Keep up efforts for Fiji despite threats says McCully

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Fiji coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama's latest moves to quell dissent against the military-led regime are no reason to drop efforts to boost diplomatic links, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says.

This week Commodore Bainimarama threatened to suspend pensions for retired public servants who criticised the regime and he banned the influential Methodist church – seen as a major critic – from holding its annual conference till 2014, when he has promised elections. The moves come after New Zealand and Fiji agreed this week to each post an extra counsellor to their high commissions.

The postings are aimed mainly at boosting diplomatic missions badly depleted by tit-for-tat expulsions since the December 2006 coup, but also signal efforts by New Zealand to re-engage with Commodore Bainimarama.

Mr McCully said the latest threats to quell dissent went against democracy and the rule of law, but were "not a reason for us not to try and improve diplomatic relations".

"We expect progress to take place in terms of the relationship step by step with allowances for some setbacks from time to time."

Fiji also threatened yesterday to pull out of the original Pacific Closer Economic Relations Agreement (Pacer) in three months unless it was at the table for formal talks introduced at last year's Pacific Islands Forum, but Mr McCully dismissed the move as symbolic.

The Pacer Plus talks are aimed at putting the nuts and bolts on any agreement. Fiji – which was suspended from the forum last year – has been excluded but will be briefed on progress.

Mr McCully revealed that discussions on whether to admit Fiji to the talks were continuing between forum members, and the threat to disengage altogether showed how badly Fiji wanted to be involved.

"In other words, they've taken a step that is still capable of being reversed or reconsidered in the light of any further discussions that take place within the forum on that issue ... it's an indication of their strong desire to find an engagement in the Pacer Plus negotiations.

"I would regard this as just one of the pieces of the jigsaw that is on the table over the coming months."

- © Fairfax NZ News