The World - News from Sept. 28, 1987

Fijian army commander Sitiveni Rabuka ordered the closure of all financial institutions in what banking officials said was an attempt to prevent the mass withdrawal of money. Col. Rabuka, who seized control of the country Friday in his second coup in five months, directed the closure “until further notice” in a broadcast on Radio Fiji. No reason for the order was given. Rabuka also met with Governor General Penaia Ganilau, the man whose executive powers he seized, to discuss a future government for the ethnically divided South Pacific island nation. Rabuka said he plans to declared Fiji a republic on Oct. 10, the 17th anniversary of independence from Britain, and make Ganilau the nation’s first president.