| Home
New Zealand premier likens Fiji to Zimbabwe
Asia Pacific News.Net
Wednesday 20th August, 2008 (IANS)
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Wednesday the situation in Fiji, whose military ruler has boycotted a regional summit meeting, was like Zimbabwe in the lead-up to its suspension from the British Commonwealth.
Clark was talking to reporters at the opening of the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue, which Fiji strongman Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama refused to attend after backing down on a promise he gave his colleagues last year to hold fresh elections by next March.
Bainimarama, who ousted the democratically elected government in December 2006 and declared himself prime minister, sent a letter to the forum saying that he might withdraw Fiji from the forum if it renews its pressure for an early election.
'I will be compelled to tell the people of my country that they must now be prepared to suffer more sanctions and international isolation as we pursue a better, more durable democracy,' he wrote.
Clark said Bainimarama's refusal to front up to his peers reminded her of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the eventual suspension of Zimbabwe from the British Commonwealth in March 2002.
Fiji's attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, hit back from the capital Suva, telling Radio New Zealand, 'We are willing to engage in constructive dialogue, not name calling - not calling Fiji Zimbabwe, which is a ridiculous proposition, not calling Commodore Bainimarama Mugabe.'
He said Fiji would hold elections in its time and accused Clark and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who accused Bainimarama of 'contempt for democracy' and of 'embarking on a neo-colonialist path.'
Leaders of the 16-member Pacific Islands Forum are expected to discuss the Fiji situation when they meet in retreat behind closed doors.
 Email this story to a friend
Have your say on this story
|
 |
 |
- North Korea fires two more missiles: Report
Seoul, July 4 (DPA) North Korea fired two more missiles off its east coast, according to South Korean media reports early Saturday. [read story]
- North Korea cements military ties with Myanmar
Exile Myanmar media have voiced alarm in recent days at reports of growing ties between Myanmar and nuclear-armed North Korea. [read story]
- Seoul to spend billions on thwarting North Korea threat
Seoul, July 3 (DPA) South Korea Friday announced plans to spend billions on sophisticated technology to counter the perceived threat of a North Korean nuclear attack. [read story]
- India-Japan stitch a comprehensive economic partnership pact
Tokyo, July 3 : India and Japan on Friday agreed to cooperate on pressing global issues of climate change, disarmament and non-proliferation while moving ahead in negotiations to stitch a comprehensive economic partnership pact. [read story]
- India, Japan to work for early FMCT, fast-track economic pact
Tokyo/New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) India and Japan, the only country to have been attacked by atomic bombs, Friday decided to work together for an early conclusion of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and to fast-track negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. [read story]
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
