Fiji's ousted prime minister Laisenia Qarase said that a draft People s Charter would not end the country's coup culture and would marginalise its indigenous people. The charter was produced by a council headed by self-appointed interim prime minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, who overthrew Qarase in 2006, and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Petero Mataca. Released on Aug 6, the charter calls for changes to ensure "sustainable democracy and good and just governance" in the Pacific island, nation, which has suffered four coups in two decades. It proposes "to end the cycle of coups" through several changes including a new voting system and an expansion in the role of the powerful army. Qarase said the strategy, which would give the judiciary the power to punish or dissolve political parties breaching the 1997 constitution, was flawed.
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