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 SUVA, Fiji (AP) - Fiji's coup leader said Thursday that the military could rule for "up to 50 years" unless the Pacific island's powerful tribal chiefs approve an interim government. The editor of one of Fiji's three daily newspapers, meanwhile, said he was being deported for opposing the regime.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama's declaration escalated a standoff with the Great Council of Chiefs, which has the power to give the military takeover a veneer of legality by approving his plans for an appointed government. It has so far refused to do so.
"If the Great Council decides to hold off appointing a president, this transitional regime can rule for up to 50 years," Bainimarama told Radio Fiji.
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