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Pacific Briefs
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Posted on Oct 30 2000
Forum allows sanctions against members
TARAWA, Kiribati.-.South Pacific Forum leaders meeting during a summit have left open an option to sanction member countries that threaten democracy.
At their weekend retreat in Kiribati, the 16 leaders of the Forum agreed to formulate procedures that would deal with violence, such as the coups in Fiji and Solomon Islands.
Also at the retreat, the leaders agreed to send a message to the Indonesian government and West Papuan separatists, urging them not to resort to violence.
However, the statement falls short of hopes by Vanuatu and Nauru to extract support from the Forum for West Papuan independence.
TV crew banned from PNG
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – A British television documentary crew working in Papua New Guinea has been denied permission to film, despite having obtained the necessary permits.
The incident may have repercussions for an Australian TV crew heading to the country on Monday.
The British crew is making a documentary for the BBC about James Chalmers, a missionary killed here 100 years ago.
But Gulf Province Governor Riddler Kimave intervened, allegedly because the crew refused the government’s demands for money. (Pacific Islands Report)
