South Pacific bloc suspends Fiji

CANBERRA, Australia - South Pacific nations announced today that military-ruled Fiji has been suspended from the 16-nation bloc for its rejection of democracy, freedom, and human rights.

Yesterday, Fiji's military ruler, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, continued to defy international pressure to announce elections, confirming that he would not hold them for at least five years.

That set the stage for his country's ouster from the Pacific Islands Forum, which had given Fiji until yesterday to announce elections for 2009.

"A regime which displays such a total disregard for basic human rights, democracy, and freedom has no place in the Pacific Islands Forum," said its chairman, Toke Talagi.

The diplomatic and economic bloc stopped short of expelling the military regime, said Talagi, who is also premier of the South Pacific micro state of Niue.

The suspension bars Fiji's leader and officials from taking part in forum events and cuts Fiji out of development funding until a democratic government is restored, Talagi said.

Bainimarama ousted the ethnic Fijian-dominated government in a 2006 coup and installed himself as prime minister. He has vowed to rewrite the constitution and electoral laws to remove what he says is discrimination against the country's large ethnic Indian minority before holding elections. Critics say he shows little sign of being willing to give up power.

"You've got a dictator up there now who doesn't want to listen to anybody else other than himself," New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told Radio Dunedin yesterday.

Key said the Commonwealth could suspend Fiji as well, referring to a group of 53 countries that are mostly former British colonies.