ID :
12537
Tue, 07/15/2008 - 15:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12537
The shortlink copeid
Smith to quiz Fiji regime about poll
(AAP) - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has arrived in Fiji, putting the nation's coup leader on notice that he expects an unwavering commitment to fresh elections next year.
Smith has arrived in Suva ahead of talks on Tuesday with members of Fiji's interim administration, appointed and led by military leader Frank Bainimarama after he staged a coup in December 2006.
Australia has raised serious concerns about recent comments by Bainimarama that suggest he may abandon an earlier pledge to hold elections in the first quarter of next year.
Smith said he and other South Pacific foreign ministers who have travelled to Fiji this week expected Bainimarama to keep his word.
"We are of course charged with making a judgment about the willingness and preparedness of the interim government to meet the commitment it gave to Pacific Islands leaders to have an election by the end of March next year," Smith said.
"It is very important to the region that Fiji is a fully-fledged member of the Pacific Islands Forum, of the Commonwealth and of the region."Bainimarama, who has appointed himself prime minister, warned in recent months that he aims to root out corruption and reshape the country's race-based political system before holding elections, which could delay the polls.
Bainimarama briefly broke off contact last month with a group of South Pacific foreign ministers working to assist Fiji in meeting his original commitment to a new vote by March 2009.
Two days of talks by six foreign ministers in the 16-member Pacific Islands Forum - including Smith and New Zealand's Winston Peters - begin in Fiji on Tuesday and continue on Wednesday.
Peters said democratic elections were "critical to the economic and social turnaround of Fiji".
Since the coup, "Fiji has seen a huge slide economically and as a consequence it heightens the importance of the work we're doing," Peters told New Zealand's National Radio.
The delegation is the most senior diplomatic mission to visit Fiji since Bainimarama's coup, which critics say has resulted in widespread rights abuses in the country.
Australia and New Zealand, along with the European Union and the United States, are keeping pressure on Bainimarama to restore democracy, but Bainimarama accuses them of interfering in Fiji's internal affairs.
Smith is the first Australian minister to enter Fiji since the coup, and while he will come face to face with Bainimarama at the talks, there are no plans for a private dialogue.
Australia has been a vocal critic of the coup leader, and roundly condemned the expulsion earlier this year of two Australian newspaper publishers working in Fiji.
The publisher of the Fiji Sun newspaper, Russell Hunter, was ordered out of Fiji in February after his newspaper alleged a member of Bainimarama's government had committed tax evasion.
Fiji Times publisher Evan Hannah was forced onto a plane to South Korea in May after being labelled a security threat.
Smith has arrived in Suva ahead of talks on Tuesday with members of Fiji's interim administration, appointed and led by military leader Frank Bainimarama after he staged a coup in December 2006.
Australia has raised serious concerns about recent comments by Bainimarama that suggest he may abandon an earlier pledge to hold elections in the first quarter of next year.
Smith said he and other South Pacific foreign ministers who have travelled to Fiji this week expected Bainimarama to keep his word.
"We are of course charged with making a judgment about the willingness and preparedness of the interim government to meet the commitment it gave to Pacific Islands leaders to have an election by the end of March next year," Smith said.
"It is very important to the region that Fiji is a fully-fledged member of the Pacific Islands Forum, of the Commonwealth and of the region."Bainimarama, who has appointed himself prime minister, warned in recent months that he aims to root out corruption and reshape the country's race-based political system before holding elections, which could delay the polls.
Bainimarama briefly broke off contact last month with a group of South Pacific foreign ministers working to assist Fiji in meeting his original commitment to a new vote by March 2009.
Two days of talks by six foreign ministers in the 16-member Pacific Islands Forum - including Smith and New Zealand's Winston Peters - begin in Fiji on Tuesday and continue on Wednesday.
Peters said democratic elections were "critical to the economic and social turnaround of Fiji".
Since the coup, "Fiji has seen a huge slide economically and as a consequence it heightens the importance of the work we're doing," Peters told New Zealand's National Radio.
The delegation is the most senior diplomatic mission to visit Fiji since Bainimarama's coup, which critics say has resulted in widespread rights abuses in the country.
Australia and New Zealand, along with the European Union and the United States, are keeping pressure on Bainimarama to restore democracy, but Bainimarama accuses them of interfering in Fiji's internal affairs.
Smith is the first Australian minister to enter Fiji since the coup, and while he will come face to face with Bainimarama at the talks, there are no plans for a private dialogue.
Australia has been a vocal critic of the coup leader, and roundly condemned the expulsion earlier this year of two Australian newspaper publishers working in Fiji.
The publisher of the Fiji Sun newspaper, Russell Hunter, was ordered out of Fiji in February after his newspaper alleged a member of Bainimarama's government had committed tax evasion.
Fiji Times publisher Evan Hannah was forced onto a plane to South Korea in May after being labelled a security threat.
