The Security Council met in New York to discuss Fiji.
After a briefing from U.N political department chief Lynn Pascoe, the Security Council said it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Fiji, where undemocratic decisions were made, including the abrogation of the constitution.”
“It is a step backwards,” said a statement read to media by Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, the current council president, adding that a “restoration of the democracy process” was required.
The council’s 15 members “expressed hopes that Fiji would make a steadfast advancement toward democracy and that free elections will be held at the soonest possible time,” Heller said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s opposition leader and former minister of foreign affairs and defense, Phil Goff, said pressure has to go on Britain and the United Nations to stop employing soldiers from Fiji.
Goff told Radio New Zealand’s The Panel that when in government he had unsuccessfully called for a ban on the use of Fiji’s soldiers by Britain’s armed forces and as U.N. peacekeepers.
But he said given the latest developments more pressure has to be applied.
“It’s absolutely inappropriate to have Fijian peacekeepers trying to bring good governance in other countries in the world when the Fiji has overthrown democratic governance in Fiji. If the U.N. made that decision to send the Fijian peacekeepers home immediately that would impact very seriously on the military.”
Goff said the same applies to the about 2,000 Fiji personnel in the British military.
New Zealand’s Foreign minister Murray McCully said his government was considering tougher sanctions on Fiji but to ensure the ordinary people of Fiji are not hurt, it wants to avoid applying them to trade and tourism.
