KEY POINTS:
Fiji's military should realise that Commodore Frank Bainimarama's regime was destroying their country, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said.
At the Apec conference in Sydney, Mr Downer gave strong hints that Commodore Bainimarama's colleagues should push him aside because the man who took power in a coup last December was now "flailing around".
His "military supporters will realise the situation" the country was now in. The return to martial law showed the job of running Fiji "was just too big a task" for him.
The Fijian economy was in decline and Commodore Bainimarama did not have the confidence of its people. Economic sanctions would only hurt ordinary Fijians, Mr Downer said. He called for free elections in Fiji and said Australia would be happy to help.
Australia would continue to work "hand in glove" with New Zealand and others such as the European Union, Japan and the United States to continue exerting pressure on the military regime and its supporters.
The United States also joined the chorus of countries critical of Fiji's move to re-impose martial law.
A statement from the US Embassy in Suva said the move cast doubt on the military's commitment to restore human rights, civil liberties, and democratic rule in Fiji.
"It also calls into question the interim government's willingness to work with the Pacific Islands Forum and the rest of the international community in organising new elections," the statement said.
"We have consistently called on the interim government to take meaningful steps to respect human rights and civil liberties, withdraw the military completely from government, and hold new elections as quickly as possible."
- NZPA
