Sydney  - Fijians in Australia Sunday condemned the imposition of military rule in their homeland and called on the Australian government to put pressure on the regime to restore democracy.

All of Fiji's judges were sacked last week after three Australian judges sitting as the Court of Appeal ruled that the military government of Voreqe Bainimarama, who seized power in the December 2006 coup, was illegal.

In response to the ruling, the regime revoked the constitution and declared emergency powers, including stringent censorship forbidding criticism of the government.

In response, the Fijian community in Australia have launched an international campaign for restoration of democracy in Fiji.

The convenor of the Saturday night Fijian community meeting in Sydney, Usaia Waqatairewa, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) "We have to do something, we have to up the sanctions, we have to hit them where it hurts most, through financial means, through travel means, through travel bans, economic trade bans. No more smart bans, we have to give total sanctions."

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully told TVNZ that New Zealand can do little to compel Fiji's military regime to have elections.

"We can't make them have elections and can't stop them wrecking their economy. We are dealing with a tough regime and it is not going to bend in a hurry," McCully said.

Radio New Zealand was quoting The Fiji Times as reporting that all public meeting permits have been revoked as a result of the Public Emergency Regulation.

Bainimarama has posted censors in the offices of newspapers and radio and television stations, ordered foreign journalists out of the country and shut down ABC's radio transmitters.

The regime's actions have been internationally condemned, and the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth of Nations have said they would suspend Fiji's membership. (dpa)