Forum Chair disappointed with Fiji dialogue breakdown [1]
Friday, June 27, 2008 - 18:07. Updated on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 16:38.
"Disappointed" was the reaction of the Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Hon. Dr. Feleti Sevele, to a decision by Commodore Frank Bainimarama to withdraw Fiji from the Fiji-Forum Joint Working Group.
Dr. Sevele had received a letter from Cdre Bainimarama, the Prime Minister's Office stated on June 25.
The working group was formed following a meeting of Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in March 2007 and was welcomed by the Fiji Interim Government. The group has had 30 meetings to date.
"I am disappointed with his decision to withdraw from the Joint Working Group," said Dr Sevele, "but for the Forum to discontinue dialogue with the Fiji Interim Government is definitely not an option available to us. We must find a way to resume that dialogue."
Dr Sevele said there were certain things that could be resolved multilaterally through the Forum and other things that could be resolved only bilaterally between Fiji and New Zealand and Australia.
"For me, what is most important right now is to ensure that the channels of communication remain open at the bilateral and multilateral and even the personal levels.
"To that end I have written to Cdre Bainimarama requesting that he allows the Ministerial Contact Group, appointed by the Meeting of Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers in Auckland in March to visit Fiji next month, as planned, for direct discussions. This will be an excellent opportunity for him and his Cabinet to have full and frank exchanges with several Senior Foreign Ministers of the Forum including Hon. Winston Peters from New Zealand and Hon. Stephen Smith from Australia".
Dr Sevele said that the Fiji Interim Prime Minister seems frustrated by the refusal of Australia and New Zealand to officially recognize the existence of the Interim Government; their continuing travel bans on individuals in Fiji who accept invitations from the Interim Government to government senior positions, and who serve on Government Committees and Statutory Boards. Cdre Bainimarama also held a view that the Joint Working Group failed to appreciate the existence of genuine initiatives and efforts by the Interim Government to take Fiji forward, such as the National Council for Building a Better Fiji, and the proposal to develop a People's Charter.