Necessity for Fiji coup 'non-existent'

An opinion piece in the top British magazine Economist claims that the necessity for a coup in Fiji was non-existent.

The article, which appears in this week's issue, says that while coupmakers claim they act only with great reluctance and say that an elected government will be restored swiftly, such promises tend to get broken.

Under the headline "Democracy Defiled", the article mentions the circumstances under which the Fiji army seized power and likens it to when General Pervez Musharraf seized power in Pakistan in 1999.

"Seven years later he continues to run the country and to wear his uniform. Pakistan is no more stable, let alone more democratic, than it was before he took charge," it says.

The article looks at the botched coup in the Philippines in February this year and the successful ones on Thailand in September and in Fiji on December 5.