Pacific Islands Report

Fiji military dismisses new coup rumors

SUVA, Fiji Islands—Military Forces Commander Colonel Ratu George Kadabulevu has issued a statement rejecting rumors of an imminent coup against the government of Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

He said the military will not be used in any way to overthrow or promote the downfall of a legitimate government.

Rumors of a coup have escalated since radical Taukei Movement president Apisai Tora last week said Chaudhry was inviting a coup by ignoring the interests of indigenous Fijians.

Marshall Islands to cut more jobs

MAJURO, Marshall Islands—Sixty-six more government workers are to be terminated soon, concluding an over five-year process to reduce the government payroll by 30 percent.

Following implementation of the final cuts, the Asian Development Bank will release an additional government reform program loan of $3 million.

More than 700 government positions have been eliminated since 1995, resulting in a current payroll of 1,484 workers.

Personnel in the ministries of health and education and the police department make up the bulk of the final round of cuts, primarily because they were spared from earlier reductions, the Marshall Islands Journal reports.

Nauru to elect new president

YAREN, Nauru–Parliament will meet Tuesday to elect a new President following Saturday’s general election in which some 4,000 Nauruans aged 21 years and over went to the polls to elect 18 parliamentarians.
Two former presidents, Kennan Adeang and Rueben Kun, were defeated in the weekend balloting as well as Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ludwig Keke.

Toxic waste to cross Pacific again

SUVA, Fiji Islands —A 110-ton shipment of toxic U.S. military waste from bases in Japan is heading back across the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver, Canada aboard the container ship Wan He.
The waste was destined for processing in Canada but local authorities stopped the shipment when environmentalists complained about Canada becoming a dumping ground for foreign toxic waste. The waste was prohibited from entering the U.S.
The discarded transformers and other electrical equipment are expected to be unloaded when the ship reaches Japan. However, it is unclear what the military will do with the material laced with cancer-causing PCBs.

A. Samoa toughens immigration laws

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa—Governor Tauese Sunia has called for tougher territorial immigration laws, calling current regulations “too weak and prone to abuse.”
He said the recent influx of immigrants, primarily from neighboring independent Samoa, is one of the reasons behind the territory’s high population growth and economic problems.
The governor also wants to tighten loopholes that allow Asian garment workers to stay in the territory once their work contracts have expired. (Pacific Islands Report)