BOMB THREATS, STRIKES AS FIJI SEES END TRADE BAN
Fiji today welcomed the ending of a trade
ban imposed by Australian labor unions as supporters of the
country's ousted prime minister Timoci Bavadra renewed pressure
for his reinstatement with strikes and shop closures.
    The government welcomed a decision by the Australian
Waterside Workers' Federation to lift its ban on shipments to
Fiji, imposed in support of Bavadra, whose newly-elected
government was overthrown in a military coup on May 14.
    The ban had threatened food shortages of imported wheat,
fresh vegetables and medicines. A direct result of the union
decision would be the immediate shipment of 9,000 tons of rice
and wheat from an Australian port, the government said.
    Shops in Nadi and Lautoka, center of the country's sugar
industry, closed again today in support of Bavadra.
    In Nadi two bomb threats forced evacuation of the
Australian Westpac bank, but police said they turned out to be
a hoax. Bavadra has launched a campaign of civil disobedience
to press for his reinstatement.
 Reuter
