CANBERRA TO DECIDE FIJI S MINI SOUTH PACIFIC GAMES Submitted by admin on Thu, 09/27/2001 - 00:00
MELBOURNE, Australia (September 26, 2001 – Radio Australia) -Organizers of this December s Mini South Pacific Games on Norfolk Island are hoping to find out this week whether Fiji will attend the event.
Norfolk Island is administered by Australia, which is yet to repeal a series of sanctions imposed on Fiji following last year s coup.
Tom Lloyd of the Mini South Pacific Games Organizing Committee says Fiji has entered 121 athletes, but says their attendance will ultimately be decided by Australia s Department of Foreign Affairs. Our government here has written to foreign affairs asking them to give us a waiver to allow the Fijian athletes to come, Mr. Lloyd said. Our latest information was that the sports bans were still in place, but that we had the option as the organizers of the event to appeal direct to the Minister for a waiver of that.