London: Military-ruled Fiji was on Tuesday
suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations after it ignored a
deadline set by the 53-member grouping to take effective steps
towards restoration of democracy.
The suspension means that the Pacific island nation, with
a large Indian population, will not be allowed to take part in
any Commonwealth activity, including the 2010 Games in Delhi.
Fiji was asked by the grouping to commit to resuming
dialogue with the opposition and holding elections next year
by midnight local time (1730 IST) or face suspension.
However, Fiji's military leader Commodore Frank
Bainimarama rebuffed the demand, saying that he will stick to
his own "roadmap", under which elections will be held in 2014.
Bainimarama, the country's armed forces chief who seized
power in a 2006 coup, says he needs more time to institute
reforms that will end the ethnic-based voting system tipped in
favour of ethnic Fijians.
"The deadline of September 1 was set at a meeting on July
31, but no progress has been made since then so Fiji has been
suspended with immediate effect," Commonwealth spokesman
Eduardo del Buey was quoted as saying by media reports.
"This is an announcement I make with deep regret -- it is
a step the Commonwealth is now obliged to take, and one that
it takes in sorrow," Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said.
Fiji was first suspended in 1987 following a coup led by
Lt Col Sitiveni Rabuka. It witnessed another coup in 2000 that
unseated Indian-origin premier Mahendra Chaudhry.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 01, 2009, 23:08