SUVA, Fiji (9 Dec 2006) -- The Commonwealth suspended Fiji's membership yesterday in protest at this week's military coup - the third time in 20 years that the Pacific nation has been suspended because of military takeovers. The decision was made by an action group of foreign ministers from several countries, including Britain, meeting in London. As a result, Fiji will be banned from all Commonwealth meetings until democracy is restored. Technical assistance programmes will also be suspended. It came as witnesses reported hearing sustained gunfire from inside Fiji's main military barracks this morning, four days after the army overthrew the government. Residents of the capital, Suva, told Reuters they heard gunfire in the Queen Elizabeth barracks, which continued for 30 minutes. The military later described it as "an unscheduled shooting exercise". On Tuesday, Fiji's military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, announced that he had taken control, saying the prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, was corrupt and had been too lenient towards the plotters of a coup in 2000. The Commonwealth secretary general, Don McKinnon, said all member countries have been asked to put pressure on Fiji to restore democracy. "The Commonwealth ministerial action group unanimously and unequivocally condemned the military takeover of Fiji's democratically elected government, in total disregard of the authority of the prime minister and parliament," he said yesterday. Mr McKinnon added that he hoped the crisis would be resolved peacefully. "Just because this was a bloodless coup, it doesn't always remain that way," he said. Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, has condemned the coup as "wholly unconstitutional" and "a major setback" to the island's process of democracy. Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth in 1987 after a coup, and was readmitted in 1997. The state was also suspended in 2000 after Commodore Bainimarama declared martial law, and readmitted a year later. | 
