[JURIST] Fiji's military commander and self-declared interim Prime Minister Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC profile] announced in a radio broadcast Thursday that a state of emergency will be imposed in Fiji [government website; JURIST news archive] for the next month. Bainimarama said the emergency measures will not have a major effect on citizens and were enacted in response to the return of exiled former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase [Wikipedia profile] on Saturday. Qarase reportedly returned to Fiji over the weekend in advance of litigation seeking to declare as illegal the December 2006 coup that overthrew his government.

Bainimarama originally declared a state of emergency in Fiji after overthrowing the government in a military coup [JURIST reports] on December 5, 2006. The emergency powers withdrew some rights protected under the Fijian constitution [text] and allowed the military to detain civilians at will. The government of Fiji subsequently lifted the emergency regulations [JURIST report] May 31. AFP has more.