The United States said Friday it was concerned by the abolition of Fiji's constitution by President Ratu Jesefa Iloilo, who appointed himself head of state and declared a “new legal order.” Iloilo's move following a ruling Thursday by the Pacific island country's Court of Appeals that said Fiji's military regime had been illegally appointed after a 2006 coup d'etat. The president also fired the country's judges and announced that an interim government would be appointed soon to prepare Fiji for elections by September 2014. “We are concerned by the implications this abrogation holds for the future of judicial independence, media freedom, and democracy itself in Fiji,” said Richard Aker, a State Department spokesman. The return of democracy to Fiji will depend on an “open and transparent process that includes the participation of all political parties in a genuine dialogue that is independent, inclusive, time-bound, and with no predetermined outcome,” Aker told reporters. The 16-country Pacific Islands Forum had threatened to suspend Fiji unless it names an election date by the beginning of next month. Aker said the United States “reiterates its call for Fiji to adhere to the timetable and benchmarks” outlined by the Pacific Islands Forum.
