Fiji's Slow Slide To Dictatorship

Fijian Leaders in Defiant Mood -- Wall Street Journal

SUVA, Fiji -- Military-ruled Fiji remained defiant Saturday after its historic suspension from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum, rejecting the "punitive action" for a delayed election and warning it won't be deterred from its chosen path even by "adversity."

The coup-plagued nation was suspended from the regional bloc Saturday for what the forum called its rejection of democracy, freedom and human rights.

The suspension, the first in the forum's 37-year history, bars Fiji's leader, ministers and officials from taking part in any meetings or events, and cuts Fiji out of development funding until a democratic government is restored.

Read more ....

More News On Fiji

Fiji suspended from Pacific Islands Forum -- China View
Fiji leader defies democracy call -- BBC
Pacific Forum formally suspends Fiji -- TVNZ
Sanctions against Fiji may sour sugar aid -- The Australian
Fiji, Facing Suspension From Pacific Forum, Rejects Elections -- Bloomberg
Defiant Fiji delays polls till 2014 -- Al Jazeera

My Comment: So much for going there on my holidays.

Fiji Virtually A Military Dictatorship: Rudd

Photo: In this file photo from Dec. 14, 2006, shown is Fiji's military commander Frank Bainimarama as he leaves the officers' mess at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in the capitol Suva. Fiji's president assumed control Friday April 10, 2009, and fired the judges who a day earlier had declared the military government illegal, deepening the troubled South Pacific country's political turmoil. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

From ABC News Australia:

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has condemned Commodore Frank Bainimarama's reappointment as Fiji's Prime Minister, saying the country is now "virtually a military dictatorship".

Commodore Frank Bainimarama was sworn in again as Prime Minister in Fiji, after the country's President abolished the constitution and sacked the country's judiciary over a court ruling which found the 2006 military coup was illegal.

Read more ....

My Comment: So much for paradise.