Interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum told the local media that the government will appoint a special team to try and mend relations between the two countries.
McDonald was summoned to the foreign office where she was handed her letter, declaring her persona non grata, a similar status imposed on her predecessor, Michael Green in June last year.
“Ms McDonald was declared persona non grata under Article 23 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Offices. The same article does not require the sending state (Fiji) to explain to the receiving state (New Zealand) the reasons for the expulsion,” said a senior government official.
The official, who spoke on condition on anonymity, said Fiji has exhausted every means of trying to resolve this diplomatic row, thus the decision to “send her back home.”
“We expect New Zealand to take tough retaliatory action, it might mean sending back home our acting high commissioner there, Cama Tuiloma, but that is normal,” the official said.
Reaction was swift from Wellington with Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully ordering the repatriation of Fiji’s acting high commissioner, Cama Tuiloma.
“I have instructed officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to call in the acting high commissioner from Fiji. He will be advised that he has been declared persona non-grata and given one week to leave this country. In responding quickly and directly, we wish to emphasize that we do not wish to derail the prospect of the meeting of Pacific Forum leaders in late January making progress in dealing with the issues involving Fiji.”
McCully said the expulsion of their diplomat was “disappointing but not surprising.”
“From the time of assuming office, we have attempted to work constructively to resolve issues in contention between this country and Fiji. That has been made difficult by the fact that interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has employed ultimatums and threats to advance his case. This government has no intention of making concessions with a gun pointed at our heads,” McCully said.
“The precise allegations against the acting high commissioner are not specific but any assertion that she has not conducted herself appropriately is, of course, quite false. Commodore Bainimarama has sought specific exemptions from the travel ban under the threat of expelling our high commissioner. There is no basis for the action that has been taken against Ms McDonald,” said McCully.
Pacnews has been told that a diplomatic note was also sent to the Australian High Commission in Suva, refusing the work permit of its defense attaché, who is believed to be in the country for about a month now.
“Similar to reasons given to the New Zealand defense attaché, who was also not given a consent letter to work in Fiji, we have explained to the Australians that there is no need for a defense attaché in Suva given that all military cooperation and assistance with the two countries have been suspended since December 2006,” the senior government official said.
