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Pacific ministers to press Fiji on elections
AFP - Tuesday, December 9
WELLINGTON (AFP) - - Foreign ministers from Australia, New Zealand and four Pacific island nations will travel to Fiji this week to press the military regime to restore democracy, officials said Monday.
The Pacific Islands Forum regional grouping of 16 nations threatened Fiji with suspension at a summit in August if it fails to hold elections by the end of March next year.
Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama, who overthrew the country's elected government in a December 2006 coup, promised to hold elections by the first quarter of 2009 at an earlier forum summit in 2007.
But earlier this year he went back on his promise, saying the deadline would not be met because he wants to change the country's electoral system first.
The six foreign ministers will be in Fiji from Wednesday to Friday, meeting the military regime and other political figures to assess progress towards a return to democracy, the forum said in a statement.
Forum leaders are due to meet in Papua New Guinea in January, where they will consider a report from the foreign ministers and decide whether Fiji should be suspended in what would be an unprecedented move by the Pacific grouping.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he has been talking with colleagues from around the region about ways of encouraging Fiji back to democracy.
"The contact group's visit is an important opportunity to talk to a range of people in Fiji about the best way of helping their country make genuine progress towards a return to democracy," he said in a statement.
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