His special envoy to Fiji, former New Zealand Governor General Sir Paul Reeves, was in Fiji last week to lay the ground work of a meeting of political leaders to discuss electoral reforms.
“Sir Paul has been in contact with all forms of interlocutors in Fiji’s society to see what common ground can be created, that hopefully will set the ground rules for the way forward for Fiji,” Sharman told Pacnews at the margins of the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland this week.
He clarified that his envoy would only facilitate discussions.
“Whatever the outcome is, it should be sustainable and represents a ground on which everyone can stand,” he said. “I have not seen Sir Paul’s report because he was just in Fiji a few days ago. We hope to receive his report shortly and see if there are elements in his report that will help set the way forward.”
Sharma, who replaced Don McKinnon in April this year, said the Commonwealth would like to see Fiji return to its place in the 53 member grouping of nations.
“We wished for stability, prosperity and harmony in Fiji,” he said. “The fact that Fiji has a particular position right now within the Commonwealth by no means does not diminish our desire that they should be able to overcome their difficulty and once again become a participating member.”
Fiji’s return to the Commonwealth is conditioned on return to democratic rule through the polls.
“The interim government has undertaken to hold elections in March next year,” Sharma said. “This is extremely important and should be respected. As a means of getting there, we believe that a broad based political dialogue of all parties in Fiji is a necessity.”
Fiji’s membership of the Commonwealth of Nations was suspended after the military ousted the democratically elected government of Laisenia Qarase in December 2006.
The new Commonwealth SG is expected to continue the tradition set by Don McKinnon — to attend the annual summit of Pacific Island Forum Leaders, in Niue next month.
“My office attaches a lot of importance to the Pacific Islands Forum because it also represents Commonwealth member countries, most of which are small island state members,” Sharma said. “It is an important occasion where I can meet Pacific leaders collectively and individually and is something an SG will not miss.”
