and evil," said
the Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu, president of the Fiji Council of
Churches and the Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji.
Bainimarama declared a state of emergency on 6 December after
seizing power the previous day. The deposed prime minister,
Laisenia Qarase, has accepted a military request to return to his
home on Fiji’s Lau islands, but insists he is still the country’s
legitimate leader, the BBC reported.
"We do not recognise and support Commodore Bainimarama’s interim
government because it is illegal and unconstitutional," said
Waqairatu, who belongs to the Methodist Church in Fiji and
Rotuma, to which about 37 per cent of Fiji’s 906 000 people
belong.
Waqairatu’s statement said leaders of Christian churches were
united in reiterating support for "the democratically-elected
government and leadership of Honourable Laisenia Qarase". It
added, "We request Christians and all citizens in the country to
continue praying for the situation for God’s intervention."
Just more than half of Fijians are native Melanesians, while 44
per cent are descended from Indians brought to the islands by the
British colonial rulers more than 100 years ago to work in sugar
plantations.
