LONDON, Reuters:

The Commonwealth, an association of mostly former British colonial territories, suspended Fiji yesterday after a bloodless military coup this week that has been widely condemned.

"Fiji's military regime should forthwith be suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth," the group's Secretary-General Don McKinnon said in a statement.

McKinnon, who said he hoped to travel to Fiji in the near future to press for a return to democracy, said the suspension decision had been taken unanimously by a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.

The Commonwealth is an association of 53 countries with 1.8 billion citizens, one-third of the world's population. It does not have a formal charter, but promotes peace, democracy, the rule of law, equality for all and an end to poverty.

It condemned the bloodless coup earlier this week saying it was a serious violation of Commonwealth principles. Suspension will mean the end of technical assistance programmes and could damage trade.

Rifts over Fiji's military takeover have widened as powerful traditional chiefs and politicians disagreed over whether to back the overthrow of the South Pacific island nation's government.

Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase remained defiant, calling on bureaucrats not to cooperate with the military. He appeared to concede his government was finished, but said he would return to the capital Suva next week.

Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States have imposed economic and defence sanctions.