Fiji coup: Shots heard

Mr Speight and his human shield at the parliament complex

Gunfire has been heard in the parliament building in Fiji, where armed men have been holding Prime Minister Mahendhra Chaudhry and other politicians hostage for the past five days.

Our correspondent Jonathan Head says four shots were definitely heard but there may have been more.

Journalists have been kept away from the parliament building although followers of George Speight have been allowed to pass freely through a security cordon.

The incident comes as indigenous leaders in the Pacific island state are meeting to try to resolve the country's political turmoil.

Gunmen patrol the parliament perimeter

The United Nations is also sending a senior representative to Fiji later on Tuesday to convey the organisation's concern about the attempted coup.

The meeting of the unelected but enormously influential Great Council of Chiefs will be chaired by the former prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka.

Mr Rabuka, who himself came to power in a coup in 1987, said he supported the aims of the armed rebels - but not their methods.

Mr Speight said he would "retire" if the Great Council of Chiefs did not back his coup, but that he had significant support among them.

President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara has repeated his call for the gunmen who seized parliament last Friday to lay down their weapons.

President Ratu Mara told a news conference in the capital, Suva, that Mr Speight was not recognised either in Fiji or abroad.

He said the coup leader should enter into talks about his grievances and he pledged to take the concerns of the indigenous Fijian majority community into account.

The security forces no longer appear neutral. The police commander told the BBC that as an ethnic Fijian, he sympathized with what Mr Speight was doing.

Our correspondent says it is looking increasingly unlikely that Mr Chaudhry, even if he is released by the gunmen, will be able to keep the job he won in last year's election.

"The incident has exposed the deep resentment felt by many ethnic Fijians towards the Indian community," he said. "Although Indians make up nearly half the population of Fiji, the clear message from the crowds now gathering at the parliament is that only an indigenous prime minister is acceptable."

Public support

Mr Speight has welcomed hundreds of supporters who have volunteered to be human shields inside the parliament complex.

The president says the coup is not recognised

The rebels say they believe the presence of so many civilians will make the authorities outside think twice about armed intervention.

Supporters have been celebrating the uprising just metres from where Mr Chaudhry is being held along with the other captives, including his son and President Ratu Mara's daughter.

Suva came to a standstill on Monday as troops took up key positions and large crowds gathered in support of Mr Speight's coup attempt.

Shops, banks and schools were closed and supporters of the coup were milling around at a market where a violent protest march erupted on Friday.

But the streets have been quiet as large numbers of police and soldiers enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

Troops gather outside a government building in Suva

The Central Bank of Fiji has strengthened its capital controls after the political crisis in the country caused panic among local businesses.

The Bank said it was tightening the flow of money out of the country but declined to give further details. Businesses in the country have reportedly been scrambling to transfer funds into foreign accounts.