An Australia-based Fiji academic Dr Brij Lal says that support for Fiji's military regime in the Melanesian Spearhead Group is misguided.
The political grouping, the United Front for a Democratic Fiji, has strongly criticised MSG support for Fiji's regime.
It says the MSG has ignored the plight of Fiji's population, which for nearly seven years has been deprived of its democratic rights.
Dr Lal says the MSG lacks understanding about Fiji.
Instead of its partisan approach to FIji, Dr Lal says the MSG should be listening to others in Fiji:
"Listening to the voices of people who do represent the people because they were duly elected to parliament and so on, listening to the voices of NGOs, trade unions and political parties and so on, I think that would better inform MSG's approach to Fiji. But what they're doing at the moment is, I think in the long run, counter-productive."
An Australia-based Fiji academic, Dr Brij Lal.