DFAT upgrades travel advisory for Fiji and Downer worried

With the Australian Federal Government yesterday upgrading its travel advisory to Australians in Fiji or planning to visit Fiji, Australian naval ships are on standby to evacuate the approximately 7,000 Australians known to be currently in Fiji if required, should the fourth Fijian coup in 20 years take place.

The advisory can be seen at:

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Fiji

As fears grow for an imminent military coup, DFAT is now advising Australians thinking of heading to Fiji to exercise a high degree of caution if they are in Fiji or intending to travel, with DFAT’s website saying, “We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Fiji due to increased tensions between the Fiji government and the Fiji military forces and the possibility of military action against the government” adding, “The security situation could deteriorate without warning.”

The Australian travel industry though is perhaps dealing with the potential coup in Fiji in the manner it dealt with the “no impact” coup in Thailand, adopting a cautious wait and see approach, with flights continuing to depart for Fiji, few cancellations and Flight Centre and other major chains saying that they had received no major response from customers, with Australians also aware that the majority of holidays were taken in resorts, well away from the capital Suva or the port city of Nadi.

Air Pacific has also not cancelled any flights from Australia to Fiji and advised that customers had not deferred their travel plans, with the airline waiting to see events unfold.

Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase failed yesterday in his attempt to dismiss Fiji’s  Military Chief, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, when a senior military officer refused to accept an offer by the President to take control of the armed forces.

At the same time, Commodore Bainimarama has demanded that Mr Qarase resign.

DFAT is warning Australians though to stay away from mass public demonstrations, saying, “You should avoid demonstrations, street rallies, public gatherings and concentrations of military personnel,” adding “Such events could become catalysts for civil disorder.”

Prime Minister Howard, who was in Fiji last week, said that he had spoken with Fijian Prime Minister Qarase saying in a statement, “The Australian Government is deeply concerned by threats made against the Government of Fiji by the commander of the republic of Fiji military forces,” adding, “I have spoken on several occasions during recent weeks to Prime Minister Qarase to express personally to him Australia’s strong support for his Government as the duly and democratically elected Government of Fiji.  He added, “Australia has also expressed directly to senior Fiji military personnel our clear views on the proper role of the military in a democracy and these views are shared by the countries of the region.”

Another coup could be devastating for the Fijian tourism industry and its associated Australian operators, with Fiji enjoying a tourism boom as many Australians are travelling to Fiji in preference to Bali.   

A coup taking place may test the resilience of Australian travellers and while the circumstances are very different, it is possible that Fiji could suffer the same security based tourist rejection by Australians that Bali has had to endure.

In the meantime, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says that the coup may happen so quickly he was unsure if there would be enough time for a diplomatic solution, but confirming that all options were being considered and the Government was doing what it can.

Mr Downer criticised Commodore Bainimarama and repeated his warning that another coup could devastate Fiji’s economy, saying that the Fijian economy is increasingly dependent on tourism and investment in the tourism sector, and it’s been doing pretty well in recent times … but tourists won’t be so keen to go there if there is a military coup, adding, “it’s a matter of real concern to us.”

The Mole will keep subscribers fully informed about developments over the coming days in the hope that the situation will become calmer.

Report by The Mole