SUVA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- While the New Zealand High Commission Office in Suva, Fiji is closed for business on Wednesday, the Australians are awaiting a word from Canberra before any decision on their diplomat is confirmed.

    This followed a directive from the Fiji government on Tuesday night to expel Australia and New Zealand envoys within 24 hours from 06:00 p.m. Fiji time on Tuesday.

    Fiji Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said the decision to expel the envoys came about after Sri Lankan judges who have been appointed to serve in the Fijian judiciary were told that they would not be able to travel through and to Australia because they had taken these positions.

    And before that, a High Court judge was intimidated when she wanted to travel to New Zealand for her son's medical care and initially denied a visa.

    "One of these Sri Lankan judges had the foresight to tape the conversation in which she was informed by the Australian official in Colombo that travel sanctions would apply because she had taken the position in the Fijian judiciary," said Bainimarama.

    The culmination of these incidents displays a consolidated effort to attack Fiji's independent judiciary, he said.

    It also showed that the Australian and New Zealand governments have been dishonest and untruthful over the matter of travel ban for judges.

    In the circumstances, Fiji's chief justice Anthony Gates took a rather unusual step of holding a press conference on Sunday.

    Gates said the interference by Australian and New Zealand governments in Fiji's troubled judiciary undermines the courts.

    Gates told Bainimarama that this policy of the Australian and New Zealand governments stops him from nominating credible, well qualified individuals to serve on the Bench.

    He also highlighted the fact that such interference is unheard of in particular in the absence of evidence that members of the judiciary are breaching any laws, either internationally or in Fiji.

    Bainimarama said the two countries failed to support Fiji's efforts of moving forward.

    "On one hand, they are our largest trading partners, they are members of the Pacific Islands Forum, 60 percent of our tourists come from these countries and their numbers are growing on a daily basis," he said.

    "They claim to be our friends yet on the other hand they fail to recognize the efforts that we are making in being a good international citizen; they fail to understand that we are creating a country that will be based on equal and common citizenry, a country of modern laws, a country which will have true democracy," he added.

    Bainimarama said it was his Government's duty to ensure that no foreign Government interfered with Fiji's judicial independence and integrity.

    "We must always protect and be proud of our sovereignty."

    "It is for these reasons that I have told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue communications to the Australian and New Zealand Governments that their respective heads of missions are to be recalled within 24 hours," he added.

    Bainimarama also said Fiji's High Commissioner in Australia is to be recalled, with immediate effect.

    New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully on Tuesday night confirmed that New Zealand's Acting Head of Mission in Fiji has been ordered out of the country by the interim government of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama.

    He said the New Zealand government will now consider the appropriate steps to take in response to Tuesday's expulsion, and also assess the impact of this action on the already depleted resources in Suva High Commission.