Fiji now a military dictatorship: Smith

Australia's foreign minister says Fiji is now in effect a military dictatorship and
the international community must find ways to bring the Pacific nation back to
democracy.
"Commodore (Frank) Bainimarama has effectively instituted a military dictatorship,
abrogating the constitution, throwing out the judiciary, intimidating the media,"
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Sky News on Monday.
Developments in the Pacific nation over the past few days have bestowed on its
military leader even more power.
ABC journalist Sean Dorney has become a victim of a crackdown on domestic and
foreign media, with the Fiji authorities beginning the process of deporting him
because of his reporting.
"They called me to the immigration department this morning and informed me they were
unhappy with my reporting, which was being broadcast on the local Fiji One network,"
Mr Dorney told AAP.
"I was informed immigration officers were on their way to escort me to the airport
and out of the country."
Mr Smith urged the veteran journalist to avoid putting himself in harm's way.
"It'll be a matter for Mr Dorney to decide how he will conduct himself but our very
strong advice to Mr Dorney is that he should not do anything which would cause
himself to be put in harm's way," he said.
"He should follow the request or the instruction of the Fiji authorities, however
obnoxious he regards those to be."
The latest troubles stemmed from a court ruling last Thursday that found Cmdr
Bainimarama's regime, in power since staging a 2006 coup, was illegal under the
country's 1997 constitution.
But in response, the country's ailing 88-year-old president Ratu Josefa Iloilo
sacked the judges, dissolved the constitution, ruled out any election for five years
and briefly removed Cmdr Bainimarama before reappointing him to the top job.
Australia expects Fiji to be kicked out of the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands
Forum if action isn't taken to reverse the latest developments.
But Mr Smith wouldn't say what other sanctions may be possible.
"Unless there's some change ... I'd be very surprised if the Pacific Islands Forum
and the Commonwealth didn't move in due course to formally suspend Fiji," he said.
"We've got to find ways of bringing Fiji back to democracy."
Australian officials have been speaking with the Pacific Islands Forum, the
Commonwealth and the UN to see what "the international community (can do) to put
pressure on the commodore to bring Fiji back to democracy", Mr Smith said.
"We worry very much that the people of Fiji will be very seriously adversely
affected by deteriorating economic and social circumstances unless there is a
restoration of democracy," he said.
Experts warn Fiji is in danger of becoming the Burma of the South Pacific unless
something changes soon.
Professor Brij Lal, a Pacific specialist at the Australian National University,
said: "Fiji is in serious danger of becoming the next Burma, where the military has
entrenched itself with a sham kind of parliament and pays no heed to international
opinion over many, many years."
Mr Smith said the backward steps being taken by the military government was not
helping Fiji in any way.
"These very backward steps ... further isolate Fiji from the international
community," he said.
"They run the very grave risk of Fiji's economic and social circumstances further
deteriorating and of course to suggest an election will be held in 2014 is nothing
more than a sham."
Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Tuiloma Neroni Slade said he was concerned
and disappointed by recent political events in Fiji.
He said the abrogation of the constitution was "disturbing given its implications
for human rights and the democratic aspirations of all the people of Fiji".
"I am deeply disappointed that with the Constitution abrogated, there is now no
assurance of commitment to an early return, through elections, to democratic
constitutional governance for Fiji, as Forum Leaders have long been urging on the
Interim Administration," Mr Slade said.