2 Apr 2007

Fiji soldiers pullout from checkpoints, police take over

1:31 pm on 2 April 2007

The Fiji interim government says the military's withdrawal from the checkpoints set up following the coup is in line with its plan to move towards normalisation.

The military pulled out of the checkpoints over the weekend and handed them over to members of the police.

However, the emergency regulations put in place in December are still in force.

The interim prime minister's private secretary, Parmesh Chand, says the pullout is in accordance with its plan.

"We are moving in the direction. Obviously the first step was the military personnel were not carrying arms and the next step is them moving away from the checkpoints and the third issue of course is the emergency regulations, which will be looked at at an appropriate time."

Parmesh Chand says this will be done within the next few weeks after a further review and assessment of the security situation.