Fiji sporting ban softens for sevens

By EUGENE BINGHAM political reporter

So-called smart sanctions against Fiji have been bent to allow the troubled Pacific nation to compete in next year's Wellington rugby sevens tournament, after a failed bid to work up an international boycott.

But administrators travelling with the team will still be banned if their names are on a list of Fijians barred from entering the country because of their involvement in the George Speight-led coup.

The Government said yesterday that a six-month sporting ban imposed after the May 19 putsch would be extended into next year - though an exemption pass would be given to the Fijian rugby sevens team for February's tournament.

Foreign Minister Phil Goff said he had tried to gain support for an international boycott against Fiji. Australia was the only country prepared to take the same stand.

"We weren't even getting a positive response from South Africa, a country that we thought of all countries might be prepared to back us up," said Mr Goff.

Other Pacific countries responded by offering to host the tournament.

In the end, the cabinet decided that New Zealand and Australia would be left on their own and the tournament would simply have been moved elsewhere.

"I will take any sensible action that will have an impact within Fiji. What I won't do is take an action that will only penalise ourselves but will not have an impact within Fiji."

Asked why New Zealand was not prepared to take a stand similar to that of the African nations who boycotted the 1976 Olympics because of NZ rugby contacts with South Africa, Mr Goff said: "The shame of that was on us [and] if there had been substantial support from other countries participating we would have been prepared to take the action, but there wasn't."

Prime Minister Helen Clark was defensive of the decision at her post-cabinet press conference, rejecting suggestions that the sanctions amounted to a Clayton's ban.

"There is no relaxation whatsoever on bilateral sporting contacts, but this is an international event over which New Zealand has no control," she said.

The Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji said the decision would dilute the strong message NZ had sent since the coup.

"The one thing that makes Fijians proud is the sevens team and if anything was going to hurt, it would have been this [banning the team,]" said spokesman Nik Naidu.

"I don't understand the double standard."

New Zealand Rugby Football Union chief executive David Rutherford said the International Rugby Board was the body which issued the invitations to the tournament.

If Fiji had been banned from playing in Wellington, the only people punished would have been NZ rugby fans, he said.

New Zealand has played against Fiji in the final of two tournaments in the series so far.