people-from-fiji

"With the main perpetrators of the 2000 coup around anything disastrous can happen. These people are the root of the coup culture and once they are put away this country can move forward."

"We know that the simplistic, almost childlike naivety or perhaps the intellectual senility of the architects of this concept have not taken into consideration the practical difficulties and impracticalities of sharing power for the sake of sharing power in our society with political parties that are diametrical opposed to each other."

"It (a multi-party cabinet) will waste a lot of public funds, and make up for a weak and unstable Government through internal bickering, and brinkmanship that could see shifting alliance in Government, rising and falling coalition that will undermine the stability of Government. This will have adverse effects on the levels of confidence in the country which certainly will manifest itself in many forms including declining investor confidence and lowering the morale of the citizenry at large."

"The reality of a democracy is that the political party with a majority in Parliament has the mandate to run the country for a selected number of years because of popular choice - that is the nature of good democracy. "The other political parties are left as opposition parties as alternative Government."

"Even our new Commissioner of Police Andrew Hughes went so far as to say that those involved in these kinds of things are called domestic terrorists. Someone should remind Mr Hughes, who is an Australian, what his own people did to our counterparts."

""(The Constitution is) nothing less than a fraud on the Fijian people"."

"People have got to be careful coming to Fiji and say Fijian people or taukei be careful of what you are doing you are trespassing, you are committing domestic terrorism. I would like to warn Mr Hughes to be careful. To do his own work properly and not to tread where angels fear to tread."

"There is such a thing as freedom of speech in this country. It is a constitutional right. Too often these days when people speak out on certain matters there are attempts to intimidate or muzzle them and breach their rights by throwing allegations of racism or making hate speeches."

""They rounded the Aborigines up and … committed wholesale murder and genocide to a whole group of people and they destroyed their culture"."

"They (Indo-Fijians) have been part of our lives and they are the very ones who made us what we are today, and I urge you to consider their plight and assist them in whatever way possible."

"Likewise to our Indian brothers and sisters, it's your duty to respect one another and value cultural differences and traditions."

"I believe if we all have faith in what we want to achieve, there's no doubt we will achieve it together as a community."

"I know it's difficult to forget the past but I urge everyone here today to try and move the country forward."

"If anything, we Generals and minorities continue to contribute constructively to every facet of life in this country."

"There seems to be a lot of love-hate relationships in Fiji today, between so many and the media, simply because there are so many negative reporting and a serious lack of understanding on journalists' part on working on reports or their stories. I am actually hoping for more from the Fiji media and the region, we need a whole lot more positive reporting."

"Under the Alliance Government, we minorities were allocated eight seats, then they were reduced to five seats and now we have only three seats in this house. At this trend, we minorities may not be represented in Parliament in future. But, I trust in our SDL-led Coalition Government and humbly request that our seats in this house be increased from three to at least five when the 1997 Constitution amendments are done."

"Some of them pretend to be disabled or lie that they are orphans just to be able to get sympathy and money. So for the beggars it should not be an issue any more, they should be taken off the streets."

"I ask the media to concentrate on positive things rather than just doing the rounds on rape, incest, molestation on women."

"All over the world people are dying of poverty but that is not the case here in Fiji because the beauty about Fiji is that people are always ready to help those in need."

"We invite them here to learn basic skills and we have even paid for them to do courses at TPAF because that’s what they said they wanted to do. But after that they just move back on the streets and amongst them are some who are renting out their houses."

"There are only a certain number of people who are begging. These are the same people and the assumption that begging is increasing is in fact wrong because it is the same people who keep moving about."

""I am simply stating a fact and it was not meant to be racist" - reaction to subsequent calls for an apology."

"A key strategy towards restoring stability is developing targeted approaches to poverty reduction across different sectors coupled with the specific social provisions for the poor and the most vulnerable groups in society."

"The young people will think that begging is okay and if you are finding difficulties you can just go on the streets and beg."

"Even though the military is an establishment having 99 per cent of native Fijians by composition, they still stand true to their duty which they have sworn by Almighty God to perform without prejudice, favour, malice or ill will."

"After analysing the stand of the military and the Government, I have come to realise that so many things have happened in Fiji in the name of Fijian supremacy and that I cannot be manipulated by anybody else but myself."

"This makes it morally unchristian for any human to legislate spiritual change since God himself does not force his people to do the same."

"The reconciliation, tolerance and unity already entrenched in the Bible is more than enough for us to do the only thing left for us to do - to be doers of the Word and not only hear it and deceive ourselves."

"Christians in this country should start taking another fresher look at their doctrinal content in trying to assume they know the mandate of God."

"It goes without saying that the most valuable asset of any profession is its collective reputation."

"The independence of the (legal) profession also ensures that it can take an objective view on issues concerning not only these matters, but also those of wider public concern. In fact, it can only discharge this responsibility to be independent and objective, if it is perceived by society at large to be independent."

"Everything that happened prior to and during 2000 was premeditated, well planned with all the personal graffiti being churned out through government offices and business outlets … ludicrous paraphernalia designed to malign the former President's family's character. Some members of the 2000 and current Senate were openly telling the public that the Government was going to be changed soon. So what was the Fijian cause all about?"

"It is like a forced idea and I wonder why they are pushing for it now?"

"If the move to reconcile and compensate came from the coup perpetrators maybe, I would have given it some thought but coming from the Government is hard to accept."

"The hurt is still with us, something we do not openly discuss but this government has not attempted to include us in any of their reconciliation process."

"The hurt is still there. When my parents were alive it affected them just as much as it is affecting us today."

"It's really a therapeutic experience for me to begin to write about the coup because I was involved in the 1987 coup and in particular the 2000 coup. For someone who was involved in all the coups it has been difficult for me to open up and write. The fact that I am able to write marks a turning point for me."

"Laisenia Qarase, Prime Minister since 2000: "(These protests) are led by a man who has been convicted by the Suva magistrate’s court for causing the death of a person. Mr Chaudhry himself was convicted sometime back for manslaughter and he was released from prison only three days after serving his sentence on a CSO (Compulsory Supervision Order)." (accusing Chaudhry of hypocrisy for campaigning against the early release of politicians jailed for their part in the 2000 coup)."

"The Government's determination to push through the controversial Amnesty Bill has created deep divisions in the nation, and leaves behind indelible impressions of an administration that backs lawless elements in society."

"I’m sure that with tolerance and understanding of each other’s cultural identities, compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves and a passionate commitment to all that is fair, socially just and honest we can build a united and prosperous society in Fiji."

""My detractors here are engaged in a propaganda that I have received the money and used it for my own purposes."

"At no time did I ask Shri Chautala to launch such an appeal which he did at a public meeting in Haryana and in the course of my visit to India following my release from captivity."

"My anger about the whole episode is that Shri Chautala should exploit the feelings of the ordinary and poor folks of Haryana who are emotionally tied to me and to the people of Indian origin in Fiji and play on them a game of deceit for self enrichment."

"But first we must get rid of the bigotry, the fundamentalism and the misconceptions that continue to threaten to keep us apart as a nation."

"The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, irrespective of status in society or class divisions it is this equal application that is the bulwark of modern democracies."

"It is these double standards that have and are still keeping the ordinary Fijian shackled to a now outdated system of feudal control, thus contributing to their poverty and misery, whilst certain chiefs and a large number of Fijian elites continue to substantially increase their wealth at the expense of their poorer subjects."

"It was the FLP that was committed to reducing the cost of doing business and started by lowering the cost of utilities, and requested the commercial banks and lending organizations to reduce their fees, charges and interest rates. The FLP also moved to reduce public expenditure, which saw a saving of $96 million in its year in office. It was also the FLP, which lowered interest in Housing Authority home loans from 12 per cent to 6 per cent for those on lower incomes. It was the aggregate effect of this and a range of other measures of tight fiscal control, investment in key growth areas and a firm hand on curbing corruption that saw the economy record an unprecedented growth of 9.6% in 1999."

"You can still fulfil your traditional obligations but the contradiction in the system between the communal approach and the free market approach needs to be addressed."

"Christ’s message is universal: To do good, to care for the poor, to love one’s neighbour, to serve honestly and with integrity."

"A more individual approach to society must be taken. That is an incentive based system which will ensure that given the appropriate training, guidance and advice they will progress through such are system as other communities have."