New Zealand Maoris plan delegation to Fiji

May 5, 2009, 23:18 GMT

Wellington - New Zealand Maoris are planning to send a delegation to Fiji, where the military regime is governing under emergency powers, to offer support to the indigenous population whom they regard as ancestral brothers.

But the co-leaders of the Maori Party in Parliament said Wednesday they would not lead the delegation after being warned off by Prime Minister John Key.

Pita Sharples, who is minister of Maori affairs, and Tariana Turia, minister for the community and voluntary sector, issued a statement saying, 'We take our ministerial responsibilities seriously, and even if we travel as Maori Party leaders or iwi (tribal) representatives to Fiji, the perception is we will still be seen as ministers of the New Zealand government, so we will not be going.

'We understand that the government must speak with one voice.'

Key has been sharply critical of the military regime, which imposed emergency regulations banning political meetings and censoring the media on April 10, and New Zealand is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, which suspended Fiji's membership at the weekend.

The forum acted after Fiji's military boss Voreqe Bainimarama, who took over in a coup in December 2006, rejected his regional fellow leaders' demands to name a date for fresh elections.

Sharples and Turia said a Maori delegation would visit the people of Fiji, adding, 'The purpose is to promote dialogue and understanding, not conflict.'

A Maori Party legislator, Hone Harawira, told Radio New Zealand that he planned to go, to hear the views of indigenous Fijians at first hand.

He said the visit would not indicate support for the military regime and he would be taking the message that the Maori Party was ready to help in any way it could, if people in Fiji wanted that.