Issue No: 1017; 15 August 2001

The Chairperson of the Great Council of Chiefs has endorsed the proposed Land Use Commission of the Fiji Labour Party.

 Ratu Epeli Ganilau, who was also the past commander of the army, endorsed the plan in an interview he had with a local radio station yesterday.

 Ganilau stated that ethnic Fijians should change their approach to land and view it as one which could generate wealth for them.

 The LUC was proposed by the People’s Coalition in 1999. Its aim was to open up unused land for cultivation.

 The nationalists, including Qarase’s political party, as well as the National Federation Party, criticised the FLP for proposing the LUC. The former claimed that the LUC will take away ownership of land from ethnic Fijians, while the latter criticised the FLP for venturing into sensitive areas.

 The FLP, however, stuck to its principled stand and re-emphasised the importance of the LUC in its 2001 election manifesto. (see: http://www.pcgov.org.fj/docs_c/manifesto_2001.htm )