Speight has repeatedly threatened to kill the hostages if there is an attempt to free them by force. Fiji's military proclaimed martial law May 29 and assented to the rightists' demands. The government and president were dismissed, a new constitution was promised that would exclude Fijians of Indian descent from high office, and the rightists were guaranteed amnesty from prosecution on release of the hostages. However, negotiations stalled after the military rejected the demand for a new government under their control. The head of the military, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, said that the inclusion of Speight, or others who carried out the coup attempt, in a new government would result in trade sanctions by the European Union, leading to the cancellation of orders for Fiji's sugar harvest.
Sugar is Fiji's main export.
Most of it is purchased in Europe at prices four times above those on the open market. But cane farmers refused to begin cutting the cane in order to press for the hostages' release. The boycott has been solid in the cane fields of the west and north. Already, sugar shipments to Malaysia, Korea, and Portugal have been deferred. The Fiji Sugar Corporation announced June 7 that workers at the country's four sugar mills would be laid off.