Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, in his address here in Port Moresby, said he wanted interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to be present at the meeting to assist them plot an appropriate course to return Fiji to democracy.
He said he had no reason to doubt that Commodore Bainimarama undertakes to attend a meeting of leaders Feb. 10.
Sir Michael said the leaders chose to meet because they were committed to the welfare and destiny of the people of Fiji.
“I believe that we are meeting because we are genuinely interested in finding a long term solution to the coup culture that has unfortunately taken strong roots in the politics of Fiji,” he said.
“If there are any lessons to be learnt from the previous coups, hurriedly prepared elections and token changes to rules do not usher in real democracy. We owe it to the Fiji people and ourselves not to make those same mistakes,” he added.
