Nauru claims cloud summit
SYDNEY: South Pacific diplomats gathered in Sydney on Thursday for a foreign ministers’ summit focused on disaster management, although concerns about an alleged clampdown on basic freedoms in Nauru threatens to overshadow the talks.
Representatives from 15 Pacific countries jetted in to join the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand for the two-day meeting, almost four months after Vanuatu was slammed by a maximum category 5 cyclone which devastated crops and destroyed homes.
“Reducing risks and mitigating the effects of disasters is critically important for this region,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.
“We will focus on practical ways to achieve this, including harnessing the private sector and improving the role of women in responding to natural disasters.”
The ministers will draw on lessons from the experiences of Cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu in mid-March, and Super Typhoon Maysak, which battered Micronesia later that month.
The Pacific Islands Forum said in a statement that “access to finance for disaster preparedness, response and recovery will be a theme throughout”.
Climate change is also expected to feature in the talks, with the grouping in recent years taking a leading role in raising global awareness about an issue that directly threatens the existence of some low-lying members such as Kiribati and Tuvalu.
Also on the agenda ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Papua New Guinea in September will be ways to strengthen links with dialogue partners, including China, France, Britain and the United States.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully made clear ahead of the summit that he had “serious” concerns about a rights clampdown in Nauru and that this would also be a priority.
International monitors have criticised the tiny nation — the world’s third smallest, with a population of just 10,000 people — after it introduced laws carrying heavy jail terms for political protesters and curbed access to certain internet sites, including Facebook.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said this week the situation in Nauru was “worrying”, while the New Zealand Law Society said it was “fast becoming intolerable”.
Nauru’s Justice Minister David Adeang fired back late on Wednesday, describing the New Zealand comments as “rash ... without understanding the facts”.
“Contrary to reports in some sections of the media, there is certainly no breakdown in democracy or any other turmoil in Nauru,” Mr Adeang said in a statement.
“We are merely upholding the rule of law and those who break the rules will be arrested.
“It is true, several opposition MPs are before the courts because of their alleged involvement in a violent parliament riot last month and they will be provided with a fair trial.”
Mr Adeang’s said the government’s actions were supported by “most Nauruans”.