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Fiji suspended from Commonwealth for not reinstating constitutional democracy

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Commonwealth of Nations on Tuesday suspended the island nation of Fiji from its organization because it failed to meet the September 1 deadline for reinstating a constitutional democracy and opening a national dialogue following its December 2006 military coup. Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that a letter received from Fiji's military leader Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama did not meet the conditions set out by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in July, which called for Fiji's military government to bring back the President's Political Dialogue Forum (PPDF) process in order to hold independent elections by 2010. Fiji's acting Prime Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau responded that it was not possible to meet the Commonwealth's deadline because of the extent of political reform in the country, and that elections would be held in 2014. Many critics have decried the current regime for human rights abuses, including Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith who released a statement Wednesday saying that the planned elections in 2014 are "unacceptable," and that "Australia continues to be very concerned about human rights abuses by the regime, particularly the reduced independence of the judiciary, media censorship, intimidation of opponents, and the recent harassment of Methodist Church leaders." This is not the country's first suspension from an international organization following the 2006 coup. In May, Pacific Islands Forum suspended Fiji's membership in the 16-nation bloc after Fiji's military government failed to meet a May 1 deadline to schedule elections. That suspension followed April events in which Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo suspended the constitution and revoked the appointment of all judicial officers after a ruling from the Fiji Court of Appeal declaring the appointment of the military government following the 2006 coup unconstitutional. Niue Premier and Forum Chairman Toke Talagi said that the suspension stemmed from Fiji's rejection of democratic governance and obligations under the Forum's Biketawa Declaration, adding that a "regime which displays such a total disregard for basic human rights, democracy and freedom has no place in the Pacific Islands Forum."

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).