Sarah Roberts, Australia’s senior envoy to Fiji since 2008, has been served 24 hours by the Fijian military government to leave the country. She will fly back to Australia as a "persona non grata" with her two children and husband, reported by The Australian.
The unceremonious dismissal could possibly be a result of the fact that Australia and New Zealand insisted Fiji be excluded from the main bloc at the Pacific Islands Forum, an multilateral regional organization of 16 island states. Roberts also called on Fiji to end its military rule and return to democracy.
Last November, Fiji dismissed high commissioner James Batley. Roberts was his replacment.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith responded to Fiji's recent move with strong dissatisfaction, but said that he would not dismiss Fiji’s diplomats from Australia in retaliation.
"If I responded in kind, that would see Fiji unrepresented in Australia and would effectively see the end of our formal diplomatic contact," said Smith according to BBC.
