Radio New Zealand International today reported that Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had invited United Nations and Commonwealth officials to Fiji's election forum.
He was commenting after this week's Pacific Islands Forum summit in Niue told Fiji it could be suspended from the forum if it did not meet its promise to hold elections by March next year.
Fiji is already suspended from the Commonwealth but still receives technical assistance from the London-based grouping of countries.
While Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji was willing to enter constructive talks with New Zealand, it would not be invited to the election forum in Fiji.
"Why should it be? This is a problem that is a Fijian problem," he told Radio New Zealand International.
"It is all the Fijian political parties ... all the registered political parties will participate and discuss the electoral reform that has been suggested."
I venture to suggest that the REAL reason is that the Fijian administration is sick to the back teeth of lectures and hectoring from the Helen Clark, Winston Peters and the New Zealand government, whose own record on electoral reform isn't that crash hot.
And Commodore Frank Bainimarama added his own upraised finger:
Cdre Bainimarama refused to attend the Niue meeting, claiming he had been denied the opportunity to hold post-summit talks in Auckland because of travel sanctions imposed by New Zealand.Prime Minister Helen Clark has rejected his excuse.
Cdre Bainimarama yesterday said that every Fiji citizen must now ask, "Are we going to be bullied and pressured into doing things that are clearly not in our national interest?"
He warned other Pacific Island leaders "to be vigilant to protect the forum organisation becoming a foreign policy tool" of Australia and New Zealand.
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