Fiji to lift state of emergency

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Fiji's military-led government says it will lift the state of emergency it imposed last month when deposed PM Laisenia Qarase re-entered politics.

A military spokesman said that the measures would end on Saturday because there was no threat to the nation.

Mr Qarase was ousted in a coup in 2006 but returned to the capital, Suva, in September from voluntary exile.

Military leaders accused him and his party of trying to destabilise the country, and took the emergency steps.

The state of emergency has worried the international community and drawn strong criticism from Fiji's major aid donors.

'No threat'

Military spokesman Lt-Col Mosese Tikoitoga said that there was no need to prolong the measures, which allowed the government to restrict public protests and detain people without charge.

"The military is confident and we want to inform the public of Fiji that we do not see any threat to the nation or its people," he said.

A previous state of emergency was lifted in May, five months after the military took power.

Mr Qarase, meanwhile, on Thursday began a legal challenge against the military leaders who deposed him.

His lawyers are arguing that the coup was illegal and all government actions since then have been invalid.