Author: Sandra Tarte, USP

Japan’s decision not to invite Fiji’s prime minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, to the sixth Japan–Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 6), to be held in Okinawa this 25–26 May, represents a defining moment in its diplomatic relations with the Pacific Islands.

Japan announced that due to the perceived ‘insufficient pace of reform toward democratisation’, it would invite Fiji’s foreign minister instead Read more…

Author: Sandra Tarte, USP

Recent claims in the media that Australia’s foreign minister has ‘ignored’, ‘neglected’ and ‘taken his eyes off’ the Pacific islands have underscored a number of policy dilemmas facing Australian diplomacy in the region. These have been evident for some time and centre primarily around the approach to Fiji’s post-coup government, led by Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama.

Like other western democracies, Australia imposed diplomatic, military and political sanctions on the military-led government after the December 2006 coup. Read more…

Author: Sandra Tarte, USP, Suva

In 2010, Fiji marked 40 years of independence. Significantly, the Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, chose to celebrate the anniversary at the World Expo in Shanghai, rather than at home.

In many ways, this choice underscored the focus of Fiji’s leadership in 2010, which was to diversify and broaden international partnerships. Read more…

Author: Sandra Tarte, University of the South Pacific

In 2009, the political realities in Fiji became more clearly defined, but increasingly perplexing for its regional neighbors and development partners.

The moment of truth for the country, and for Commodore Frank Bainimarama’s military-backed government, came on 9 April when Fiji’s Court of Appeal ruled that the December 2006 coup and the interim administration it installed were illegal. This ruling removed the already somewhat tenuous constitutional basis upon which the interim government had previously claimed its political mandate. It was also the catalyst for the abrogation, one day later, of the Constitution by the President, and the declaration of a ‘new legal order’ under which the Bainimarama-led administration was reappointed. This development clearly indicated to all that there would be no turning back to the pre-December 2006 order. It also marked the further consolidation and entrenchment of the military-backed regime – a process that is likely to continue throughout 2010. Read more…