November 30th 2006,
11pm
NGOs say NO
to possible illegal takeover: Stick to the rule of law
The Fiji Women s Rights Movement
( FWRM) and the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity (PCPI) condemn any attempts
to unlawfully remove Fiji s democratically elected
government . This follows threats by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in response to
a national address by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase this afternoon ( Nov
30th 2006).
The Commodore has given an
ultimatum to the Government saying it must implement the military s demands by
noon tomorrow (1st Dec 2006). The
military says if the Government does not comply, they will begin a clean-up
campaign and will ensure a smooth transition sometime after the deadline.
We will only acknowledge and
accept a democratically elected government and will reject any unlawful regime,
said FWRM Executive Director Virisila Buadromo.
The rule of law must be
maintained.
It appears that attempts by the
Prime Minister and New Zealand-based mediators to enable a meaningful and
peaceful dialogue with the military to resolve the current political impasse
were rejected.
Despite what appear to be real
compromises by the Fiji Government to allay the concerns of the military, the
army has reacted these measures in a disappointingly negative way, said Angie
Heffernan, Executive Director of PCPI.
This is a critical time in
Fiji s history, where the leadership
of both the Government and the military has the opportunity to show the nation
that the rule of law is paramount and we will not bully the citizens with the
threat of the gun.
Fiji civil society today sent their position
paper to the Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in Sydney. The paper calls for a reaffirmation of
the rule of law in Fiji. The group asks for the immediate
initiation of skilled mediation towards a peaceful and non-violent resolution to
the crisis.
---ENDS---
For more information contact:
FWRM Executive Director Virisila Buadromo 679-9249906
OR PCPI Executive Director Angie Heffernan
679-9320768
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