The unholy alliance between the Fiji Times and the Coalition government has produced another attempt to hoodwink the minorities with a misleading front page headline today trumpeting that the “PM backs equality” when in the body of the accompanying stories, he does anything but.
Once again, the Prime Minister dodges the issue of whether the government is intent on abolishing the provisions in the 2013 Constitution for a common and equal citizenry and a common identity. He still refuses to comment on what the Deputy Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica, let slip last week – that the Coalition seeks a return to the 1997 constitution, which is weighted against the minorities and calls non-indigenous citizens “Fiji Islanders”, not Fijians.
Ask yourself this, Fiji. Why having tricked us into voting for him in 2022 on the basis that he had “changed”, realised he was wrong in 1987 and would now govern for all, will Sitiveni Rabuka not give us a straight answer to the following question?
In your review of the 2013 Constitution, do you intend to retain the common and equal citizenry provision – equal opportunity and equal votes of equal value – and the common identity provision – everyone officially designated Fijian?
Answer: He won’t because he can’t. Not without giving away the Coalition’s secret agenda to marginalise and disadvantage up to a third of Fiji’s population who are not indigenous.
While the Fiji Times – whose owner, “Mac” Patel, has waged a vociferous campaign to abolish the 2013 Constitution – obliges with the headline “PM backs equality”, the body of the story takes a very different and sinister tack.
The minorities are clearly not equal. Indigenous interests are paramount and the minorities are reduced to being “properly looked after”. Not equal citizens at all but dependent on indigenous patronage and protection. Like servants. Or pets.
So, Fiji. We have gone from the rhetoric of the Banimarama years of ” we are all Fijian and have the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities” to “you are to be Fiji Islanders, not Fijians – vulagi (visitors) – but we must be inclusive and look after you”.
This is a totally unacceptable way for any ethnic majority in a democracy to treat its fellow citizens. And the minorities in Fiji – well in advance of any attempt to jettison the 2013 Constitution – must start making our concerns known in international forums and get the global community to put pressure on Rabuka and his ilk to back off.
At home, it is time to wake up to the government’s real intention to restore indigenous paramountcy, which is hidden behind this patronising talk of non-indigenous citizens being “looked after”.
We don’t need looking after. We demand our right to equality. And we demand to genuinely belong, not be dependent on being accommodated by those who claim special status and are intent on re-imposing the tyranny of the majority in Fiji.
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Read on to see for yourself the disturbing disconnect between the Fiji Times front page headline and the body of the accompanying stories.
The Prime Minister clearly doesn’t see us as One Nation but a collection of tribes who must peacefully coexist, with the minorities “looked after” by a special ministry.
It is perilously close to the “separate development” or apartheid of the old South Africa, not a modern democracy in which a common and equal citizenry is the most basic requirement.
And the Attorney General, Graham Leung, says he doesn’t want any more talk of “them and us”? It is coming from your own leader!
Also in the Fiji Times, Pio Tikoduadua says Indo-Fijians have brought “colour” to Fiji. Like some quaint visiting foreign dance troupe.
Doubtless the comment is well-intentioned. But it is decidedly jarring against the backdrop of the current threats to the position of Indo-Fijians and other minorities.
Jesus wept. (and the other Prophets too)
The references to the UN declaration is being made in the same way as references to the Bible, to suit their own narrative.
The UN declaration is intended to protect indigenous people and cultures which are under existential threat, like the Maori, Aborigines, Native Americans, etc. The iTaukei are under no such threat and neither are any of the other Pacific Islanders.
Secondly, there is no widespread use of the word ‘Indian’ in reference to ‘Indo-Fijians’ by numerous in the public quarters, such as Biman, Nirmal, Rajend Chaudhry, Rajend Prasad (author), Victor Lal, etc. What is this all about? A desperate attempt to link to a country that will never accept Indo Fijians as her own, nor will ever stand by the Indo Fijians if needed. India only links itself to the famous CEOs.
UNDRIP, or the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is a human rights instrument adopted by the UN in 2007 that sets out the minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of Indigenous peoples globally, including their right to self-determination, cultural preservation, and freedom from discrimination.
In Fiji, the Indigenous Fijians are the custodianship rights of their resources bestowed upon their ancestral when they first landed on the islands some 3000 years ago just like the Indians who landed in India some 3000+ years ago; In the Pasifika islands, all the respective people are the indigenous people of their respective country, what is wrong is with that? Have some respective to the indigenous community of the Fiji islands, we are equal under the LAW of the land, the only differences is that they the indigenous people have their own traditional & customary land laws that they must follow to ensure their sustainable livelihood
Others are regarded as FIJIANS under the constitution 2013, which was forced unto them without following the protocols of getting the consent from the indigenous Fijian community…now we all have the common name of Fijians, and what else do you want??…let’s have some respect to the indigenous Fijian community, and of course we must also respect others….it is matter of Time and God’s Holy Spirit working in these last days that will bring us together as one people who fear the Living God, YAHWEH, and be reverence to Him alone….LET’s respect each other and be tolerance to each other…
Other Pasifika island community are indigenous people of their respective island country, keep that in your mind, we are not exclusive to any people for that matter, they have their own customary land & fishing grounds laws that must be respect…Vinaka
Why on earth would anyone need consent from the iTaukei to use an English language name? It isn’t yours to bestow. So just get over it.
Show some respect to the indigenous….hahahaha . What kind of respect do they want now?
‘Fisi’ was from the Tongans and Fiti was from the Samoans. Viti was from here. Notice hardly any F words in Fiji it’s more DVC.
Feejee was from some early English explorers like Captain Cook who heard the name from the Tongans. Which has now become Fiji.
KaiViti-Not happy(aka Paula)
Please explain to us why you are not happy.
The 2013 Constitution has not taken away from us indigenous any rights bestowed upon us by UNDRIP.
You have also contradicted yourself a few times.
You said we are all equal under law. Yes currently. But not in the future if the Constitution is removed.
What sort of respect do you expect? Please clarify.
Please explain what these protocols of using the name “Fijian” involves. As far as I’m aware it is not even a native word.
It is unfortunate that a highly educated indigenous Fijian like you still get conned by these politicians’ narratives. Because there are indigenous Fijians that will look up to you and unfortunately you are giving them the wrong message.
And please go learn some history. I’m sure Indians were in India a lot longer than 3000 years.
FACT: “Anatomically modern humans settled India in multiple waves of early migrations, over tens of millennia. The first migrants came with the Coastal Migration/Southern Dispersal 65,000 years ago, whereafter complex migrations within South and Southeast Asia took place”.
FACT: “Fijian” is an English language word to describe people from Fiji -formerly Feejee, an English language derivative of the iTaukei “Viti” and the Tongan “Fisi”. So why should anyone ask permission of the iTaukei to use it?
‘Just like Indians landed in India some 3000years ago’ – WTF ?
And further, you want respect? Respect for what, that statement or the fact that you idly sit on 90+ % of the land and do sweet f all with it and want to constitutionally disrespect those that were brought here to till that land and provide you with the sustenance that now nourishes you?
I think others have already responded and it appears you’re tying yourself in knots.
The iTaukei community is not under an existential threat. Prevention of lost communities and their cultures is what the UNDRIP intends. In Fiji, there is selective use of UNDRIP to suit what the politicians, primarily ethnonationalists, to drive their political agendas.
In Fiji, the indigenous make up more than 60% of the population. They’re under no threat from other races. The loss in culture is from within. In 10 years, we will have a drug-addicted iTaukei population with youths who have physical or mental distortions because of the widespread use of drugs and inherent poverty. The ‘Fijian’ label won’t change this.
The government needs to get down to bread and butter issues.
Fiji Times journos are evidently trained by studying George Orwell’s 1984, the Bible for teaching deceptive speak aiding government control techniques.
The current essence of democracy in Fiji is to hoodwink the voting public, not to advocate good policies for the intelligent public to choose.
The redemption of the Fiji economy will be from repairing Fiji, attracting tourists by cleaning the streets, repairing healthcare and infrastructure, establishing law and order with a smart moral police force, and reducing unemployment. This cannot happen if the papers are daily full of political lying crap.
So much crocodile tears and asking for forgiveness. Now will the grand kids bear the brunt again? The whole family is racist across generations because that is the atmosphere in the extended household.
Will government make minority populations marginalised so that they continue falling backwards in education opportunities and employment? It reads as though minorities will become wards of state.
Were itaukei all white and India brought brown and black to Fiji?
Spot on GD.
Rabuka still thinks that Fijians are idiots to take high-sounding words like ‘we will continue to look after the interests of all ethnic groups’ as a genuine call for the equality of all citizens as enshrined in the 2013 constitution.
Why can’t he, with a straight face, just say that all citizens irrespective of ethnicity will continue to be called Fijians?
Obviously, he does not want to say so explicitly as he wants to keep his options of reclassifying the vulagis open. Also, the man cannot be trusted after he turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He and Biman Prasad’s vote of confidence in the last election has turned out to be a bitter pill for most of us and his continued attempt at tinkering and trying to appease us is outright insulting.
And it is all very well for Tuilevuka’s headline of Rabuka ‘dismissing’ claim of the ‘nationalist’ agenda! It sounds like perpetrators denying any allegations or charges. The proof is in the actions and the crafted words designed to mislead or even try and fool the people.
Rambo, you will need to do a lot better!
It is 18 months away from elections. Rabuka and PAP have determined that they have failed miserably in the governance of our nation. They have to quickly come up with something that will appease the indigenous voters to get them back into power. Hence the push to change the constitution.
Unfortunately, the majority of the indigenous people have been hoodwinked into believing that the 2013 Constitution is the reason they have not succeeded in business and that it has taken away control of their god-given resources from them.
And of course, this is the same scam used by various political parties in the past to get into parliament. Ever since May 1987 when some misguided person wanted to protect indigenous rights.
I am dumbfounded as to why we i Taukeis continue to get conned by these politicians whose main aim of entering parliament is self-interest.
My plea to all Itaukeis with some gray matter upstairs, please start telling your friends, relatives and anyone who will listen, that changing the Constitution will not improve their lives at all. Nor will taking away common citizenry, or common name or secularism provisions.
If they want to improve their lives, better use their resources that no one has taken away from them, they need to educate themselves. Learn how to manage businesses – without getting government handouts. Learn the value of hard work.
We need to get away from this sense of self entitlement that we have. It is the main reason we are lagging behind in everything. Because we wait for things to be done for us.
We cannot and should not be given any special treatment. These schemes do not work as proven in the past.
We can change the constitution, chase away all non indigenous people from Fiji, you will still not achieve anything unless you educate yourselves and learn the value of hard work.
Please vote these people out and bring in a new government that looks after all of us equally.
And remind them that becoming a lawyer is not equal to getting an education. Just point out the fools in and around this government. Sorry, add Biman and his USP education. You need go no further.
Rabuka’s hidden agenda of elevating the iTaukei above all other races in Fiji is becoming more and more evident, with the help of the Fiji Times, Mac Patel, and six Indo-Fijians loyal to him. While it’s clear Rabuka has been trying since 1987 to position indigenous Fijians above the rest, it is unacceptable that six Indo-Fijians are complicit in undermining the status of their own community and other minorities.
When Rabuka says, “we must be inclusive and look after you,” it rings hollow. This rhetoric mirrors the 2013 Constitution, yet Rabuka is determined to change it. Some even seek to abrogate it entirely and reinstate the racially divisive 1997 Constitution. The truth is clear: Rabuka doesn’t want Fiji to be inclusive or to care for all its people. His aim is a selective vision, not unity.
As GD rightly pointed out, the people don’t need to be “looked after”; we need equality, a common identity, and a secular state. Rabuka, however, is known for saying one thing, and doing the opposite—his track record shows he can’t be trusted.
Any responsible leader would focus on the welfare of the people and the advancement of Fiji as a modern state. But Rabuka is retracing the same old path—appointing retired and unqualified individuals to key positions, sidelining skilled, younger professionals who are dedicated to the future of the nation. This is pushing Fiji further into a brain drain, as talented individuals leave in droves.
The political payoffs benefiting Rabuka, Biman, and Aseri’s cronies ensure nothing productive will come from this regime. These retired figures, promised guaranteed incomes, are benefitting at the expense of the nation’s future.
Fiji’s media is failing to hold the government accountable. They’re not addressing issues where Rabuka, Biman, and the rest of the administration are failing the people.
The time to wake up is now. We deserve a government that serves all of us, not just a select few.
Only reason the itaukei are poor or mostly below the poverty line is because they have been brain washed by their leaders. It is a generational problem not going away anytime soon.
What they need to realise is narrow thinking will always put the country back. Thus no money coming in. There is a great deal of damage to the economy by creating this environment and in the end the grassroots people will have to dig deeper to put food on the table as they can never afford basic food items. Forget about touching a Rolex.
The name “Fiji” and Fijians that many are claiming to be so exclusive was given by James Cook. I bet most so called claimants of exclusivity dont even know what the Indigenous name for this country is.
A snake is a snake is a snake. Period.
I mean what hope do we have if a new political party is entering the arena as “the Lion of Judah” .
Where are the lions when we need them to eat these fanatical, intolerant Christians?
UNDRIP is a non-binding international human rights instrument that provides a framework to recognise and affirm the collective and individual human rights of indigenous peoples , address the current and historical injustices and discrimination faced by indigenous peoples, particularly in lands where they are a minority, thereby proclaiming their equality with all other members of society.
Importantly UNDRIP calls for EQUALITY between the indigenous and all other peoples, not ethno-supremacy, as highlighted in the text from the preamble:
“Affirming further that all doctrines, policies and
practices based on or advocating superiority of
peoples or individuals on the basis of national
origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust,”
Unfortunately, this historic piece of international human rights law has being used as a cudgel to promote ethno-supremacy and relegate ethnic minorities to second class citizenry in Fiji. And this talk about “looking after minorities” is just sugar coating that fact.
The minorities themselves won’t be fooled. It is to the “moderate” indigenous people that he is tailoring his message, because Rabuka does not think he needs the minority vote at all in the next election.
The culture of the non-indigenous allows them to be quicker at criticising their leaders. Just see how Biman has become a pariah. The indigenous, generally, are more susceptible to being conned by their leaders due to their traditional culture, including their historical governance structure that was partially created, and certainly reinforced, by the British.
The answer to this is education. An educated populace is the bane of unscrupulous, lazy, politicians who try to divide along ethnic lines. Rusiate Nayacakalou was one of the non-chiefly educated indigenous that challenged those traditional hierarchies that oppressed progress.Sadly he passed on too soon to have a significant impact.
There are a lot of smoke and mirrors here but what it boils down to is gerrymandering of the electoral system to retain power in the next election
A compromise solution is to intruduce ethnic qualifiers eg
The i’taukei – Afro-Fijians
Indians – Indo-Fijians
Chinese – Sino-Fijians
Kailoma – Euro-Fijians
Solomon -.Melo-Fijians
Etc
I met a friend after a long time today while visiting Fiji from Australia. He’s a staunch supporter of the PAP and NFP coalition.
While we were chatting he said neither Biman nor Rabuka have got any idea on how to run the country. They are just rolling around hoping things happen. Both have no idea how to make things better for Fijians. For once he said he regrets not having left fiji when he could.
Its rather sad seeing what Fiji is becoming on the global stage. Our parliament and our politicians are out of depth with the real issues that Fijians face.
Regrettably in Fiji,as in Aus and US, mediocre politicians are imposed on us. It’s about time we used social media to educate people and assemble intelligent people to end the cycle. Don’t rely on conventional media who are all biased and compromised. Thanks for doing your bit GD.
Graham Bula again. Like you , I don’t for a minute think Rabuka is genuine in anything he says and this con that he is spewing about wanting to ensure the provision of an equal Fiji with rights and all for all ethnicities is the biggest con of all!! Every action of Rabuka has shown a disrespect for other races . He calmly calls Indo Fijians and other races Vulagi people and condoned Liliana Pareti in Bernie of the word Vulagi leading to elections ! In this attempts to change the constitution , Rabuka is simply promoting the illegal CJ Salesi Temo and his equally culpable cronies in the JSC and the COC that I cringe at his audacity to present himself as a pro multiracial leader !
I honestly wished someone had recorded a conversation that Rabuka had with some of his PAP members where he has plotted for Indo Fijians to be frustrated so they don’t vote at the next elections ! You see some in his own PAP are professional workers and they are fast realizing in this modern world only a fool will entertain a nationalist Fiji where all the idiotic Kai Viti will likely butcher each other out of envy as opposed to having a country where the Indo Fijians and Kai Loma have actually contributed the majority to the commercial sectors and the social development of our country !
I just don’t know how Biman can ignore the racism spewing out of Rabuka daily and made worse by his cronies like the traitor Bulitavu whose own agenda is to become PM one day because one priest had dreamt that and Mosese believes the guy !
I have to cheer for whichever party that can take power away from Rabuka and I honestly hope they won’t win next year ! Isa Fiji it’s over if Rabuka wins again !
Vinaka vakalevu my brother Graham. Isa we should have stayed supporting Frank! He’s a million times a better man than Rabuka. Alas his crime was believing in Aiyaz like he was God 😏