Deposed Fijian PM's plea

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, AUG. 29. The deposed Fijian Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry, has urged the international community to impose sanctions against the Fijian regime if it did not give a clear indication that it was going to restore the country's constitution.

Mr. Chaudhry said after a meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Mr. Don McKinnon, that he hoped that the Commonwealth Ministers, scheduled to meet in New York in September, would set a clear deadline for the restoration of constitutional government. He favoured a September 30 deadline after which the international community led by the Commonwealth should take strong action.

Mr. Chaudhry said he had urged the Commonwealth to set up a prime ministerial group to interact with the Fijian regime and persuade it to restore constitutional government.

Mr. Chaudhry, who will be meeting the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Robin Cook, and lobbying European MPs in Brussels in his effort to build international pressure on the Fijian regime, said his message to everyone he met was that the international community should not allow a constitutional government to be overthrown for a second time. ``It is time the international community takes a stand,'' he said.

He was clear that sanctions should be imposed if a constitutional government was not restored, despite the costs this would impose on the Fijian economy.

Mr. Chaudhury said that restoring democracy in Fiji would require more than restoring the constitution.

The international community would have to be involved in helping to restructure Fijian institutions such as the police and military, if there was to be long term stability on the island.

Mr Chaudhury said he hoped that the ministers would set a firm deadline for the restoration of the constitution at that meeting. He said he also hoped that a Commonwealth prime ministerial group would be formed to send an envoy to interact with the Fijian authorities.

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Section  : International
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