The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewanivanua party reaffirmed its belief in the importance of discussions of the political leaders as a way of broaching political agreements to break political deadlocks and provide some basis for forging broad consensus and restoring democratic processes.

As one of the many resolutions the SDL General Assembly released at the AGM on Friday, the party commended the efforts of those who had contributed their time and effort to help the dialogue process along. And calls on the two parties involved, deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and Commodore Bainimarama to persist with talks until the full restoration of democracy in Fiji.

However, the SDL stated that it was concerned with the steep increase in the level of poverty in Fiji since December 6th, 2006 as stated by the Interim Finance Minister in his 2008 Budget Address and reminded the Interim Government that their methods of operation and policies so far do in fact promote poverty by driving away investors and tourists.

The SDL also stated their concern at the growing militarisation of the Public Service and that they believe that this is counterproductive and runs contrary to the working culture under a civil and elected authority, which is crucial in a democracy. The SDL urged that the employment of people adheres to the rules of employing people on merit - based on qualifications and relevant experience.

As part of their resolution, the party also stated their concern about the performance of the Police Force in addressing the increasing criminal activities, the high incidences of rape, sacrilege and white collar crime over the last 12 months.

In relation to this, the SDL urged the leaders of the force to pay attention to the high level of leadership, co-ordination and professional standards established by former Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes in the force, as a standard to be upheld and maintained with the support of the Interim Administration.