Sanctions vow with legal Fiji Government

By JOHN ARMSTRONG and NZPA

New Zealand is poised to lift sanctions against Fiji if a properly constituted government is established after next week's elections.

Foreign Minister Phil Goff said the timetable for dropping sanctions would be worked out in conjunction with Australia.

"Our precondition for normalising relations with Fiji has always been restoration of constitutional and democratic government. Once we have that, we will honour our undertaking to remove sanctions."

That would include lifting the ban on sporting contacts, military ties, ministerial and political contacts, and aid to government-sponsored projects.

The exception would be the "smart sanctions" targeted at about 80 people associated with last year's coup.

Fiji goes to the polls from next Saturday, and voting is due to last a week. The counting of ballot papers is expected to be completed by September 6.

Leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum, which wound up on Saturday after a two-day meeting on Nauru, also decided that Fiji would host the event next year if a democratically elected government were in place.

Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said he had told leaders his country was interested in hosting the next forum "provided we go through the routine of what we're supposed to do and get that right".

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who last year led a successful push for the forum to be transferred from Fiji to Nauru, said she believed the elections would be free and fair.

"We have to leave open the possibility that the government might not be accepted and there might be more unfortunate events."

There was potential for controversy at the 16-nation forum when former Fijian President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, in an opening speech, criticised its "metropolitan members" - New Zealand and Australia - for their handling of some forum matters.

However, Helen Clark said the meeting had gone smoothly.

Last year's departure from the "Pacific way", where delegates never raised anything which might reflect poorly on anyone or any state, meant issues could be addressed.

"I think the forum has matured to a point where quite hard issues like press freedom can be laid on the table without people taking offence," she said.

Helen Clark was the only leader of the group's three leading countries - New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea - at the forum.

Other members responded well to New Zealand's call for a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific - a call rejected by the International Whaling Commission last month but which New Zealand is still hoping for.

Helen Clark put it to the forum that each country declare their own exclusive economic zone as whaling-free.

Other issues leaders canvassed included the small island states' concern over global warming and rising sea levels, and the tax haven status of some Pacific nations. They also ratified a closer economic relations agreement and a trade agreement.

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