Regime fails to cut any ice in New York

[posted 29 September 2009,1630]

Interim Prime Minister Bainimarama and his entourage to New York failed to make any impression on the international community which has soundly rejected the roadmap outlined in his address to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) last week.

This was evident from the flat response to the address and the subsequent statement issued by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) which met in New York on 26 September. CMAG had a special meeting to consider developments in Fiji following the visit of Sir Paul Reeves (Commonwealth Secretary General’s special representative) to Fiji early this month.

In a statement issued after the meeting, CMAG emphasised that:

“in order for Commonwealth’s engagement with Fiji to
be meaningful and to continue, it must be inclusive of
of the participation and viewpoints of all sectors of Fiji’s
political leadership.”

This is a clear indication that the Commonwealth requires the regime to include political parties and their leaders in any process associated with Fiji’s return to constitutional rule, the views of the interim PM notwithstanding.

CMAG also expressed its “strong concern about ongoing violations of human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly, occurring under the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) in Fiji and urged the Interim Government to rescind the PER immediately”.

Further “CMAG reiterated that the Commonwealth was willing to remain engaged with Fiji in support of any good faith efforts toward the restoration of democracy, including the facilitation of a credible political dialogue process towards that end, in accordance with fundamental Commonwealth principles. CMAG called on the Interim Government to urgently confirm its readiness to resume such a dialogue process, as well as electoral preparations, as a basis upon which Commonwealth engagement could move forward.”

With regard to Fiji’s participation in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the statement read:

“In relation to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, consistent with the precedent of the earlier decision of CMAG, the Group requested the Commonwealth Games Federation to take into serious consideration CMAG’s decision in relation to the suspension of the Fiji Islands, in determining Fiji’s participation in the Games.”