rediff.com: Indian diplomat for Fiji

India will send a diplomat to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji following the military takeover in the South Pacific island, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

A communique said S T Devare, secretary of economic relations in the ministry, had been instructed to visit Australia and New Zealand for "consultations" following the declaration of martial law in Fiji.

"Devare will also visit Suva, the capital of Fiji," it said, without specifying dates or other details.

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh stopped over in London last week on his way back from Iran, to discuss the Fijian crisis with the Commonwealth and the British government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party Tuesday urged the government to take a more active stand on Fiji. ''The fact that ethnic Indians constitute over 40 per cent of Fiji's population makes it obligatory for India to step up its efforts to mobilise strong global opinion to bring the crisis to a speedy end," spokesman Venkaiah Naidu said.

"What has happened in this island nation in the Pacific Ocean is nothing short of outright thuggery," he said, adding that his party favoured trade and economic sanctions against Fiji "if necessary".

Fiji's military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who declared martial law on Monday, named Ratu Epeli Nailatikau as prime minister, Fiji Radio reported early Wednesday.

Nailatikau is the husband of Adi Koila Mara, tourism minister in the ousted government of former premier Mahendra Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian.

Mara is one of 30 hostages, including Chaudhry, being held in Parliament by coup leader George Speight, who stormed Parliament on May 19 in the name of Fiji's indigenous population.

India has condemned the attempted coup and taken up the issue with the Commonwealth, saying "concerted international pressure is necessary to restore the legitimate government in Fiji."

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