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The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) statement on Fiji following its meeting in London on 12th May, 2008 fails to recognize the on ground realities in Fiji and the progress the Interim Government has already been making in creating an environment for dialogue, consensus building and for taking the country forward. These are the comments of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister, as he responded to the position taken by CMAG.
He said that Fiji is committed to the regional processes, including the Fiji/Forum Joint Working Group which has been regularly meeting to discuss the progress which we have been making pertaining to the roadmap for returning the country to parliamentary democracy. Recently, Fiji gave a detailed account of the milestones achieved in this regard at the Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting held in Auckland.
With regard to a call by CMAG to expedite preparations for Elections under the current Constitutional arrangements, Commodore Bainimarama said that the Electoral-related bodies are independently pursuing their preparatory work based on their respective work programmes. The Constitutional Offices Commission has also been working tirelessly in completing necessary processes to recruit a suitable Supervisor of Elections.
Commodore Bainimarama, however, requested the International Community to take time to better understand the difficulties which Fiji faces in convening elections under the current electoral provisions. These provisions are not only warped and unfair, they have been to some extent responsible for the ongoing disenchantment and political instability which Fiji has faced since gaining Independence in 1970. In the wake of the actions taken by the RFMF on 5th December 2006, Fiji and its people now need to focus on ensuring genuine democracy in Fiji. Holding elections under the current electoral provisions of the Constitution will not help us in bringing about genuine and sustainable democracy in Fiji. That is why there is a strong push to get the required electoral reforms implemented, with the proviso that any changes should be duly considered by all key stakeholders including all the political parties, and also that they are within the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the land.
Concerning the CMAG’s concerns at reports indicating that the independence of the judiciary and freedom of media were being compromised, Commodore Bainimarama said that it is unfair for the international community to take such reports at face value without seeking inputs from the Fiji authorities. It is most unfortunate that we are being judged thousands of miles away, based on reports written by the usual critics of the Interim Government, without objectively and constructively providing the facts as they relate to the on-ground situation and the views of authorities who have substantive information and data to prove otherwise.
Commodore Bainimarama said that he was disappointed by the process followed by the CMAG at their meeting on 12th May. There seemed to have been insufficient effort to understand the practical difficulties of the situation in Fiji. It was unfortunate that Fiji had not been invited to the Commonwealth Ministerial meeting and thus had no opportunity to contribute its own views on the way forward towards the election that the Interim Government had pledged to hold early in 2009.
Commodore Bainimarama noted however CMAG has “requested the Commonwealth Secretary-General to remain engaged with Fiji, to deploy his good offices to offer relevant technical assistance”. In this context, Commodore Bainimarama referred to His Excellency, the President’s recent letter to the Secretary-General and also to the exchange of communication between himself and the Secretary-General.
Commodore Bainimarama said in light of this, he very much hoped that it would still be possible for Fiji to continue with the more constructive engagement offered by the new Commonwealth Secretary-General in recent correspondence with him. If the Commonwealth Secretary-General felt able to dialogue more frequently, more inclusively and constructively, there was every possibility that the urgent and endemic issues facing Fiji could be progressed. He said that the Commonwealth Secretary-General was of course very welcome to visit Fiji to judge the situation for himself.
Commodore Bainimarama concluded by saying that Fiji is not deviating in any way from the commitments it has made to the International Community. The Interim Government is committed to returning Fiji to genuine parliamentary democracy as soon as possible in 2009.
-Ends-
No:0714
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