14 Jan 2009

Forum head mum about plea to drop Fiji Forum suspension threat

11:52 am on 14 January 2009

The Pacific Islands Forum secretary general, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, says he'll respond to concerns about the possible suspension of Fiji from the regional body.

Suspending Fiji from the regional body is one of the options to be discussed at a special Forum leaders summit in Port Moresby later this month.

A Fiji political party, the General Voters Party, has written a letter to the secretariat asking it to remove the possible suspension from the agenda of that summit.

It says a suspension would be political suicide and lead to the eventual destruction of the Forum.

Mr Slade says he has received the letter.

"I will be responding as appropriate to that correspondence. It's not appropriate that I discuss my response to someone else with you."

Tuiloma Neroni Slade says it's inappropriate for him to comment on whether the suspension of Fiji will be on the agenda, adding the ministerial contact group will present its findings on the Fiji situation to the leaders in Port Moresby.