Mahendra Chaudhry may visit India soon

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, JULY 30. The ousted Fijian Prime Minister, Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry, who will hold talks with the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. John Howard, tomorrow, is expected to visit India soon.

Highly-placed sources told The Hindu that Mr. Chaudhry, who left for Sydney today, will be in New Zealand on August 7 and 8 for high-level talks. Held hostage for 56 days by the rebel leader, Mr. George Speight, and his associates, Mr. Chaudhry has left Fiji for the first time since being released.

``It will give me an opportunity to convey again our concern and distress about what is happening in Fiji,'' Mr. John Howard was quoted as saying in Sydney today about his dialogue with Mr. Chaudhry. The idea behind the former Fiji Prime Minister's visits to Australia, New Zealand, India and, possibly, some other Commonwealth countries is to garner support for a return to elected rule as per the 1997 Constitution.

However, given the polarised situation in Fiji, neither Mr. Chaudhry nor the Indian Government want to make a big deal out of the visit.

The ousted Prime Minister, clearly, will have to be careful about any possible repercussions that his visits might have on the current situation in Fiji. However, there is little doubt he doesn't have much of an option but to lobby his case in the capitals of Australia and New Zealand, the two countries which have the maximum influence in the region.

India, too, is in a ticklish position. Of late, statements from New Delhi have been careful in not asking for the direct restoration of Mr. Chaudhry's Government, but of an administration which conforms to the 1997 Constitution.

During his visits to Commonwealth countries, the ousted Prime Minister is expected to make a strong case for Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth; not just from the decision-making councils of the international body.

Further, Mr. Chaudhry could also seek greater intervention from United Nations bodies who have dealings with Fiji. He will, possibly, lobby for a UN vote of confidence in the People's Coalition Government as Fiji's legitimate Government.

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