No fear over indigenous rights - Speed

Issue No: 831; 8 June 2001

 
No one should fear that indigenous rights is not protected in Fiji, says the Leader of the Fijian Association Party and high chief Adi Kuini Speed.

Speed stated that ethnic Fijians were not insecure in Fiji. Their rights were fully protected in the Constitution. Talks of threats and insecurities were spread by a few ethnic Fijians for their personal gains, Speed told the Fiji Times. She further stated that the 2000 coups had nothing to do with indigenous rights.

Speed was reacting to the call by NFP's leader Jai Ram Reddy for ethnic Indians to acknowledge indigenous rights.

Reddy has joined the bandwagon of politicians who threaten voters that unless the ethnic Fijian right wing gets power, there will be no peace in Fiji.

The widespread view in Fiji is that Reddy played right in the hands of the ultra-nationalists who are demanding that the country's ethnic Indian population stay out of political decision-making in the country. One political analyst, and former member of the National Federation Party says that Reddy's call is the voice of a section of the country's ethnic Indian businessmen, most of who are descendents of later day Gujarati immigrant community which has no links with the ethnic Indians who were brought here as indentured labourers. The analyst claimed that the interest of this section of the business community is to make money and the best way they can do this is by making deals with the ethnic Fijian leaders. The consequence on the country, he stated, is not their concern.
 

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