AUSTRALIAN READ-OUT OF PIF FOREIGN MINISTER'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 000472

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/ANP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM FJ AS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIAN READ-OUT OF PIF FOREIGN MINISTER'S
MEETING ON FIJI

REF: PORT MORESBY 100

Classified By: Political Counselor James Cole. Reasons 1.4(b)(d).


1. (C) Summary: Australia was very pleased with the outcome
of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Minister's meeting
on March 16. GOA officials strongly favor early elections in
Fiji, and are examining modalities for making electoral
preparations in the absence of a Parliament. They have some
questions about how the PIF Joint Working Group will
function, and do not want its meetings with Fijian
authorities to be seen as providing international acceptance
of the interim government. FM Downer has outlined broadly
the kind of assistance Australia is prepared to offer to
hasten the restoration of democracy, but the GOA has not yet
drawn up any detailed proposals. End Summary.

Meeting and GOA Reaction
--------------

2. (C) Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Fiji
Task Force Director Peter Budd gave us a read-out on March 23
of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Minister's meeting
on Fiji on March 16. Budd said that the outcome was the
"best case scenario" for Australia: a firm endorsement of
the Eminent Person's Group (EPG) recommendation by all
parties. He said Australia was surprised by the robustness
of the EPG report, although he recognized that the
recommendations were fairly straightforward. He maintained
that the communique was a good and necessary launching pad
for the international community to use to apply further
pressure to Fiji. He noted that it was particularly helpful
to the EU in order to proceed with Article 96 consultations.
Budd provided additional commentary on the meeting itself
that tracked closely with reftel information.

Legal Issues Related to the Need for Early Elections
-------------- --------------

3. (C) The GOA holds a strong view that the election should
be held as early as possible, hopefully before the 24-month
mark set by the EPG, according to Budd. It has sought
internal legal counsel on how best to conduct activities
deemed necessary for an election without a standing
parliament, yet within Fiji's constitutional framework.
DFAT's preliminary legal advice was that the neatest solution
would be to use all of the existing structure (census,
boundaries, etc.) for the first election and then modify
those things once a new Parliament has been established. New
Zealand's view was that the census and boundaries could be
done legally, however, and still have an election completed
within 18 months. Budd said that the EU Representative had
reminded participants that Mauritania had managed these types
of activities and conducted an election in a short timeframe
and with much less infrastructure in place than currently
exists in Fiji.

Tasks for Suva Mission
--------------

4. (C) The GOA also was concerned about the structure and
mechanisms of the working group established at the meeting.
Budd said that Australia did not want the meetings of the
working group and Fijian Interim Government (IG) officials to
be used to portray international acceptance of the IG. DFAT
has tasked their Suva Mission to talk to PIF Secretary Greg
Urwin to determine how the working group will function. They
will also ask Urwin to commission an independent, expert
report on the timing and structure of elections in order to
better understand the legal options.

Current Pressure Points
--------------

5. (C) Budd emphasized that the GOA thought that very little
could be done at this point to further influence Bainimarama.
Therefore, they are working on measures that will impact
those around him. GOA sanctions remain in place and will
continue until progress is evident. Until the military
returns to the barracks and Bainimarama steps down as acting
PM, Australia will not resume defence cooperation. All
travel bans remain in place, and the GOA has added bans for
those appointed by the IG. Budd said that Bainimarama had
written to PM Howard and New Zealand PM Clark complaining
that Australia had been encouraging others in the region to
pressure Fiji and pointedly noting that the GOA action was

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"unappreciated".


6. (C) Budd expressed appreciation for helpful U.S.
statements on Fiji. He also noted that cooperation from
Seoul had been useful and thanked the United States for
whatever it had done to encourage that outcome.

Australia Willing to Assist
--------------

7. (C) Budd said Australia was willing to offer assistance
toward restoration of democracy if the Fiji military agreed
to a credible road map. For example, as FM Downer told
Parliament on March 21, Australia would be willing to help
with the census, new electoral rolls and apportioning
electoral boundaries through the work of an independent
electoral commission. However, Budd said the GOA had not
seen any evidence to back up current statements of progress
from Fiji's IG, and the GOA has not yet fleshed out details
of a specific proposal.

MCCALLUM