Culture and its Implications to Reconciliation
Address by Labour Parliamentary Leader Mahendra P. Chaudhry at St.
Agnes Parish, Nabua on 24 September 2003
(posting 25 September 2003, 10:00)
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,
May I begin my address to you tonight with a little
quote from a speech by the pre-eminent African American leader and freedom
fighter Dr. Martin Luther King:
This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling
off
or to take the tranquillising drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promises
of democracy, the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity
to all of God's children
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands
of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what reconciliation
is all about.
True reconciliation can only take place for us in Fiji
if we are prepared to bite the bullet and, as this great American civil
rights leader said, "lift our nation from the quick sands of
racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.''
For meaningful reconciliation to take place in a
multiracial society such as ours, we must first remove all vestiges of
racial injustice whatever form it may take and then move together "to
the solid rock of brotherhood" as one people, one nation.
Reconciliation cannot take place in an environment
festering with cultural and religious bigotry.
But first: what do we mean by Reconciliation? It can
mean different things to different people depending on the context and the
circumstances one is looking at. In the current Fiji context, however,
reconciliation can only mean:
- the process of making it possible for the main races
or cultures to co-exist without being opposed to each other
- the reconciliation of rights and responsibilities or
obligations of each community within a democratic framework
- And, looking at our recent past, reconciliation
involves the correcting of past wrongs and injustices, and
compensating those who have suffered.
It has to be a healing process during which one builds
up the trust and confidence that has been shaken so that a more lasting
and firm relationship can be established for the future.
Having said that as an opening remark, may I digress a
little to thank the St. Agnes Parish for giving me this opportunity to
address you on this very important national issue. I particularly thank
the organisers of this Festival of Unity for the initiative they have
undertaken to embark on this commendable mission.
After the anger, the hate, the bitterness, the traumas
we have all endured over the past three years in the wake of the May 2000
political crisis, both personally (individually) and as a nation, a
process of reconciliation becomes a must - the wrongs have to be rectified
and the bitterness exorcised so that nation building can commence anew.
However, as I have said, for reconciliation to be
meaningful, certain fundamentals have to be met. The processes required
have to be understood by all our people. And this can best be done at the
grassroots level by social, community and religious organisations such as
yours.
I am extremely heartened and encouraged by the national
consciousness displayed by the Parish administrators and hope that others
would follow your good example and embark on similar activities to educate
our people and to bring our different races and cultures together.
The past 16 years of our unfortunate history has taught
us that our individual, everyday lives can be easily destroyed and
devastated, at gun point, by what happens at the political level.
Each one of you sitting here tonight has a stake,
therefore, in the politics of our nation. You need to ensure that proper
reconciliation takes place so that the events of the past 16 years never
again shatter the tranquillity of our everyday lives … do not endanger
our jobs, take the food away from our tables or deprive our children of
their right to education.
I have one message for you tonight: that is that true
reconciliation in our multi-ethnic society can only be achieved if it is
based on a respect for universal values of justice, peace, freedom,
democracy and the rule of law …
- Social and economic justice for everyone
- Respect for, and adherence to the rule of law
are fundamentals to the existence of a democratic state.
They are the true foundations on which a State must be
firmly established if we are to live together in harmony and peace as
people of one nation.
Once we return to these universal principles, the rest
will naturally follow …
- respect for each other's rights and interests
- understanding and tolerance for the cultures and
religions of the people we live and work with
- the recognition that we all have equal rights in the
country of our birth no matter what our ethnic origins.
Take for instance, the attacks on Hindu temples and
places of worship that have occurred recently; the destruction of the
Indian dolls that were on display at the Civic Centre in Suva during India
week. How can true reconciliation take place under such religious and
cultural intolerance? Religious bigotry is perhaps the biggest drawback to
reconciliation in Fiji today.
Calls for Fiji to be declared a Christian State, for
example, immediately alienate all other societies that do not follow the
Christian religion. It tells us in very clear and unequivocal terms that
the rest of us who adhere to other religious beliefs are not recognised or
wanted here.
Let me give another example of racial bigotry. At the
time of the May 2000 terrorist attack on Parliament, coup front man George
Speight revealed his pent up racism when he deprecatingly told the
international media that Indians "smell different, look different and
eat different".
Of course, they do! Every racial group has its own
distinctive smell, look and cultural ways. But that is no basis for
discriminating against an entire race or denying it political and human
rights.
No, we must first learn to respect each other's
differences be they cultural, or, just a point of view. We have to learn
as a nation to embrace unity within our diversity and to differ without
rancour.
Let me draw your attention to the 17 years of harmonious
co-existence we enjoyed as a nation after independence in 1970. Fiji had
become so much a symbol of multiracial harmony in the international world,
that Pope John Paul II when he visited us in 1986 described Fiji as
"the way the world should be".
Let me also tell you: it was not by accident that Fiji
attained this reputation for peaceful multiracial co-existence at the
time. It was only made possible through the deliberate policies of Ratu
Sir Kamisese Mara who was Prime Minister then.
First of all, the 1970 Constitution provided the
framework for the establishment of a harmonious multiracial society with
its provision for racial equality in parliamentary representation and
parity in the civil service among other provisions of social justice.
Group rights and land rights were very well protected under the 1970
Constitution.
As Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese adopted policies
which deliberately fostered racial integration and understanding. And I
refer to policies which encouraged:
- racially integrated schools
- a programme of localisation based on the 50/50
formula
- enactment of the Public Order Act to contain
racially-oriented hate speeches and public utterances.
One of his major achievements in bringing about
multi-racial tolerance and understanding was the declaration of special
holidays for all major religious faiths in Fiji. So that today apart from
Christian holidays we also enjoy special holidays for Diwali and Prophet
Mohammed's Birthday.
Through such policies Ratu Sir Kamisese obtained the
trust and confidence of all ethnic groups in Fiji which set the proper
environment for the phenomenal economic growth Fiji achieved in the
mid-70s and the early 80s.
Culture or cultural differences need not, and indeed
should not, be an impediment to racial and national reconciliation. That
cultural differences in themselves are not the root cause of racial
discord is clearly evident from the exemplary manner in which our two
major groups have assimilated and integrated in the West.
In the West, Indians and Fijians have lived side by side
peacefully for decades to the point where many of them are fluent in
speaking the other's language, they eat together, they sing together, they
play together and share in each other's joys and sorrows.
The West has never experienced racial violence or the
sort of racial harassment that was evident elsewhere at the height of the
May 2000 coup.
Unfortunately, we are also today paying the price for a
divide and rule Colonial policy that not only deliberately kept the two
major races apart, but also exploited the obvious cultural differences
between the two racial groups to exacerbate distrust and suspicions among
them.
Race is an easy card to play. Racial emotions and
distrust can be very easily aroused by unscrupulous politicians and others
with vested interests bent on pursuing their own selfish agendas.
We saw this happen in 1987 and again in 2000.
In both cases, a grab for power was made under the
pretext of protecting indigenous rights. Sitiveni Rabuka who staged the
1987 coup, has since admitted that Fijian and Rotuman rights were
adequately protected under the 1970 Constitution.
So what was the real reason for deposing at gunpoint the
Labour-led government of Dr. Timoci Bavadra on 14 May 1987?
George Speight and his thugs made a similar claim
following their terrorist takeover of Parliament on 19 May 2000. We all
know that indigenous rights was not what motivated George Speight … he
was motivated by the multi-million dollar rights to the Mahogany
plantations which he lost control of when the People's Coalition
Government removed him as chairman of Fiji Hardwoods Ltd and Fiji Pine
Ltd.
If you look carefully at those who supported Speight in
Parliament, you will realise they were a riff raff of opportunists, failed
politicians and businessmen and a group of mercenary soldiers who were
promised big money, as much as $60,000 to execute the coup. Others were
lured to the parliamentary complex by feasts, the hope of adventure and
promises of jobs.
The hollowness of the claims for indigenous rights made
in 1987 and 2000, are brought home clearly when one realises that the lot
of the ordinary Fijian has actually declined drastically in the 16 years
since the 1987 coups.
More Fijians are living in poverty, and in squatter
settlements today, than ever before. And yet we had three coups executed
within 13 years to improve the lot of the indigenous people. You should
ask: who has benefited from the coups? It is not obviously the common
people!
Let me tell you: poverty as we see it in Fiji today, is
a post 1987 phenomenon. Since 1987 we have seen an explosion of poverty -
currently believed to be as high as 40-50% - largely as a result of
economic decline, high unemployment rates, and anti-people policies such
as the introduction of VAT and low wage rates encouraged by post-coup
governments.
Despite this obvious increase in the hardship faced by
ordinary families, the SDL government increased VAT from 10% to 12.5 %
from this year. It shows blatant insensitivity to the plight and suffering
of the poor, yet this government claims it is working in the interests of
the indigenous people.
Under such policies, wealth has become concentrated in
the hands of a few rich people. Statistics show that 75% of the nation's
wealth is concentrated in the hands of just 10% of the population. Put
differently, this means that a small group of elite in society possess
most of the country's wealth.
Government's own statistics show that at the end of
March 2002, 100,000 people, or 12% of the population were receiving
destitute allowance. This is quite apart from hundreds more who are
receiving relief rations from charitable organisations.
These organisations claim that the queues of desperate
people seeking assistance are so long, they are unable to cope with the
demand.
Statistics also show that there is no real gap between
the number of Fijians living in poverty and the number of Indians living
in poverty. A United Nations (UNDP) survey report published in 1997, found
that there are as many poor Indian households as there are poor Fijian
households - if anything, the number of poor Indians is slightly higher.
We talk about national reconciliation. How do we
reconcile the unmet aspirations of the thousands of poor in our country
-both Indians, Fijians and other minority groups? This is why I mentioned
at the beginning that there can be no real reconciliation without social
and economic justice. It is one of the most important pre-requisites to
the existence of a democratic State.
And as I have just explained it is not a question of
race or culture. Racial antagonism, and the myth that one race is poor and
the other rich, has been deliberately cultivated as part of a propaganda
campaign going back several decades.
Given this history of cultural prejudices and
deliberately orchestrated racial myths, we now have to carefully nurture
race relations in our country.
In my opinion, the root cause of the damage to race
relations in this country is communal politics. Race based politics has
done Fiji incalculable harm.
This is why in 1997 as leader of the Fiji Labour Party I
vehemently opposed the electoral provisions in the 1997 Constitution which
entrenched communal politics by providing for 45 seats to be elected on
ethnic lines and only 25 open seats to be voted by all racial groups. But
I was overruled by the Rabuka/Reddy consortium who saw their interests
were best served by entrenchment of communal voting.
As long as we continue to vote along ethnic lines,
unscrupulous politicians will continue to use the race card to incite
racial antagonism.
We must also be on guard against corporate greed and
corrupt elements in our society who join forces with unscrupulous
politicians to suppress the ordinary people so that they can continue to
enjoy power and accumulate wealth through corrupt practices.
It has become very obvious that these elements joined
forces to topple the People's Coalition Government in May 2000. They felt
threatened by the social and economic reform policies of the government
and its determination to stamp out all forms of corruption.
The coups have benefited only these elements while the
rest of the nation has paid a high price. The 2000 coup alone, in terms of
economic and infrastructure development, has set Fiji back at least 20
years, if not more. In terms of manpower development, the brain drain of
hundreds of our doctors, nurses, accountants engineers and other
professional and experienced, skilled people have set us back at least
another 20-30 years.
The cost to the nation in terms of deteriorating health,
education and other essential services has been enormous. Almost every
week we hear of cases where people have died because of the negligence and
incompetence prevalent in our hospitals.
This is why I am saying that national reconciliation has
to be carefully grounded on a firm foundation of democratic and human
rights values, and social and economic justice.
I'll be honest with you and admit that I am not happy
with the manner in which it is being currently tackled. A lot of lip
service is being paid to national reconciliation, I know.
Even as far as race relations is concerned, it is
obvious that government lacks sincere commitment to creating the
environment of racial trust and belonging necessary to foster a real
spirit of reconciliation. I'll give you a few important examples and let
you decide whether there can be genuine reconciliation under the
circumstances:
- First - Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase refuses to
acknowledge the spirit, meaning and intent of the power sharing
arrangements of Section 99 of the Constitution thereby denying the
political rights of at least 50% of our people including an entire
ethnic community
- Second- the Prime Minister continues to include as
ministers in his Cabinet people who have been charged with seditious
activities in relation to the political crisis of 2000.
He has deliberately rewarded certain people closely connected with the
2000 coup by appointing them heads of diplomatic missions overseas. Is
this not a slap on the face to us as direct victims of the coup and to
the people of Fiji who suffered immensely as a result?
- Third- under its so-called affirmative action
blueprint, the SDL government has initiated policies that blatantly
discriminate on the basis of race and are in sharp violation of social
justice provisions of the Constitution. I refer, in particular, to the
SDL's Social Justice Act which in fact, not only discriminates against
Indians and other minority communities but also between the rich and
poor in the Fijian/Rotuman community.
- Four - To date over 4000 farming families have been
made destitute following non renewal of their native leases on expiry.
Hundreds of school children have been forced to leave school as a
result of this catastrophe in their lives. Yet, to date, government
has shown no sympathy nor has provided any tangible assistance to
rehabilitate these desperate families.
Lip service and token gestures are not going to appease
aggrieved communities. There must be a genuine will to right the wrongs
and injustices, actual or perceived, committed against any society and
this must manifest itself through actions, not just words.
And of course, we must recognise that this process of
reconciliation has to be both intra-communal as well as inter-communal.
The political upheaval of 2000 created deep dissensions
within the Fijian society. The Lauans for example, and other like-minded
people, are bitter at the unceremonious manner in which their paramount
chief was removed from office as President of Fiji. The army and its top
brass are angry at the November 2000 mutiny and attempt made on the life
of the Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
It goes to show the complexity of the problem that
confronts us and reinforces the realisation that the task ahead is neither
easy nor within reach.
In seeking all this, we are not asking for Utopia. We
are merely asking for a genuine commitment to, and acceptance of, the
rights of all communities, respect for the Constitution and the rule of
law.
That is at the government level. At the grassroots
level, we are grateful to groups such as yours that are doing whatever
they can to assist in fostering better race relations in Fiji.
Faced with this government's unrelenting pursuit of
policies that are racially exclusive and that discriminate against the
poor in our society, of all races, it is left to organisations such as
yours, NGOs and other religious and social groups to do what it can to
bring our people together.
Finally, before I conclude, I would like to express my
disgust at the culture of silence that prevails in our society.
We see wrongs being committed and close our eyes to it.
We see injustices being perpetrated and turn our backs
to it.
We see the poor made more desperate and yet hold our
silence.
It is this silence which allows such injustices to
continue.
I exhort you and other NGOs to become more vocal in
denouncing the wrongs committed in our country.
Unless our people care to speak out against such wrongs,
injustices will continue to undermine the process of reconciliation.
Thank you.
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