Fiji hits back…………………….
An article in http://www.news.com.au/ says that a Fiji military leader has hit back at Australia’s move to strengthen travel warnings to people going to the Pacific nation’s capital Suva, saying it is ignorant and irresponsible.
On Friday, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) upgraded travel warnings to Suva, telling tourists to exercise a “high degree of caution”.
“We continue to receive credible information suggesting that the unresolved political situation could lead without warning to outbreaks of violence and civil unrest, in particular in and around Suva,” the advice said, and “You should avoid military installations, military activity and concentrations of military personnel.”
“The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) has publicly warned of possible bomb attacks,” it said.
The Fiji army’s chief of staff, Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, criticised the upgraded warning.
“It is very irresponsible of them (the Australian authorities) and shows what the commander earlier said that they don’t understand the Fiji situation.” “They’re the biggest liars.” “They said they’d win the Rugby World Cup,” he said in remarks quoted in the Fiji Times.
Fiji military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga said Australia should substantiate its claims and denied the military had issued any public warnings of bomb attacks.
The Australian government has been a strong critic of Fiji’s military and its leader, Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in the country in a coup last December.
Meanwhile a spokeswoman for New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has ruled out a bilateral meeting between Fiji and New Zealand next week.
Bainimarama and Clark are expected to attend the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Tonga next week and there has been speculation they will meet to discuss differences between the two nations.
New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Michael Green, was expelled from the country in June this year after claims he interfered in Fiji’s internal affairs.
It is still uncertain who will represent Australia at the meeting in Tonga.
Report by The Mole and http://www.news.com.au/
John Alwyn-Jones
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