Pacific Briefs

Court setback for Fiji government

SUVA, Fiji Islands (PIR) — The Court of Appeals has upheld an earlier ruling that the current army-backed government is illegal, returning Fiji to constitutional turmoil.

The interim government, established after last May’s coup, had asked for suspension of last year’s High Court decision that the previous elected government was still legally in power and the 1997 multi-racial constitution still effective.

The Appeals Court’s Justice Sir Maurice Casey dismissed the interim government’s application, saying the High Court’s ruling was a judicial statement of the law and could not be nullified.

12 kidnapped in West Papua

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (PIR) — Separatist rebels from the Free Papua Movement have kidnapped 12 hostages in West Papua.

A police spokesman said the hostages are employees of a South Korean forestry company and include 11 Indonesians and a South Korean. Police are trying to negotiate their release.

They abduction took place on the border with neighboring Papua New Guinea.

The rebels have been fighting for independence since Indonesia occupied the former Dutch colony on the island of New Guinea in 1963.

Pacific countries warned on money laundering

PARIS, France (PIR) — Five Pacific Island countries have been warned that they face the possibility of sanctions from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, if they don’t tighten controls on money immediately.

The Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau and Vanuatu have been identified by an OECD report as tax havens for money laundering and other harmful tax practices.

All five countries have denied the OECD allegation.

Fiji heroin to be destroyed

SUVA, Fiji Islands (PIR) — A massive amount of heroin seized by police three months ago – weighing 783 pounds and worth over half a billion U.S. dollars – will be destroyed next week.

It’s believed to be the biggest seizure ever made in the Pacific region.

The heroin will be burned in an incinerator that can reach temperatures of over 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Three men face criminal charges in connection with the drug find.

Marshall islands cholera cases slowing

MAJURO, Marshall Islands (PIR) — The cholera outbreak on Ebeye, Kwajalein Atoll appears to be slowing, with the number of outpatients being treated dropping dramatically, the Marshall Islands Journal reported.

The number of assumed cases of cholera has “slowed to a trickle” since the beginning of the New Year, said Dr. Eric Lindborg, chief medical officer at the U.S. Army Kwajalein missile testing range.

More than 1,000 of the approximately 1,200 Marshall Islanders who work at the facility have been immunized with cholera vaccine.

Lindborg confirmed that no American residents of Kwajalein – who number about 3,000 – have developed the disease.