Deposed opposition leader shocked at court ruling

Updated October 14, 2008 12:09:54

Fiji's deposed opposition leader says last week's court ruling that the 2006 coup was legal is a shocking decision. The country's acting Chief Justice Anthony Gates ruled that President Ratu Josefa Iloilo acted correctly in dismissing Laisenia Qarase and his ministers, and that the dissolution of parliament itself was also valid. The then-opposition leader Mick Beddoes, who has not been formally dismissed, told Australia Network Pacific editor Sean Dorney that the court ruling effectively condones what he considers an act of treason.

Sean Dorney
Speaker:Fiji's deposed opposition leader, Mick Beddoes