Fiji hostages release expected by weekend

SUVA, Fiji Islands-The 31 hostages, including ousted Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, could be freed by the weekend if an accord between the military and coup leader George Speight is signed as planned.

After days of lengthy negotiations between military commander Frank Bainimarama and Speight, lawyers for both sides are was scheduled to sign an accord for the installation of a new interim government.

The government lineup has not been announced, but will likely include Josefa Iloilo as president and former banking head Laisenia Qarase as prime minister.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has plans in place to give medical treatment and trauma counseling to the hostages, who have been held up in the Parliament building for more than a month.

Former bishop favored as Solomon Islands PM
HONIARA, Solomon Islands-Former United Church Bishop Leslie Boseto is being mentioned as a favorite in next week’s election for prime minister.

The Parliament will meet to choose a successor to former Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, who was forced to resign last week following a coup brought on by the warring Malaitan Eagle Force and Isatabu Freedom Movement.

The country’s political observers say Boseto is a respected leader who played a leading role in the negotiations that eventually led to the signing of the peace agreement on Bougainville.

Governor General Sir John Eni Lapli set June 28 as the date when the Parliament will choose a new prime minister in an effort to end the political upheaval in the country.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press report quoted the ousted premier as saying that a neutral military force is needed to guarantee the safety of lawmakers who will choose a new leader for the Solomon Islands.

Hopes for a peaceful end to the political crisis were growing after leaders from two warring ethnic factions held face-to-face talks Tuesday, their first since one side seized the capital June 5 and forced Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa’alu to resign. An uneasy cease-fire has been in place for nearly two weeks.

But Ulufa’alu, serving as caretaker leader, said his government was still seeking talks with Malaita and Isatabu rebels to ensure the safety of lawmakers set to choose a new premier June 28.

“This is very important because unless there is a guarantee that MPs will be safe, what guarantee is there that we won’t end up hostages, as happened in Fiji?” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Foreign legion pulling out of French Polynesia
PAPE’ETE, French Polynesia-After 37 years in the Pacific, the French Foreign Legion regiment will officially disband in the territory at the end of the month.

The Legion first came to French Polynesia in 1963 to help with infrastructure development during the Cold War era, including the building of airstrips and other construction projects in isolated outside islands.

Most of the active members have already left in the past year due to the end of the Cold War and worldwide reduction of military forces.

There are about 1,000 retired Legion members who have married native Polynesians and remain in French Polynesia to raise their families.

Hawai’i team to study PNG gravesite remains
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea-A team of U.S. military personnel and a civilian scientist left East New Britain with the remains from five gravesites in the province for identification at the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawai’i.

The remains were collected from a graveyard at Makurapau plantation near Ralubang Village that is believed to be the burial site of U.S. servicemen who fought the Japanese in the region during World War II.

Identification of the remains is expected to take from six months to a year.

Officials said searches throughout the Asia-Pacific region for remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action have been dependent on local witnesses pointing out possible gravesites as well as other U.S. war relics, which the team registers for record purposes.