BIZARRE SUBMISSION SIMILAR TO SDL's. One of the more bizarre submissions to the Constitution Commission was made by Serupepeli Vesito of Muanivatu squatter settlement in Vatuwaqa, Suva.
He wanted all crown and state land and all freehold land bought in suspicious circumstances to be returned to the original iTaukei owners; only iTaukei to be called Fijian; the removal of "human rights" because they contradict "traditional and cultural values which should be protected and safe guarded"; all police and military officers to have traditional Fijian hairstyles, and Government to be run under a ‘Vanua’ system. This tells me the Commission is listening to a very wide spectrum of opinion which is good. The underlying concerns in his submission need to be addressed. But the proposals also tell us how easy it is to pray on iTaukei mistaken fears and prejudices. Looked at another way, they less sophisticated but remarkably similar to the SDL submission.
YOUTH ARE MORE COMFORTABLE with the concept of unity and multi-racialism in Fiji. says Commission Chairman Yash Ghai.
NATIONALIST APOLOGISES TO INDO-FIJIANS. Former nationalist trade union leader Taniela Tabu hopes that the new constitution will protect the rights of all races in Fiji.Tabu who for most of his life was considered an extremist lobbying for the iTaukei to have preferential treatment, says it’s now his mission to right the wrongs of the past.
“I have an issue I wish to address to this forum as my duty and obligation as a Christian which is to apologize to the Indian communities both here and abroad for the great wrong that I have done in pursuit of nationalistic goals which I came to know as a Christian was really wrong.”
Tabu adds he has approached the Methodist church to lead a nationwide apology to people of Indian ethnicity.
“Furthermore, I have taken up this idea with the leadership of the Methodist church to lead a nationwide move to seek God’s forgiveness on the sins of the I Taukei in the 1987 and 2000 coups which led to the beatings and inhumane treatment of all Indians. And also for the i Taukei to apologize to them.”
In the same submission he said he favoured a smaller Parliament, elected not on ethnic basis but on a one man one vote basis and the replacement of Senate by a Council of Leaders.
MILITARY TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS, and say no one could tell the security forces, especially the military, to stay away from this process because they started the clean-up. “No one should try to hijack all the work the military has done,” he said.
iTAUKEI FEARS. Some members of the public who filed submissions in the first two days felt that rights of the i-Taukei are at risk, says Constitution Commission chairperson Professor Yash Ghai.
THE VOLA NI KAWA BULA. Fiji's i-Taukei population should be included in the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB), the Constitution Commission heard on Friday. The VKB registers iTaukei interests in their mataqali land and has also been used as a proof of iTaukei identity. Only people with iTaukei fathers can be registered.
NZHERALD on recent develoments.
YOUTH PARTY to contest elections.
GRASSROOTS STRATEGIC PLAN. The vanua of Tavua is drawing up a strategic plan to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living in the area. Tui Tavua Ratu Jale Waisale Kuwe Ratu said the strategic plan involved a wide area of developments with many projects being earmarked to improve the livelihood of the villagers in co-operation with government departments and non-government organisations.
"One of the things contributing to poverty is that the same empty pocket is targeted by the vanua, church,
village and education in terms of financial support," he said."The idea of the strategic plan is to make these four organisations self-funded so the villagers can also spend more time on improving the livelihood of their respective families.
Villagers had set up development committees to deal with education, village projects, land and crime prevention. "One of the major improvements so far is the issue of zero tolerance on violence against women," he said.
CAKAUDROVE DEVELOPMENT. Cakaudrove people living in Lautoka have welcomed news of development in their home province.
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I know Tamana Seru quite well, we used to have long kava sessions sometimes followed by the amber liquid. The man is an internal immigrant to Suva from Lomaiviti (Koro). He has the usual shortcomings, fears and difficulties that are faced in such situations. He works intermittently as an untrained security guard, cannot fall back on education and lives as a squatter.
This has created in him a great distrust of material success, and an almost instinctive belief in the historical security provided by the Fijian village system, which was extended to a limited degree to the cities when government could act as provider for the select. Seru wants that select status to return; he cannot understand that the good old days of paternalistic government is no longer practical not because of any particular ethnic grouping, but because of the vicissitudes of time.
At one beer sitting, the discussion got a bit heated when he pointed out that we were having fun on Naitasiri land. When told that it was a legitimately bought freehold block that we were partying on, he retorted that it was not possible as we were on Naitasiri land. I then told him that he also was on Naitasiri land and being a kaiwai (people of the sea) he was trespassing on VitiLevu!!! What followed is for another telling.
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