Issue No: 586; 15 March 2001

In a speech to an Australian Labour Party-National Farmers Union dinner held in Sydney over the weekend, the PM stated:
"Much of the blame for the perceived grievances of the Fijian people must lie with the failure of their own institutions, initially set up to safeguard indigenous interests. The Great Council of Chiefs, the Native Lands Trust Board, the Fijian Affairs Board, the Provincial Councils are indigenous institutions that were set up by the colonial government to protect Fijian rights and enhance their interests."

"These institutions have not fully discharged the trust placed in them by the ordinary Fijians. They have not questioned the poor utilisation of Fijian resources, the wastage, the lack of initiatives to develop these resources to maximise returns for the indigenous people. They have never bothered to look at the real reasons behind the poverty of their own people."

"Always, a scapegoat had to be found to hide the failure of the Fijian leadership to deliver to its people. And this scapegoat is, inevitably, the unfortunate Indian."

"Racism in Fiji is rampant. If not checked now, it is going to be the major downfall of Fiji. The coup last year set us back 20 years at least. It shattered our economy which prior to May 19, was poised for a real takeoff. The coup, our third in 13 years, has badly shaken the confidence of foreign investors as well as the local business community and it will take a long time before this confidence can be restored."

The Prime Minister also questioned the role of the police and the army during the terrorist uprising. He stated:
"Of serious concern also to Fiji is the role of the army and police in propping up corrupt, discredited people and undemocratic forces. The army's role both in the 1987 and 1999 coups have left it badly discredited. Many are questioning its failure to act swiftly to deal with the situation on May 19."

"The reputation of our police force took a severe battering during the political unrest when it failed to provide any protection to the civilian population against racial violence unleashed by the rebels."