NZ, US were aware of military takeover - Wikileaks

Whistle blower website Wikileaks has revealed startling details of communication between the New Zealand Government and the US in November 2006 which show that both countries were aware that there will be a military takeover in Fiji in early December 2006.

The New Zealand Herald has published the confidential communication between Wellington and Washington following the meeting between Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in Auckland in late November 2006 where the RFMF’s nine demands for the government were discussed.

The leaked documents reveal that NZ’s Deputy Foreign Secretary Alan Williams said that he had an extensive conversation with Bainimarama as the two left the meeting and proceeded to the airport for Bainimarama’s flight.

It said Commodore Bainimarama remained heavily skeptical of the Fijian government, but said that he is prepared to test the government by waiting until mid day on December 4 before deciding whether to proceed with a threatened coup.

Williams told Washington that he recognized that many of the issues raised by Bainimarama are valid and he wondered whether Qarase can open a public dialogue that deals with legal issues and the aftermath of the 2000 coup in ways that persuade many in the military to step back.

Williams confessed he is “less than overconfident” about whether a coup can be avoided and believed a coup is more likely than a resolution, and thinks the RFMF may act to force out the government as early as within the week.

The NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials also said that they believe widespread violence would be unlikely, but that the RFMF would instead force resignations of key government officials.

The Wikileaks document also show that NZ’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Pacific Islands Division Director Heather Riddell confirmed that NZ had told Bainimarama that neither Australia nor New Zealand intended to send troops to Fiji.

She also confirmed that MFAT had authorized departure from Fiji for High Commission dependents, who had already been taken outside of Suva for security reasons.

The documents revealed that as they consider a coup is unlikely to be violent, the NZ Government does not expect to have to arrange a widespread evacuation for NZ nationals and others but they are keeping this option open.


Story by: Roneel Lal