LONDON — The 53-nation Commonwealth suspended Fiji automatically today after it failed to respond to a demand to begin restoring democracy to the island nation.
The Commonwealth had demanded that the South Pacific nation meet conditions — such as resuming a dialogue with opposition groups and holding early elections — by midnight local time (1200 GMT, 5 a.m. PDT), or face suspension.
“This is an announcement I make with deep regret — it is a step the Commonwealth is now obliged to take, and one that it takes in sorrow,” Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said in a statement.
Sharma said he had received a letter from self-appointed Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Aug. 21 which reaffirmed a commitment to the principles of the Commonwealth. But Sharma said the letter did not meet the terms required of the island nation and he had informed Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who heads the group of nations, as well as all the other Commonwealth governments.
The Commonwealth, comprising the United Kingdom, its dependencies, and many former British colonies, ruled in July that unless Fiji met its demands, the nation would face being cut off from all aid from the group and banned from the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Fiji has been under military rule since Bainimarama, the country’s armed forces chief, seized power in a 2006 coup. His government had promised elections earlier this year, but Bainimarama reneged on the promise, saying he needed more time to root out corruption and reshape the country’s political system.
The Commonwealth, the European Union and United States have condemned the failure to carry through with his pledge.
Fiji’s military-led regime said earlier today that nothing will sway it from its roadmap to hold elections in 2014 — despite its imminent suspension from the Commonwealth.
“Nothing’s going to change, whatever … this is the roadmap,” spokesman Lt. Col. Neumi Leweni told New Zealand National Radio. “We will let you know if there is any communique that needs to be put out once we’ve been informed formally what is going to happen.”
Fiji has had a strained relationship with the Commonwealth in recent years.
Fiji already is left out of Commonwealth’s meetings since Bainimarama’s coup and often has seen its Commonwealth membership restricted.
The nation was first suspended in 1987 following a coup led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka, but was readmitted a decade later after he made a formal apology to the queen.
It was again suspended when Bainimarama abrogated the constitution in 2000. It was readmitted the next year, but suspended from the Commonwealth’s councils when Bainimarama seized power in December 2006.
Today’s action formally suspends the nation from all Commonwealth activities.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
