STATEMENT

Labour welcomes lifting of emergency regulations in Fiji

Labour Foreign Affairs spokesman Phil Goff has welcomed the announcement by Fiji's interim Government that it will next week lift the emergency regulations that were imposed in 2009.

"The emergency regulations have been used to restrict freedoms including freedom of assembly, the right to protest and freedom of the press.

"If we take the Fiji Government's announcement at face value, then this is a welcome move for the people in Fiji and for Fiji's Pacific neighbours," Phil Goff said.

"We should accept this as a measure of good will. If it translates into real change on the ground, New Zealand should respond by starting to ease sanctions.

"This could be a turning point but our optimism needs to tempered by caution given past failures to deliver. It will be important to engage with Fiji to encourage the restoration of democracy and human rights including free elections, an independent judiciary, and a media free from censorship.

"This latest announcement should be responded to positively, but New Zealand will need to be sure that real change is made in Fiji as an on-going condition for the easing of sanctions in Fiji," Phil Goff said.

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