Pacific island leaders were yesterday grappling with how to deal with Fiji’s defiant military rulers, as they met in Vanuatu for a summit which will also address climate change.
Fiji’s flag is still flying at Pacific Islands Forum venues, but it remains suspended from the region’s most important grouping after reneging on a promise to hold elections.
Forum chair Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapei has said that Fiji — which has torn up its Constitution and dismissed the judiciary since military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama seized power in 2006 — would be discussed at a picturesque private beachside resort north of the capital Port Vila.
PHOTO: AFP
Australia and New Zealand have strongly supported Fiji’s suspension from the grouping, but its absence has prompted questions about the forum’s relevance and its ability to help lift Pacific islanders out of poverty.
“Fiji is an important regional actor in the Pacific because of its traditional role, because of its geographic location, because it is one of the larger islands in population and economy,” Christian Leffler, head of the EU delegation to the forum, told reporters. “When Fiji is not participating fully in regional cooperation ... as witnessed by their absence from this Pacific Islands Forum meeting, that also weakens the possibility to take the region forward.”
Ahead of the meeting, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he expected the forum to reaffirm Fiji’s suspension, but that Bainimarama was unlikely to be moved simply by political pressure.
When there was more momentum from Fijians to return to democracy, “you’re more likely to get an outcome that’s acceptable to Pacific island leaders,” Key said.
Bainimarama is not the only leader absent from the annual two-day meeting of Pacific nations, which began on Wednesday.
Australia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu have sent foreign ministers or senior envoys as they face elections at home, while Papua New Guinea’s leader Michael Somare has excused himself to confront domestic issues.
Those leaders who did make it to Havannah Resort on the main island of Efate were greeted by Natapei as the waves gently lapped on the white sands of the beach below.
The forum includes some of the world’s smallest and poorest countries, but Vanuatu also boasts pristine blue waters teeming with fish and fringed by tropical blooms.
“It helps a lot because when you look at people in the country with very little, nothing in their pockets, but they still smile and enjoy themselves, it makes it easier for a leader,” Natapei told reporters. “They don’t worry about resources and material things.”
Palau President Johnson Toribiong said climate change was the highest priority for smaller Pacific island states, which fear rising sea levels caused by higher temperatures could force evacuations.
“We are not very well versed on the scientific aspects of the issue,” he said, adding that this meant that leaders wanted to examine the problem from a worst-case scenario.
“I think we should take the most cautious and conservative approach ensuring that at least we don’t feel that we have dropped the ball,” he said. “We have to break the talk barrier ... it should not stop the small island states from raising their hands and stomping their feet and speaking out loud.”
Toribiong said that the 40-year-old Pacific Islands Forum, which groups a diverse 16 nations, promoted a process for the region to speak “with one voice.”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was