SUVA, Fiji (7 June 2000) -- The armed coup has crippled Fiji's tourist industry and as long as rebel leader GeorgeThe beaches are empty, the poolsides are empty and staff are being layed off as cancellations skyrocket. Conversely, Lorraine Evans at Beqa Divers told CDNN it's "business as usual" but no one else we talked to was willing to put such a positive spin on the crisis. Since May 19, when Speight stormed into Fiji's parliament and took the prime minister hostage, airport arrivals have dropped to just two hundred people a day. "That should be 1,800 people a day," said Paul Southey, general manager of an 83-room resort. "Any operator that tells you this crisis is not having an effect is telling an untruth." Speight continues to hold hostages, it will get worse. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK | | Racist rebel leader George Speight: "We will not be deterred by multiculturalism" |
