Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
SUVA, Fiji – Fiji’s military-run government has accused diplomats from Australia and New Zealand of meddling in its internal affairs and has ordered them to leave the country.
Fijian army chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who seized control of the government in a 2006 coup, believes that Canberra and Wellington were “engaged in a dishonest and untruthful strategy to undermine our judiciary, our independent institutions and our economy.”
The Fiji Foreign Affairs Minister issued a directive to Australia and New Zealand to recall their diplomats within twenty-four hours.
Australia and New Zealand, the most vocal countries in terms of criticisms of Fiji, have threatened to extend the travel ban imposed on all senior government officials to these judges.
Their interference stems from Fiji’s attempts to recruit Sri Lankan judges, who would replace those members of the judiciary who were fired last April because they declared Bainimarama’s government illegal.
Fiji’s chief justice Anthony Gates stated that its neighbors’ actions are unprecedented, especially in light of the fact that the judges did not violate any laws, either internationally or domestically.
Bainimarama further stated that Australia and New Zealand have “fail[ed] to understand that [he is] creating a country that will be based on equal and common citizenry, a country of modern laws, a country which will have true democracy.”
According to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Bainimarama’s actions have forced them to take a “hardline approach to [this] regime” in order to prevent the “coup culture” from spreading to other nations in the Pacific region.
The Foreign Affairs Minister of New Zealand claims that the travel ban has been effective because it “incentivizes people not to be a part of the regime”.
The relationship amongst the three nations has been in decline since 2006, with New Zealand and Australia cutting defense ties and imposing travel bans on Bainimarama and the senior military officials.
Tensions have become increasingly intense in Fiji as Bainimarama has censored the media and extended military rule until 2014.
The Commodore refuses to hold elections for another five years, hoping to change the electoral system before holding a ballot. He hopes to eliminate the racism and corruption that has plagued the country.
Under the current electoral system, individuals in some constituencies may only cast votes for those candidates within their ethnic communities.
Fiji’s population is ethnically diverse. Tensions among various ethnic groups have resulted in three of the four coups which have occurred in the past twenty-two years.
In September, the Commonwealth of Nations, comprised of 53 states, suspended Fiji’s membership after the government refused to hold elections in 2010. Further, the Commonwealth cut off aid and barred Fiji from participating in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Fiji has also been denied membership in the Pacific Islands Forum, a group of sixteen nations, including New Zealand and Australia.
The EU similarly extended the trade sanctions on Fiji in an attempt to force the government to address human rights abuses and restore democracy.
For more information, please see:
Bloomberg – Australia, New Zealand Expels Fiji’s Top Envoys as Row Escalates – 04 November 2009
Voice of America – Fiji’s Diplomatic Tussle with Australia, New Zealand Escalates – 04 November 2009
RTT News – Fiji Expels New Zealand, Australia Envoys – 03 November 2009
