Fiji tribal chiefs refuse to recognize new regime

Fiji's powerful council of tribal chiefs refused to recognize the country's military regime on Thursday, as the newly installed prime minister conceded the takeover was illegal but defended it as necessary to clean up corruption in the government.

Consolidating his grip on the South Pacific nation, armed forces commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama used his self-appointed powers to remove Fiji's Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi from his office and official residence late Wednesday.

Fiji's hugely influential Great Council of Chiefs, who appointed Madraiwiwi and President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, threw its support behind the two leaders despite Bainimarama's announcement Tuesday that he had assumed presidential powers.

"Ratu Josefa Iloilo is still the president," Council Chairman Ratu Ovini Bokini told news network Radio Legend. And, "Ratu Joni's removal from office is illegal, unconstitutional and most disrespectful."

The criticism leaves Bainimarama increasingly isolated, with no significant group in Fiji expressing even tacit public support for the takeover, amid the commander's claims that unnamed people are plotting civil disobedience.