Fiji expels top New Zealand and Australian diplomats
Updated
Australia and New Zealand's top diplomatic envoys in Fiji are being expelled.
The retaliatory move comes after Canberra and Wellington warned that Sri Lankan judges appointed to work in Fiji would be subject to travel bans. Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is considering his response.
Presenter: Lyndal Curtis.
Speaker: Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister
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LYNDAL CURTIS: How are you going to respond to Fiji's decision?
KEVIN RUDD: Well first of all I'll be speaking with the Australian Foreign Minister this morning about an appropriate response to developments by the Fijian regime.
But let's put this into its context. The Fijian regime led by commodore Bainimarama has conducted a military coup, he has violated the constitution, he has refused to hold elections and he's suspended the judiciary. And so therefore we have taken a deliberately hardline approach to this regime because we do not want this coup culture to spread elsewhere in the Pacific.
That's our position. We will continue to maintain that position and will consider an appropriate response to these actions taken by Bainimarama in the last 24 hours.
LYNDAL CURTIS: But that hardline response hasn't moved Fiji any closer to a return to democracy. Do you need to toughen your stance even further?
KEVIN RUDD: Well you know there are something like 15 island states in the Pacific Island Forum. My concern fundamentally as Prime Minister of Australia and as chairman of the Pacific Island Forum is to ensure that we do not see a spread of coup culture to the rest of the Pacific. That's the bottom line here.
Secondly, how do we actually succeed in ultimately obtaining a return to democracy in Fiji? That is very difficult when you have the attitude taken by Bainimarama who constantly puts off the possibility of holding elections. That does not mean however that you should therefore soften your approach.
We belong to a family of democracies in the South Pacific. We the Australian Government are engaged in active development programs with our partners in the South Pacific. We want to see stability in the South Pacific and we're not about to simply allow a coup culture to spread. That's why we'll maintain a hardline in relation to this regime.
LYNDAL CURTIS: What then are your options, what things could you consider?
KEVIN RUDD: Well we will discuss that appropriately, calmly, methodically today, as the Australian Government does in response to one challenge or another. This is another one, obviously there is a menu of possibilities, but I should emphasise the nature of the sanctions regime we already have imposed, which is of course caused the Fijian regime to react with some anger towards Australian actions.
We have travel sanctions applying to the coup leader himself, his supporters, his families, to interim government ministers and their families, ranking members of the Fijian military and interim government appointees, including judicial appointees, because we are not about to legitimise what is a regime which has obtained power through military force, and we do not want that culture to spread anywhere else in the South Pacific.
LYNDAL CURTIS: On the issue of asylum seekers, the survivors of the Cocos Islands boat sinking are being taken to Christmas Island, and the Western Australian Premier says you should take the asylum seekers on board the Oceanic Viking there too. Why is that not an option?
KEVIN RUDD: Well first of all can I say, in relation to Cocos Island, this particular vessel in distress was identified as being in distress in the Australian search and rescue area. We had no vessels available in the area at the time, foreign vessels assisted, that is normal procedure. What is equally normal procedure and consistent with our international obligations is then to take a distressed vessel or its passengers to the nearest location and that in this case is going to be Christmas Island. That's consistent with international obligations and practice.
You asked the question about the other vessel, the Oceanic Viking, and those who were rescued at sea from the vessel which was located in Indonesia's search and rescue area. Once those individuals had been transferred to an Australian vessel, at Indonesia's request because there was no Indonesian vessel nearby, again the normal procedure is to head to the nearest available port, in this case an Indonesian port, and the Indonesian search and rescue authority invited the Australian vessel to go ashore. That is why these circumstances are different.
