Issue No: 753; 12 May 2001

The Church had called a meeting of all ethnic Fijian political parties on Thursday in a bid to get them to unite and maintain ethnic Fijian supremacy in Fiji.

Today's Fiji Times reports former President of the Church, Rev. Josetaki Koroi saying that the move by the church was racial. He said: "What the Methodist Church is doing now is still based on racism. They are following the model of how the Israelites in the Old Testament reconciled amongst themselves as the chosen race of God and treating others basically as dogs. So what they did in Davuilevu [on Thursday] was a reconciliation of the Fijian race alone which is racist and not Christian".

Another former President of the Church, Rev. Dr. Ilaitia Tuwere said that the meeting should have been held at a neutral venue and not at the place where they train chaplains and deaconesses. Tuwere said that the church has a role on politics but there should be a distinction between its role and actual participation in politics.

In another move, an ex-executive committee member of the Fiji Council of Churches, Kenneth Zinck has criticised the FCC for playing "right into the hands of Laisenia Qarase with the false notion that unity for the Fijians would ensure harmony in Fiji.". Zinck also stated: "This man of cloth used FCC to call all the Fijian political parties urging the unity of race".

Today the Fiji Sun also criticised the involvement of the Church in party politics. It endorsed the contents of a letter which stated that it is not the role of the Church to call for one particular group in the country to unite against others.

Referring to the Methodist Churchj decision to keep out of party politics, the Sun stated: "One wonders if Reverend Kanailagi can act independently of the decision taken at their annual meet. Or was he influenced by the $10,000 donation that was given to the church several days ago by Mr. Qarase".