UN ‘to stop using Fiji troops’
Australian PM says move will send message that military government is not acceptable.
The military government in Fiji, led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, came to power following a coup in 2006.
Earlier this month, the government abrogated the constitution, sacked the judiciary, cracked down on the media and announced it was delaying elections until at least 2014.
Last week, New Zealand’s foreign minister accused the UN of being “utterly hypocritical” for continuing to use Fijian soldiers in UN peacekeeping forces.
“It is very hard to see how they can justify using military people who have overthrown the rule of law in their own country as the agents to enforce the rule of law as peacekeepers somewhere else,” Murray McCully said.
Fiji had 231 military personnel and 51 police involved in UN peacekeeping missions last month, according to UN figures.