Joint Press Statement by Commonwealth Secretary-General the Rt Hon Don McKinnon and the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on the Fiji hostage crisis
24 May 2000
Centra Hotel, Suva, Fiji, 24 May
We arrived this morning at 00.02hrs and shall be departing tomorrow at 10.00hrs. We come from distinct organisations but with similar objectives and carrying a similar message.
We met with the principal players in the ongoing hostage crisis. Among these were President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the Minister of Labour, Mr Momoedonu and leaders of the Fiji Labour Party, including Senators Koroi and Bane. We also met Heads of Government Departments and the diplomatic corps. We visited the Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and other hostages and spoke to George Speight and his associates. We also spoke to a number of Fijians by telephone.
The message we conveyed on behalf of the Commonwealth and the United Nations was the need first for the unconditional release of all hostages and strict adherence to democratic and constitutional principles and practices in the process of resolving the ongoing crisis. While acknowledging that no Constitution is perfect, we insisted that whatever defects may be perceived to exist in the 1997 Constitution should be addressed through the provisions of the Constitution itself.
We stressed that Fiji has in recent years strengthened the rule of law and become a highly respected member of the international community. We highlighted its exemplary role in UN peace-keeping operations in Lebanon, Bougainville and East Timor, and also its contribution towards resolving the ethnic unrest in the Solomon Islands. We emphasised the need for Fiji to remain an example of democracy and rule of law in the South Pacific region. The events of the past five days had tended to cast a shadow over Fiji's international reputation. We drew attention to the adverse international consequences of settling the current crisis outside the provisions of the Constitution.
We were much encouraged by the resolve of President Mara to uphold the Constitution and the endorsement he received in this regard from the Great Council of Chiefs. We were also heartened by the determination of senior civil servants to support the President and abide by the Constitution.
We succeeded in seeing Prime Minister Chaudhry and the other hostages briefly. We found him and his colleagues in what under the circumstances could be described as good spirits, although he complained that he and his son were twice manhandled. Some of the hostages were clearly in anguish.
Mr Speight was present when we visited the hostages. We took the opportunity to express to him our total disapproval of the methods he had adopted in seeking to redress perceived injustices. We told him that there was no tolerance in today's world for the violent overthrow of democratically elected governments. He resisted our appeals for the immediate release of the hostages but gave us an assurance that the hostages would be well cared for and that no harm would come to any of them.
00/40 24 May 2000
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