Fiji’s military rulers accused Australia of scuttling a regional summit that Fiji was to host this month and yesterday announced the expulsion of the top Australian diplomat for alleged interference in the Pacific island’s affairs.
Fijian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ratu Inoke Kubuabola said in a statement that the Australian Acting High Commissioner Sarah Roberts had been declared persona non grata.
“Her expulsion is regrettable and a direct result of recent reports that Ms Roberts has been interfering with the internal affairs of Fiji and conducting unfriendly acts,” he said.
Australia immediately condemned the expulsion, which comes amid a deep diplomatic rift between the countries that began in 2006, when Fiji’s democratically elected government was overthrown by military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Australia and New Zealand have been the loudest international critics of Bainimarama and have pressured the leader to restore democracy.
In November last year, Fiji expelled Australia and New Zealand’s top envoys, known as high commissioners. Australia and New Zealand retaliated by expelling Fiji’s high commissioner.
Roberts took over as high commissioner after the expulsions and talks between the three states had shown signs of an improvement in relations — until Roberts was thrown out yesterday.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith said Fiji’s move was “unjustifiable” and “deeply disappointing” but that Australia had no plans to retaliate, saying that would leave Fiji without representation in Australia and end any formal diplomatic contact.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also condemned the move.
“We are greatly concerned that Fiji continues to take itself beyond and outside the workings of the international community,” Gillard told reporters in Canberra. “We will be making very, very clear to Fiji our protest about this unreasonable and uncalled for action.”
Smith said the expulsion was linked to Monday’s cancellation of a regional summit scheduled to take place this month in Fiji. Vanuatuan Prime Minister Edward Natapei chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — which includes Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu — said the meeting had been postponed due to the potential “long-term ramifications” of allowing Fiji to chair it.
“There are basic fundamental principles and values of democracy and good governance that our organization is built on and we must continue to uphold them,” Natapei said in a statement.
Australia had not publicly opposed the scheduled meeting, but had spoken out against an additional meeting that Bainimarama had proposed that Fiji should lead and that would have included other Pacific nations.
In an interview with New Zealand’s Radio Tarana, Bainimarama blamed Australia for persuading Vanuatu to cancel the MSG meeting and said he is considering canceling elections planned for 2014 because of constant interference from Australia and New Zealand.
“I am all of a sudden thinking we might not be ready for 2014 for elections if we don’t get any assistance from Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“If we reach 2014 and we are not ready because of constant interfering, we are not going to give up our government to political parties,” he added.
Kubuabola accused Australia of scuttling the summit, undermining Fiji’s sovereignty and weakening its economy.
“This has been further highlighted by calling on MSG countries, especially Vanuatu, not to attend the MSG Leaders Summit,” Kubuabola said. “The MSG leaders summit and associated meetings is very important to Fiji and the Pacific countries given the opportunity it presents to expand ties in trade, tourism and peoples exchange.”
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