A democratisation process in Fiji Island will help to lift travel sanctions from Australia and New Zealand.
WELLINGTON- New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced on March 30 that New Zealand will lift all its travel sanctions against Fiji. New Zealand and Australia on Monday announced the lifting of sanctions against Fiji to recognize the steps the Pacific Island nation is taking towards holding free and fair elections.
Last week, the Fiji interim government sets Sept. 17 as the date for the first democratic elections. “There are now more than 500,000 people registered to vote in the September elections, electoral commissioners have been appointed and importantly Commodore Bainimarama has stepped down as the head of the military,” McCully said in a statement.
“The visit by the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group in February was a success and the Commonwealth recently acknowledged the progress that Fiji is making,” said McCully.
New Zealand will be ending all the remaining travel sanctions that have in place against Fiji.
“This is a continuation of our policy to support the Fiji’s return to democratic rule and reflects our close cooperation with Australia on matters relating to Fiji,” he said.
The changes will end New Zealand’s travel ban, and remove all remaining restrictions on New Zealand government departments working directly with their Fiji counterparts.
“Lifting our remaining sanctions will allow us to throw our full weight behind supporting Fiji’s return to democracy and normalize our relationship with one of our closest neighbors,” said McCully.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s interim government said in a statement it’s pleased with the decision of New Zealand and Australia to lift all existing sanctions. “The Fijian government has always believed that the sanctions were ill conceived and served only to discourage talented and qualified individuals from serving the Fijian people,” said the Fiji interim government.
“The removal of sanctions is a positive step towards restoring normal relations between our governments. The relations between our peoples has never weakened,” it added.
(Source: Xinhua)
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
