Fiji expels Australian, NZ envoys

3 Nov 2009, 6:15 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Fiji has reportedly given Australian and New Zealand envoys 24 hours to leave the Pacific country, accusing them of interference in its internal affairs.

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Fiji has told Australia's and New Zealand's envoys to leave the Pacific country within 24 hours because of interference in its internal affairs, news reports say.

Self-appointed leader Voreque Bainimarama announced that the high commissioners of Australia and New Zealand would be given one day to leave, the Fiji Times reported.

It also said Bainimarama had withdrawn Fiji's envoys in Australia and New Zealand.

He made the announcement in Suva on Tuesday evening, saying it was the result of the impact of the Australian and New Zealand governments' positions on Fiji.

The announcement was made after a cabinet meeting and followed consultation with Vice President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the Fiji Times said.

Fiji was plunged into crisis in April after the president reappointed Bainimarama as prime minister, less than two days after the High Court ruled the military leader's 2006 coup and subsequent government was illegal.

Fiji's president fired the judges who a day earlier had declared the military government illegal, deepening the troubled South Pacific country's political turmoil.

President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced in a nationally broadcast radio address that he had abolished the constitution, assumed all governing power and revoked all judicial appointments.

The move came one day after the country's second-highest court ruled that armed forces chief Bainimarama's government that took power after a 2006 coup was illegal, effectively creating a power vacuum.

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Fiji

manforall - from bribie island, 3 years ago

That's good. Stop tourists going to Fiji for holidays, encourage them to holiday at home and let Fiji look after itself.

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