TOUGH talk from PM Key clear signal to Bainimarama that he has to behave like a 'Democrat' now; gone are the days when he was behaving like a 'Dictator', finger-pointing and terrorizing Pacific leaders!
'I don’t think you want to take him [Bainimarama] seriously… I am not and I don’t think other people will be either’
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says the decision to attend or not to attend the Pacific Islands Forum meet rests entirely on Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. Speaking to New Zealand based Radio Tarana Key says they prefer him to attend the meeting because they all care about Fiji and Fijians.
However, he says Bainimarama’s non-attendance over the last six years has not made a difference to the meeting.
“You can see that whenever there is a natural disaster or whatever it might be NZ steps up along with Australia and helps and cares deeply about the people of Fiji but you can’t make a guy come to a Forum and if he doesn’t want to come he shouldn’t come it won’t stop the Forum operating as it is operating very successfully for the past five or six years – I prefer he came but I can’t make him come.”
Bainimarama has called on the removal of Australia and New Zealand from the Forum only then he will attend the leaders meeting.
Key told New Zealand station Radio Tarana:
‘’When it comes to the Pacific Island Forum its Australia and New Zealand that put in the money and most typically and we there to support our Pacific friends whether its Fiji or Tonga or Samoa or in Melanesia or Solomon Islands or PNG whatever it might be – so a Pacific Forum without Australia and New Zealand would be an interesting thing I suppose and that those leaders would be able to talk about things but exactly where will they get the money to do anything and the answer is nowhere – none of them have that – So I don’t think you want to take him seriously… I am not and I don’t think other people will be either’’.
However, he says Bainimarama’s non-attendance over the last six years has not made a difference to the meeting.
“You can see that whenever there is a natural disaster or whatever it might be NZ steps up along with Australia and helps and cares deeply about the people of Fiji but you can’t make a guy come to a Forum and if he doesn’t want to come he shouldn’t come it won’t stop the Forum operating as it is operating very successfully for the past five or six years – I prefer he came but I can’t make him come.”
Bainimarama has called on the removal of Australia and New Zealand from the Forum only then he will attend the leaders meeting.
Key told New Zealand station Radio Tarana:
‘’When it comes to the Pacific Island Forum its Australia and New Zealand that put in the money and most typically and we there to support our Pacific friends whether its Fiji or Tonga or Samoa or in Melanesia or Solomon Islands or PNG whatever it might be – so a Pacific Forum without Australia and New Zealand would be an interesting thing I suppose and that those leaders would be able to talk about things but exactly where will they get the money to do anything and the answer is nowhere – none of them have that – So I don’t think you want to take him seriously… I am not and I don’t think other people will be either’’.
EXUDING THE PACIFIC WAY: John Key at Pacific Islands Forum
