Fiji spared full suspension

Coup leader George Speight: Still defiant

Fiji has been suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth until democracy and the rule of law is restored - but the decision stops short of full suspension and sanctions.

Following an emergency meeting in London, Commonwealth foreign ministers called for the immediate and unconditional release of Prime Minister Majendra Chaudhry and all other hostages being held in Fiji's parliament building.

They will also be sending a mission to press for a timetable for a return to democracy and asked Fiji's new military ruler, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, to ensure the safety of the hostages.

Lines of communication will be kept open and the suspension will be reviewed in September this year.

Announcing the decision Botswana's Foreign Minister Mompati Merafhe said: "Fiji should be suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law."

But before Tuesday's meeting, coup leader George Speight said in a BBC interview that he and his fellow rebels would hold out for as long as necessary to secure their demands.

Mr Speight said that nothing - not even Commonwealth sanctions - would make the rebels reconsider their course because they had the support of the people.

Dangerous example

The ministers also made similar demands of the Solomon Islands, where rebels took control of the country's capital on Monday.

They called on the coup leaders there to surrender their weapons and restore the democratic process.

Other Commonwealth countries in Asia and the Pacific have expressed concern that allowing such coups to succeed could encourage further attacks on democratic governments.

'Halfway house'

As in the case of Pakistan last year, Fiji is being suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth.

The BBC diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason describes this as a kind of halfway house to full suspension. Fiji will not be able to take part in any meetings or decision making bodies, but lines of communication will be kept open.

Mr Merafhe said that the ministers had had to deal with a very sensitive and complicated situation since hostages were still being held by gunmen.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Canberra would impose sanctions of its own once the hostages had been released, but he stressed that Australia did not want to destroy the Fijian economy.

Speight's tough line

Mr Speight has been holding 31 hostages at gun point, including the country's first ethnic Indian Prime Minister, Majendra Chaudhry for more than two weeks.

The coup leader has said the captives will be shot if the military tries to storm the parliamentary complex where they are being held.

He wants a role in a future government in return for releasing the hostages, while the military are willing to offer him only an amnesty.

Mr Speight is now demanding that one of his allies be appointed president, with ethnic Indians excluded from power.

Many of his original goals have already been accomplished, including the scrapping of Fiji's multi-ethnic constitution and the removal of the president.

Earlier, Fiji's new military ruler, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, stressed that a military solution to the crisis in Fiji was not an option.