Suva: Fiji's military ruler today said he would not let the South Pacific country return to a political system driven by corruption and racial discrimination, casting further doubt on a timetable to restore democracy.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama's comments reaffirmed his plan to make sweeping changes to Fiji's voting system before holding elections to end the military-installed government that followed his 2006 coup.
Critics say Bainimarama's plan does not leave enough time before a promised April 2009 deadline for elections because it involves a comprehensive review of the electoral system and changes to the Constitution.
Critics, including Australia, New Zealand, the US and European Union, have demanded Bainimarama keep his pledge to hold elections under the current constitution and voting system no later than April 2009.
Bainimarama said in a statement today that "requests to return the country to pre-December 2006 status will be like returning to square one, which I strongly believe no Fiji citizen in his or her right mind will want to endure again."
Bainimarama overthrew Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's government on Dec. 5, 2006, alleging it was corrupt and racist for imposing policies that benefited the majority indigenous Fijian population over ethnic Indians who make up about 37 per cent of the population.
Bainimarama appealed today to Qarase and other critics to support his planned changes to end "repugnant racial discrimination, an alarmingly high level of official corruption in both the public and private sectors, and ... very slow ... Economic growth."
