PACIFIC BRIEFS

Vanuatu puts off no confidence vote

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (PIR) — Acting Chief Justice Vincent Lunabek has postponed until Friday any ruling on whether Parliament should be recalled for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Barak Sope.

The opposition is seeking a legal decision, claiming that Speaker Paul Ren Tari’s refusal to allow the vote to go ahead Tuesday was unconstitutional.

Tari prohibited discussion of the motion on grounds that the prime minister was suing the majority 27 Members of Parliament who signed the motion.

Sope said the motion included “defamation of character” statements and the matter must be decided by the courts.

New government elected in Noumea

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (PIR) — New Caledonia’s 54-seat Congress has elected a new eleven-member government.

The vote followed the resignation of New Caledonia’s first President, anti-independence leader Jean Lèques, who said he now wanted to devote full time to his other elected post, mayor of New Caledonia’s capital, Nouméa.

Lèques was territorial president for almost two years.

His resignation automatically required the resignation of his government.

A new president is expected to be elected Thursday.

Fiji soldiers fired on in East Timor

SUVA, Fiji Islands (PIR) — Fijian soldiers attached to New Zealand’s peacekeeping operation in East Timor were fired upon Monday but there were no injuries.

A New Zealand Army spokesman said the clash occurred near a river at the southern end of the border with Indonesian West Timor.

He said the Fijian troops returned the fire and sent out a patrol to search the area but found no one.

An investigation into the incident is continuing.

Mob rampages Irian Jaya market

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (PIR) — Scores of people rampaged through a local market Wednesday after a migrant trader stabbed and critically wounded a local youth following a dispute.

“The situation at the Abepura market is under control and we have calmed down the family of the victim,” a police officer said.

The attack caused traders at the market, mostly migrants from south and southeast Sulawesi, to panic and flee.

The market, located halfway between Jayapura and its airport in Sentani, has been the scene of frequent violence between migrant traders and the local community.