| STATEMENT [No 13/2013] [Wednesday August 21, 2013] The UFDF today announced that its members who received invitations to attend the AG’s briefing tomorrow on the regimes constitution would not be attending on the grounds that the process lacks credibility, it will be nothing more than a lecture by the AG on the vernacular with no opportunity for political parties and other interest groups and the people of Fiji to discuss or debate the document before being imposed. Without the full participation and approval of the people, the regimes constitution will have no legitimacy says UFDF and allowing just 2 weeks from Thursday to distribute the document to all of the people and entertain only comments on the vernacular and not the constitution, makes it self-evident that the intention of the regime is self serving and this constitution will create even greater divisions and stress in our society. The leaders of the UFDF are meeting this week to complete their own roadmap to democracy which will be published. This will be the path we will follow says the UFDF and every citizen who values and respects the rule of law and seeks to return Fiji to a truly inclusive, transparent, accountable and legitimate democracy should give full support to the UFDF’s Roadmap The UFDF stresses that the President has no legal mandate to assent to the regime's so-called constitution and without the full participation of the people in the preparation and finalization of the constitution, the regimes document will never be representative of the views and aspirations of the people of Fiji and its planed imposition on the people will never be accepted nor will it have any legitimacy. Authorized by : UFDF |
