PORT VILA: Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs has reaffirmed his country's view that Fiji should hold democratic elections before 2014, Australian Network News reports.
Ministers and officials from across the Pacific, including Richard Marles, are discussing their relationships with Fiji during a Ministerial Contact Group (MCG) meeting this week in Vanuatu.
Speaking on Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program, Marles said Australia has a firm view to see the interim government re-establish human rights and freedom of the press.
"We have seen Fiji now since 2006 with this interim government in an unelected form, with an absence of democracy in that country and that's obviously a very big concern for the region."
The Pacific Islands Forum created the MCG as a way of continuing dialogue with Commodore Frank Bainimarama and his interim government.
Fiji's Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola is also attending the Vanuatu meeting.
Fiji visit
Marles said they want to hear from Fiji's interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, about a range of things.
"We do want to hear from the interim Prime Minister about the public emergency regulations, for example, which have been in place in Fiji since 2009, which put significant restrictions on the media, which compromise human rights in Fiji," he said.
"We would like to know what their future is. We do want to hear what steps the interim regime are looking at taking, concrete steps towards a return to democracy."
He added that members of the MCG also want to visit Fiji after an invitation to visit last year was withdrawn by Commodore Bainimarama.
"I know in speaking to others [Sunday], there was a desire to pursue a visit to Fiji, but it obviously has to be on the basis that we have complete access to the political parties in Fiji, to the civil society in Fiji and to the church leaders in Fiji, so that we can have a really good understanding of where the country's at and where all opinions are at in Fiji about its future," said Marles.
Foreign sanctions
Fiji's interim Foreign Affairs Minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, is expected to ask for an easing of foreign sanctions on his country at this week's meeting.
However, Richard Marles said Australia would not consider that at the moment.
"Before you talk about an easing of sanctions and an easing of the international response to Fiji, we've got to actually see some concrete steps on their part on a return towards a return to democracy and a return to the rule of law and a return of human rights," he said. - Australian Network News/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
