KEY POINTS:
On a sun-drenched Suva morning, the only sour notes disturbing the contented mood of the New Zealanders flooding into the heart of Fiji's capital are the pitiful cries of the numerous beggars and the persistent, annoying entreaties of the souvenir hawkers.
The cruise liner Pacific Star has just
disgorged more than 1000 passengers on to the city's wharves, their credit card-primed wallets about to offer some temporary relief to what Helen Clark describes as Fiji's "crumbling" economy.
The ship had left Auckland just as the Prime Minister was again urging New Zealanders to think twice before taking up cheap holiday offers to the coup-stricken country.
The great majority of those on board had booked long before Frank Bainimarama turfed out High Commissioner Michael Green.
However, it seems unlikely that Helen Clark's plea for them to contemplate what happened to a "fellow citizen" would be uppermost in the minds of those now trawling Suva's shops for bargains - even had they heard it.
The world of politics rarely intrudes into the cocooned world of the tourist, although there is a brief reminder of the former as those on a sightseeing coach coughing its way up a hill suburb watch a truckful of soldiers ease its way past.
Otherwise, Suva feels about as threatening as Greymouth on a wet weekend.
On board the air-conditioned bus, the Fijian guide breaks the ice currently surrounding Fiji-NZ relations with jibes about rugby rivalry and Fiji's ultimate superiority in sevens.
Politics is skirted more carefully. But it is not ignored. On what is termed a "historic" tour of the capital, it hardly can be.
Indeed, the official residence of the New Zealand High Commissioner - handily located next door to Bainimarama's - has now become an unofficial part of the sightseeing trail.
The tour had already allowed a distant view of the island where the leader of another coup, George Speight, is incarcerated.
Then it is on to the shops. The ringing of the tills is now accompanied by a new tune, however.
The clearly worried shop-owners want their fleeting customers to spread one message once back home: Fiji is still the place to be even if it is no longer the way the world should be.
* John Armstrong is on board the Pacific Star courtesy of P&O
Military commander pleads for leniency
Fiji military commander and interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has asked New Zealand not to "unnecessarily penalise Fiji through harsh sanctions" after his expulsion of High Commissioner Michael Green.
In a press statement he described the situation as "temporarily strained diplomatic relations".
And in contrast to his personal criticism of Prime Minister Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, he tempered his plea with a raft of complimentary statements about relations with New Zealand.
He said New Zealand "has played an immense role in mediating in conflicts in the region, particularly in Bougainville and in the Solomons".
He praised the work of Sir Paul Reeves in formulating the 1997 Fiji constitution and efforts late last year to avert Fiji's political crisis.
Fijians identified closely with the tangata whenua and Fijians were an integral part of New Zealand rugby.
"It is obvious from all these contacts that Fiji-New Zealand relations are significantly broader and deeper that the 'media hype' which has recently been generated in respect of our temporarily strained relations.
"I am hopeful the New Zealand politicians and bureaucrats would be mindful of all these special relationships and not unnecessarily penalise Fiji through harsh sanctions."
On Monday the Cabinet will consider recommendations from officials on sanctions.
- Audrey Young
