10 in alleged Fiji plot appear in court

Ten men appeared in court Tuesday on charges of inciting mutiny and conspiring to kill Fiji's interim leader, who said the island nation would have faced bloodshed and instability if security forces had not foiled the alleged plot.

The 10, including former military and intelligence officers, were among 16 people arrested since Saturday in what police said was a foiled plot by dissident troops and others against Commodore Frank Bainimarama. He seized power in December 2006 and declared himself interim prime minister of Fiji, which has had four coups in 20 years.

"I am standing here before you, of course happy to be alive," Bainimarama told reporters in his first public comments since the arrests.

Bainimarama said police and military forces had "uncovered a situation which, if not foiled, would have led to serious unrest, bloodshed and instability in Fiji."

"I am also able to say with confidence that the plan to kill me and a number of others, and thereby endanger the lives of other innocent citizens of this country, has failed," he said.

The 10 who appeared in Suva Magistrate's Court did not enter a plea but were ordered to reappear Wednesday.

The court was told the plotters' targets included Bainimarama, Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum and two senior military officers.

Among those charged were five former soldiers, including former Fiji land forces commander Col. Jone Baledrokadroka and the former director of Fiji's Intelligence Service, Col. Metuisela Mua.

Others were members of the now-disbanded elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, that staged a November 2000 mutiny against Bainimarama in which eight troops were killed. Bainimarama escaped death by climbing out a rear window of the officers' mess and fleeing into the jungle.

Five civilians also face charges.

The Department of Public Prosecutions earlier withdrew charges of treason — apparently because they relate to actions to remove a legitimate government, and Bainimarama's coup-installed regime faces a court challenge that it lacks legitimacy to govern.

Bainimarama said the security situation in Fiji "is firmly under control, the suspects have been either charged, released or are currently under investigation."

The sweep of arrests has drawn international concern.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has called it a pretext to round up Bainimarama's opponents, and she protested the rough treatment of a New Zealand citizen detained in the alleged plot and reportedly beaten by police.

Fiji police commissioner Esala Teleni pointed to possible involvement of "foreign governments" — understood to mean Australia and New Zealand. The two countries have dismissed that as "absurd" and "farfetched."

In a bid to lessen their displeasure, Bainimarama said that "at no time have we directly implicated Australia or New Zealand in this foiled assassination plot."

"I therefore very much regret the distorted and sensational reporting of this matter over the past few days," he said, adding that if any such evidence had been found, it would have been communicated directly to the relevant government.

He also restated his commitment to hold democratic elections in the first quarter of 2009.

Western nations have urged Bainimarama to restore democracy in Fiji and expressed concern when he imposed a monthlong state of emergency in September.

The country of about 900,000 people relies heavily on a thriving tourist industry.