20 Oct 2010

Fiji NGO says MSG leaders should not give into Fiji's interim PM

11:34 am on 20 October 2010

The Sydney based Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement says the leaders of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu should not give in to demands from Fiji's interim leader that he be made the chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The MSG is due to meet from later this week in Honiara amid speculation that the chairmanship denied Commodore Frank Bainimarama when a summit in Nadi was cancelled in July will now be given to him.

Commodore Bainimarama told Fiji media at the weekend he expects the chairmanship to be handed to Solomon Islands which will then give it Fiji.

The Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement says the MSG leaders must realise that Commodore Bainimarama has used divide and rule techniques often in the past, and the same skills are being applied to the MSG.

It says driving a wedge between the MSG leaders is damaging to long term multilateral relations in the Pacific.