8 Dec 2008

Fiji interim PM to attend special January Forum meeting in PNG

2:20 pm on 8 December 2008

Fiji's interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has agreed to attend next month's special Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby.

The Post Courier newspaper reports the Commodore is expected to detail and present the country's position on democracy and the fate of the 2009 March elections.

The paper says PNG Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, has been trying to convince Commodore Bainimarama to allow democracy again in Fiji and especially to hold elections in March.

In recent weeks, the Fiji interim regime has ruled out polls next year.

Fiji's Interim attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has said that the interim Government is open to the Forum meeting.

In August, Commodore Bainimarama pulled out of attending a Pacific Islands summit in Niue, blaming New Zealand's refusal to allow him to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders in Auckland.