E&OE
11 December 2008
Joint Press Conference of the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group, Fiji
MCG CHAIRMAN HON SIONATANE TU’AKINAMOLAHI TAUMOEPEAU-TUPOU (Tonga): Ladies and Gentlemen to my extreme left is the Foreign Minister of Australia, the Honourable Stephen Smith, next to him is the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, the Honourable Murray McCully, on my immediate left is the Honourable Abal Samuel, the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea, to my right is the Honourable Fiame Mato’afa, the Minister for Women, Community and Social Development, and to her right is the Honourable Taukelina Finikaso, Minister for Communications, Transport and Tourism, and to his right is of course the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.
As you know, the last time we were here, we were duty bound to report to the Forum and the Forum took certain decisions when they met in Niue, on Fiji. One of those decisions was that we should re-engage with the interim government of Fiji to gauge whether the preparations were in place and how they see their way forward for elections. So today we have met the leader of the Labour Party, the leader of the SDL, the leader of the United General Party and the leader of the National Federation Party, together with Dr Steven Halapua. And of course we met the interim Prime Minister this morning. With those few words I’d like to bring forward some of my colleagues who may wish to make a statement before we open to the floor.
HON SAM ABAL (PNG): I think in our tradition of reporting back to Forum we will report back with what we think is our understanding of what has transpired here after meeting the interim Prime Minister and the other stakeholders in the political arena here in Fiji.
My personal understanding of what has transpired is that the meetings have been good. I think it’s positive. This time the meeting with the interim Prime Minister went off very, very well. And later on we had meetings with the other stakeholders, the political parties. They were well organised and we were able to get the views of what has happened since we were last here in July. The issues are very difficult.
It’s a difficult situation so for us we are interested parties as part of the region so we feel the need to also perform the Forum mandate given to us to report back to the Chair. Sometimes dialogue in political forums don’t take off that easily – sometimes there are different ways and different views, very strong views and so I think it’s important we do allow time for more dialogue to come out. Dialogue’s an important thing and once we put aside time to talk then we come up with something. I think it’s important that as partners we encourage dialogue not only with ourselves but more so between the interim government and the other stakeholders. Only through dialogue can we achieve something, you know. So not only the pressure for elections but it’s important that dialogue comes through and we achieve some understanding.
STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks Mr Chairman.
I think the starting point is to express our disappointment that there won’t be an election held before the end of March next year. When we were here in July, our report was that the only thing standing in the way of an election was political will. And it is unfortunate we haven’t seen the exercise of that political will. So, firstly there is disappointment that the acknowledgment formally today to us by the interim government that there won’t be an election between now and the end of March which will see the undertaking given by the interim government to the Pacific Leaders Forum in 2007 . We’ll report that to or leaders and the expectation is that they will consider that at a special Leaders Meeting in PNG - almost certainly in January. And, consequences may well flow from the failure to hold an election. In the Niue Leaders Communiqué there is reference to possibility of measures or suspension. So, consequences will follow as a result if they don’t hold an election.
Having said that, we’ve had very frank discussions both with the interim government, with Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the Attorney General and also frank discussions with the leaders of Fiji’s political leadership Mr Qarase, Mr Chuadhry, MrBeddoes and they have been very good discussions. It’s quite clear that what’s required now is a political dialogue involving the political leadership of Fiji. And what we focused most of that time on is trying to find a way forward where such a dialogue can occur in a way which will lead to an election. And, that will also form part of our report to our leaders in Niue.
We regarded our first visit here, the first visit by the Ministerial Contact Group, as being worthwhile and successful, if only because when you have a difficult problem to face, dialogue is of itself a good thing. If there has been some progress I think the progress has been the indication that there’s not just more enthusiasm for a dialogue with the Ministerial Contact Group there is more enthusiasm for dialogue amongst the political leadership of Fiji. And, we encourage that dialogue and our focus has been trying to find a way in which the international and the regional community, through the Pacific Islands Forum, through the UN, through the Commonwealth can encourage and facilitate that dialogue. We are naturally disappointed but we continue to want to work very closely with Fiji to bring Fiji back to democracy and return Fiji to an elected government and enabling an elected government to focus and concentrate on the things that really matter to the Fijian society – improving and enhancing social conditions and circumstance.
TOKASA CAMA (FM96): This is directed to the Foreign Minister of Australia. You’ve mentioned your disappointment about the meeting with Commodore Frank Bainimarama this morning - this in regards to the elections next year. Are you still pressing for the elections to be held next year?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well I think we are disappointed that it was made clear to us by the interim government that there won’t be an election before the end of March next year. And, the position of the interim government which they articulated to us today and which Commodore Bainimarama has articulated in recent weeks, particularly at the United Nations General Assembly – is not to have an election until there has been electoral or constitutional reform or change.
The only way there will be electoral or constitutional reform or change is if it is agreed between the political leadership of Fiji. Which is why we encouraged everyone today to embark on that dialogue.
Timing of any election I think will be dependant upon that dialogue and dependant upon those parties or the political leadership in Fiji agreeing to outcomes. We want to support that dialogue, facilitate it – effectively see it under the supervision of the international community. But I think the timing of an election is now dependant on the political leadership of Fiji agreeing to a political outcome.
In very many respects, Fiji’s destiny is now in the hands of its political leadership and we want to support that, we want to facilitate it and we want to encourage good outcomes. And, we want those outcomes to occur as quickly as possible.
We remain very strongly of the view that Fiji has to return to democracy, we want Fiji to return to be a fully fledged member of the Pacific Islands Forum. We want Fiji to be a robust democratic state, governed to its full potential. Fiji should be an economic power in the Pacific. It’s nowhere near that – nowhere near its potential and we see the return to democracy as being central to Fiji realising its potential and delivering to its citizens.
KAVAI (FIJILIVE.COM): Will you put a timetable on the interim government for when Fiji will go to the polls?
SAM ABAL: As the previous speaker has said, we are very disappointed that the March schedule given to the Forum has not been followed as it were. But, practically speaking now in December it seems that it is practically not possible. So, I hope it will be in the year of 2009. March is the date but we encourage them to do so much (inaudible) … the Electoral Commission to seriously prepare for an election.
We mentioned earlier that it seems to us that including the dialogue is very important between the partners. From what we heard there is a general agreement for that dialogue among all the different leaders that we spoke to today.
KAVAI (FIJILIVE.COM): From all that was discussed today and the impediments, are you convinced Fiji can hold elections next year?
TAUMOEPEAU-TUPOU: I think as the Foreign Minister of Australia made clear, the pre-condition set by the interim government is that they want to have constitutional reform before the election. To do this, they have to come to an agreement with the political parties. Only after that can they address a timeline. The political parties themselves, albeit reluctant, are nevertheless hopeful for dialogue with the interim government on this electoral reform. So, once that is done then they can focus on a timeframe for the elections. But it was also mentioned by the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea, it also hinges on the work that has to be done to electoral boundaries and supervision and so forth and they will need to work very quickly in terms of preparing electoral rolls.
EMILY MOLI (Fiji TV): This for Mr Smith. Sir you made a statement pre-departure yesterday. You mentioned that if Fiji does not hold an election by March it could be suspended from the Commonwealth and the Pacific islands Forum. Does that mean that the Contact Group will push for suspension?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, how the Commonwealth responds will be a matter for the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has a pretty much defined procedure when it comes to its membership. It has the precedent of Zimbabwe. The Commonwealth Ministerial Group, my understanding it meets in February, so the Commonwealth could come to an understanding on Fiji as early as February. In the case of the Forum, we will report to our Leaders that there is no prospect of an election by the end of March. This is not consistent with the undertaking given to us in 2007 at the Leaders Forum in Tonga, and as the Leaders indicated in their Niue Statement, they may well give consideration to measures that need to be taken in response to that, including suspension. So that will be a matter for Leaders to consider. Our report to them will indicate or report that there’s no prospect now of holding of an election and we’ll leave it to our Leaders to determine what action they believe the Pacific Islands Forum should take as a consequence of the failure to hold the election.
SHAAVNEEL CHAND (FIJILIVE.COM): We’ve got a financial crisis on our hands. We’re looking at the Pacific being the only growth area for New Zealand and Australia. What are the real chances of Fiji getting suspended?
STEPHEN SMITH: That’ll be for the Leaders of the Forum.
If there is an election between now and the end of March next year, the chances of Fiji being suspended would be zero. Because there won’t be an election between now and the end of March, the Leaders will consider it. So it is not for the Ministerial Contact Group to determine, it’s a matter for the Leaders. But, as I said, both on my departure from Australia and what I’ve said to media here, consequences necessarily flow from a walking away from democracy and consequences necessarily flow as a result of a failure to return to democracy. That’s the point that has been apparent, I think to all, for a period of time.
TOKASA CAMA (FM96): (inaudible) … knowing that the race-based voting should be taken out. What do you have to say about that?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well I think the important thing now is political dialogue between the interim government and the political leadership of the political parties and as part of that dialogue everything should be on the table. In the course of our conversions with the interim government and with various parties suggestions were made that reports which were previously done, select committee reports on constitutional reform, the Reeves Report, the Charter, suggestions in all of them that these bodies of work should be taken into account in the political dialogue as they should be and I think they will be. The key thing now is the Ministerial Contact Group and the Pacific Islands Forum doing everything they can to encourage and facilitate and in some respects supervise that political dialogue. To put it anecdotally what we’d like to see is the political leadership of Fiji – the interim government, political parties – locked in a room and having a discussion and not coming out until they’ve come to an agreement on the way forward. And it that context, every suggestion that’s been made in the past about improving or reforming Fiji’s electoral or constitutional arrangements should be on the table for them to consider. The key thing is not what my view might be or what the Ministerial Contact Group’s view might be about a particular constitutional or electoral reform, the key thing is Fiji’s political parties and political leadership agreeing on that and agreeing on a way forward. That’s the only way now that there will be an enduring durable process to see Fiji return to democracy as quickly as possible. Thank you.
ELENOA BASELALA (Islands Business Magazine): The political dialogue looks like the last lifeline to Fiji. What happens if after this dialogue, the Political Forum comes up with an outcome and Commodore Bainimarama decides he won’t come to the table.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, in these things you always take things step by step and as I say there are adverse consequences which flow from walking away form democracy and there are adverse consequences from not returning to democracy.
My own view is that we’ve seen deterioration in Fiji’s economic circumstances as a result of moving away from democracy. I think there’s an argument that we want to see Fiji’s economic and social circumstances repaired and improved, and integral to that in our view is a return to democracy and an election.
There are always adverse consequences when people move away from democracy. It’s not good for the nation state concerned, it’s not good for the region, it’s not good for the international community, it’s not good for Fiji’s people and that’s why the Forum itself and the leadership, the Leaders of the Forum, are so acutely interested in seeing a return to democracy so far as Fiji is concerned. Fiji’s return to democracy would not only be good for Fiji, it would be good for the region and good for the international community and that’s why we’re prepared to continue to do everything we can to assist the return as quickly as possible.
Thank you.
[Ends]
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