[JURIST] The government of Fiji [official website; JURIST news archive] Thursday lifted emergency regulations imposed on the country since unrest in early December. Military commander and self-declared interim Prime Minister Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC profile] declared a state of emergency after overthrowing the government in a military coup [JURIST reports] on December 5. The emergency powers withdrew some rights protected under the Fijian constitution [text] and allowed the military to detain civilians at will. Ending the state of emergency was part of a deal worked out with the European Union [press release, DOC] that will allow Fiji to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in aid [press release, DOC] spread over eight years. Bainimarama said that police still have the power to detain people at will when public order is threatened.

The 2006 coup was the fourth in the Pacific island nation [Wikipedia backgrounders] since 1987. AFP has more.