Fleetingly, on April 10th, Fiji's armed forces commander, Frank Bainima-rama, seemed to lose his other job as prime minister. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced the abrogation of the country's constitution, the sacking of the judiciary and the postponement of elections until 2014. Calling the president's decision deeply regrettable, Mr Bainimarama resigned and said he was heading back to barracks. Yet the next day, he and his cabinet were back in their offices, as if nothing had happened. Belying the pretence of normalcy, however, soldiers were sent into the newsrooms of the country's newspapers, and television and radio stations to prevent "negative" publicity; several foreign journalists were booted out of the country.rnMr Bainimarama said he had nothing to do with Mr Iloilo's decision. In truth, the 88-year old head of state is a puppet of the army, which is said to dose him with medication before he appears on television. Mr Bainimarama also regularly claims to be subject to the dictates of a shadowy military council. But in reality he is in charge, having purged his opponents and cultivated loyalty through rapid promotions and big pay rises for both officers and rank-and-file. Even so, at press conferences held after the abrogation of the constitution, he judiciously chose to be flanked by his most loyal naval officers, not the generals.
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