People calling for supremacy of indigenous rights must define what they mean by this. This is the view of Adi Ema Tagicakibau, the Assistant Minister in the People's Coalition Government.

Adi Ema, the Fijian Association Party member in the People's Coalition gave a hard hitting interview in today's Daily Post (30 August). Responding to a question on the terrorists' claim that they had acted because the 1997 Constitution did not protect indigenous rights, she stated:

"If that were so, then they obviously took the wrong hostages. And what these indigenous rights are must be spelt out. Fijians are no different from others in that we all want the same comforts of income, education for our children, a secure and stable livelihood. There is absolutely nothing indigenous about these, they are universal aspirations. I can assure you that the current crisis has hit most indigenous Fijians hard which also proves that we cannot exist in isolation from others. Neither can we build indigenous rights on the ashes of other groups".

Adi Ema blamed the losers in the last election as behind the May 19 terrorist activities.

In another development, one of the Commissioners of the Constitution Review Commission, Mr. Tomasi Vakatora, stated that the 1997 Constitution has adequate protection of indigenous Fijian rights. Speaking on the Fijian radio station as well as on Fiji TV news of 29 August, Mr. Vakatora stated that all those things which were dear to the indigenous Fijians are well entrenched and protected in the 1997 Constitution.

The Council of Chiefs meets today to discuss the Constitutional impasse. The interim regime wants a new constitution to be drawn up while the People's Coalition and the civil society have called for the retention of the1997 constitution, the formation of a government under the provisions of the Constitution, and any constitutional review needed coming within the provisions of the Constitution.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands
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Last update: August 27, 2001