Fijians 'reluctant republicans'

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 1

Fijians 'reluctant republicans '

By

BRENDON BURNS,

political reporter Fiji wants to return to the Commonwealth, says the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, Mr Prebble. Mr Prebble, who has had a holiday in Fiji, said yesterday that he had never encountered a more reluctant group of republicans. There was no advantage for New Zealand in not having the widest range of contacts with Fiji, he said. At present, diplomatic recognition is formally suspended while a new constitution for Fiji is drafted. In a press conference yesterday, a day after a briefing given to the Cabinet, Mr Prebble outlined his views on the situation in Fiji. He met both Fiji’s President, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, and Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, during his time in the country. Mr Prebble said the contacts were “essentially social” and had taken place at the funeral of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Ratu David Toganivalu, who had died in a car crash. He also met other political leaders and said the message was that Fiji would like to have a more normal relationship with New Zealand. The New Zealand High Commissioner and other diplomatic staff are still in Suva, in spite of the suspension of official recognition of the new Government. Mr Prebble said it was clear to him that Fiji wanted to come back into the Commonwealth. The newspapers there were full of stories about Commonwealth affairs, such as Fiji athletes expressing the hope that the political situation could be settled in time for the Commonwealth Games in Auckland. “Pictures of the Queen are still up all over the place,” said Mr Prebble. “I’ve never seen a more reluctant group of republicans in my life.” Why then, had Fiji become a

republic, Mr Prebble was asked. As the regime saw it, he said, the previous constitution did not sufficiently protect the rights of indigenous Fijians. He had no wish to be an apologist for the regime, but that was how they saw the choice. “That doesn’t mean to say they left the Commonwealth happily or that if they could find some way of coming back into the Commonwealth they wouldn’t do so.” Mr Prebble said Fijian leaders had not sought to have him persuade the Cabinet that Fiji be recognised by New Zealand, “not in that form.” But, he said, “Fiji would like to have a more normal relationship with New Zealand. It is just transparently obvious.” Some aspects of life in Fiji remained worrying, he said, such as Suva still being somewhat tense, the contraction in the economy after the coup, and the ban on Sunday activity. However, basic law and order had improved from that after the first coup. Another positive development was a decree announcing a new independent High Court. Mr Prebble, whose wife, Nancy, is Fijian, said a constitution, even in draft form, would be preferable. But, he said, “I think one has to concede that the regime is making real efforts to get back to what we consider to be a rule of law.” It was not an Idi Amin-style regime, where people were dragged out of beds and shot. New Zealand might soften its stance on the suspension of aid for Fiji, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Marshall, told the Press Association in Wanganui yesterday. “If things go very badly in Fiji either other people will move in, as the French are, or you end up with a basket-case economy — in which case we’d have to come to the party ourselves,” he said. “It’s a fine judgment which has to be made from day to day.”