Claims by Fiji's military that New Zealand police in the Pacific country are mercenaries are "ridiculous," Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti said New Zealand police sent to beef up security at the high commission did not have a "mandate" to exercise
authority in Fiji.
"We will not accept any foreign intervention," he said.
Helen Clark said on Newstalk ZB that the Fiji military was "poking its nose in where there's absolutely no cause to".
"There was a decision taken at the end of last week for four New Zealand police officers to go up to the New Zealand High Commission to provide it with additional security and support," she said.
"Now, the prime minister's office was contacted, no problem. Fiji police were contacted, foreign ministry of Fiji was contacted.
"Of course the New Zealand police didn't go to the Fiji military, why would they? Absolutely ridiculous."
Col Driti also accused Australia of breaching its sovereignty by sending an unspecified number of police into the country.
Australian police arrived last Friday on a flight from Sydney as part of "an inter-police force involvement" under Fiji Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, an Australian, Col Driti said.
The officers were whisked through immigration in the western city of Nadi without going through normal channels and were accompanied by 400kg of unspecified equipment "in strong silver boxes", he said.
Helen Clark said New Zealand was beefing up security at its high commission, as she expected the Australians were also doing, in the "ghastly event" there was a fourth coup in 19 years.
Australia also would be preparing to help people evacuate but the Government was working to ensure events "fall well short of that".
She said it was her gut feeling that the Fiji military "was endeavouring to bluff, intimidate and threaten".
The jury was out over whether it would be prepared to mount a coup but it was good news that Fiji's capital Suva had appeared to be calmer over the past two or three days, Helen Clark said.
- NZPA
