Hawke dismisses any ‘Rambo-style solution’

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 3

Hawke dismisses any ‘Rambo-style solution’

NZPA-AAP Sydney The Australian Government was not considering “Rambo-style” solutions, either economic or military, to the Fiji crisis, said the Australian Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday. Mr Hawke said the Government would concentrate on trying to mobilise public opinion internationally, and within Fiji, for a constitutional resolution to the coup. However, he said economic sanctions against Fiji were one option to be considered by the Federal Cabinet when it met today to review the situation.

Speaking in Sydney, Mr Hawke said he deplored yesterday’s outbreak of inter-racial conflict in Suva and urged “all those with some degree of authority” to try to control the violence. Foreign Affairs Department officials were monitoring the situation and were prepared to move out Australian citizens in Fiji if the circumstances warranted, he said. Mr Hawke said he was prepared to support new elections in Fiji, but only if they were held with the consent of the Prime Minister, Dr Timoci Bavadra, and under the existing Constitution. The crisis, however, de-

manded calmness and a commitment to the democratic processes. “I have made it clear that that is our commitment, and that I am not going to be rushed into some Rambo-style solution that people may want to talk about,” he said. Mr Hawke said although the question of economic sanctions was “on the table” for today’s Cabinet meeting, this was “not a time for quick recourse to military options or sanctions.” “We should try to mobilise all the forces of opinion here, around the world, and in Fiji to try to persuade them that both

their immediate and longterm interests are best served by ensuring adherence to established and legitimate constitutional processes,” he said. “I will not be diverted, nor will my Government be diverted from that calm commitment to that course by any posturing by anyone else.” Mr Hawke declined to speculate on what action or stand the Government would take if new elections were held in Fiji without Dr Bavadra’s consent and under a revised Constitution. "The hypothetical question like that doesn’t get to first base,” he said.