PACIFIC BRIEFS

Fiji Army on alert

SUVA, Fiji Islands – Military forces were on full alert Friday following threats against its chief, Commander Frank Bainimarama.

“Security at the (Queen Elizabeth) barracks has been tightened and at least 14 soldiers have been posted around the commander’s house,” a high-ranking military source told the Agence France-Press news agency.

The move follows days of rumors of further disturbances. Fiji is still struggling to overcome unrest caused by a May 19 coup attempt headed by businessman George Speight.

It is feared an offensive against Bainimarama could be led by senior army officers and traditional chiefs still loyal to Speight.

Violence in West Papua

JAYAPURA, Indonesia – At least two people have been killed and 15 injured in West Papua fighting after police tore down separatist “Morning Star” flags. Unconfirmed reports say the death toll may be as high as seven.

The clash erupted when police ripped down the prohibited independence flags that had been raised in the mountain town of Wamena.

Police moved in after the local population ignored repeated orders to lower the flags.
West Papua shares the island of New Guinea with independent Papua New Guinea.

Copra shortage shuts mill

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – The nation’s largest copra mill has closed down.

Production at the Toboi Oil mill in East New Britain province was halted because of a lack of copra, resulting from the current low world price for the coconut product. Some major firms have completely stopped production.

Copra prices currently are $89.66 per ton, a 10-year low, resulting from a world oversupply.

French Prez’s. case adjourned

PAPE’ETE, French Polynesia – A Paris court of appeal has adjourned to next May a graft case involving French Polynesia’s President Gaston Flosse and gambling establishment owner Julien Li Lem.

Li Lem had asked for the case to be adjourned because he said his new lawyer needed more time to become “more familiar with the case.”

An earlier ruling found Flosse guilty of graft and accepting bribes from Li Lem, in exchange for a gambling license. The president was fined $15,000 and given a two-year suspended jail sentence, but appealed the ruling. Flosse, 69, was reported to be furious over the court postponement.

Marshalls seeks $2.7 Billion more

MAJURO, Marshall Islands – The government is seeking $2.7 billion in additional compensation from the U.S. Congress for damages caused by American nuclear testing in the islands following World War II.

The funding requested is to be used for environmental rehabilitation programs, expanding monitoring programs, establishing occupational safety programs for people working in nuclear cleanup areas, and community education, the Marshall Islands Journal reported.

The petition said the Marshall Islands government later will present additional information on damage to Rongelap and Bikini atolls.

“As more knowledge and information emerges about the damages and inquiries wrought by the testing programs, the manifest inadequacy of (earlier compensation provisions) has become clear,” the petition to Congress said.

Solomon hostage pilot freed

HONIARA, Solomon Island – A Solomon Islander pilot, Eric Rove, held hostage by Isatabu Freedom Movement militants for the past two-and-a-half weeks, has been freed.

Rove was captured after he landed his aircraft at Babanakira, on the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal, September 16 on a scheduled flight.

His captors, who have been battling Malaita Eagle Force militants over land rights and jobs, demanded $398,000 for Rove’s release and for the return of his Solomon Airlines aircraft. Officials said the ransom was not paid.

Representatives of the Melanesian Brotherhood of the Church of Melanesia negotiated the pilot’s release on behalf of the government.

Guam wants marijuana ruling reversed

HAGATNA, Guam – The Attorney General’s Office has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reverse a lower-court ruling allowing the use of marijuana for religious purposes in the U.S. territory.

The Guam Supreme Court last month upheld a decision to dismiss marijuana charges against Benny “Rasta Ben” Guerrero, who smokes marijuana as a part of his Rastafarian religion.

Chief Prosecutor Dianne Corbett says it is not known when the court will make a decision on the request.

Guerrero was arrested at the Guam airport in 1991 with more than seven ounces of marijuana. He said use of the drug is a required sacrament of the Rastafarian faith. Justices found the government infringed on Guerrero’s right to free exercise of his religion.

Port Moresby police target drug dealers

PORT MORESBY, Papua New – Police have launched a crackdown on drug dealers in the capital, Port Moresby.

Operations targeted at squatter settlements on the fringes of the city resulted in three arrests for marijuana possession this week.

National Drug Squad commander Kapu Lua said there has been a steady increase of illicit drug use in Port Moresby this year, which is contributing to an increase in the city’s crime rate.

Cannabis is the main illegal drug being sold and used, he said, but police have noticed increasing amounts of other illegal drugs.

Fiji announces new election

SUVA, Fiji Islands – A new constitution should be in place by the end of August next year and general elections held between April and September 2002, interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase announced.

The new constitution would replace the 1997 constitution abrogated after the May 19 coup by indigenous Fijians, the unrest which followed, and the deposing of the government of Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji’s first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Qarase said Hindi translations of the draft of the new constitution would be made to “give a chance to the Indo-Fijian community to read through it.”