This week I declined to accept a medal awarded to me for the 50th anniversary of Fiji’s independence. I am commenting on this because I owe an explanation to all those who nominated me for the award.
On the evening of Sunday October 11th, I received an emailed letter from the office of the President Konrote advising me that I had been awarded one of the commemorative medals. I was invited to be at an award ceremony at Government House on Tuesday October 13th at 11am.
I must emphasize that I was appreciative and touched by the initiative of Mr Ben Daveta and Mr Peter Waqavonovono to nominate me. My sincere thanks as well, to those whom Ben and Peter encouraged to endorse the initial recommendation about me to the College of Honour.
On October 12th I replied to His Excellency President Konrote and expressed my gratitude to the citizens who recommended me, as well as to the members of the College of Honour for accepting the recommendation, and to His Excellency for endorsing it.
I said that regrettably however, and with no intent of being disrespectful, I could not accept the award and laid out my reasons for this which was:
His Excellency’s government's suppression [of] our Indigenous First Citizens through the imposed 17 or more decrees that specifically discriminate against them while all other communities in Fiji, including my own, are not subject to any such repressive laws;
His government’s continuing refusal to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, UNDRIP, which would give our Indigenous First citizens the International recognition and the protection to which they are entitled.
I said there were many other serious issues that contributed to my decision not to accept the award. These included, but were not limited to, the continuing ban on Fiji citizens from returning home. I mentioned in particular Fiji’s most distinguished historian Dr Brij Lal, and his equally distinguished wife and fellow academic, Dr Padma Lal.
Other violations of our citizens’ rights that I highlighted included:
• Human rights abuse and deaths that remain unresolved. Family members are still waiting for justice;
• The slow strangulation of the democratic processes of Parliament to the detriment of the people of Fiji;
• Locking up and intimidation of MPs and other citizens reportedly for their social media postings;
• The nighttime arrest of the NFP Party President and MP, for a social media posting.
• The widely publicized assault by the Prime Minister on the same MP within the precincts of Parliament and his subsequent unjust and unfair treatment;
• The unexplained appearance of armed soldiers in Lautoka among distressed unemployed FNPF members waiting to collect their COVID19 crisis support funds;
• The sinister presence of an RFMF armed martial arts squad dressed in black parading though our streets. This was clearly intimidation of our citizenry.
I advised the President that all these incidents are examples of abnormal conduct, inconsistent with the democratic values stipulated in the 2013 constitution.
I also referred to His Excellency’s assertion as reported in The Fiji Times on the 12th October ‘that we have put the ills of the past behind us’. I said that on the contrary, these ills are still very much with us today.
I concluded by saying that the actions by his government that I highlighted were not only in breach of the 2013 constitution; they are a stain on our nation, and they dishonor it.
In the light of these continuing injustices, I could not in all conscience accept the award.
It is my intention to find out who all supported my nomination, invite them home and host them to a thank you evening.
On the evening of Sunday October 11th, I received an emailed letter from the office of the President Konrote advising me that I had been awarded one of the commemorative medals. I was invited to be at an award ceremony at Government House on Tuesday October 13th at 11am.
I must emphasize that I was appreciative and touched by the initiative of Mr Ben Daveta and Mr Peter Waqavonovono to nominate me. My sincere thanks as well, to those whom Ben and Peter encouraged to endorse the initial recommendation about me to the College of Honour.
On October 12th I replied to His Excellency President Konrote and expressed my gratitude to the citizens who recommended me, as well as to the members of the College of Honour for accepting the recommendation, and to His Excellency for endorsing it.
I said that regrettably however, and with no intent of being disrespectful, I could not accept the award and laid out my reasons for this which was:
His Excellency’s government's suppression [of] our Indigenous First Citizens through the imposed 17 or more decrees that specifically discriminate against them while all other communities in Fiji, including my own, are not subject to any such repressive laws;
His government’s continuing refusal to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, UNDRIP, which would give our Indigenous First citizens the International recognition and the protection to which they are entitled.
I said there were many other serious issues that contributed to my decision not to accept the award. These included, but were not limited to, the continuing ban on Fiji citizens from returning home. I mentioned in particular Fiji’s most distinguished historian Dr Brij Lal, and his equally distinguished wife and fellow academic, Dr Padma Lal.
Other violations of our citizens’ rights that I highlighted included:
• Human rights abuse and deaths that remain unresolved. Family members are still waiting for justice;
• The slow strangulation of the democratic processes of Parliament to the detriment of the people of Fiji;
• Locking up and intimidation of MPs and other citizens reportedly for their social media postings;
• The nighttime arrest of the NFP Party President and MP, for a social media posting.
• The widely publicized assault by the Prime Minister on the same MP within the precincts of Parliament and his subsequent unjust and unfair treatment;
• The unexplained appearance of armed soldiers in Lautoka among distressed unemployed FNPF members waiting to collect their COVID19 crisis support funds;
• The sinister presence of an RFMF armed martial arts squad dressed in black parading though our streets. This was clearly intimidation of our citizenry.
I advised the President that all these incidents are examples of abnormal conduct, inconsistent with the democratic values stipulated in the 2013 constitution.
I also referred to His Excellency’s assertion as reported in The Fiji Times on the 12th October ‘that we have put the ills of the past behind us’. I said that on the contrary, these ills are still very much with us today.
I concluded by saying that the actions by his government that I highlighted were not only in breach of the 2013 constitution; they are a stain on our nation, and they dishonor it.
In the light of these continuing injustices, I could not in all conscience accept the award.
It is my intention to find out who all supported my nomination, invite them home and host them to a thank you evening.
Fijileaks: As much as we sympathize with our dear old comrade MICK BEDDOES, we don't agree with his position relating to UNDRIP: He says he declined the award because, among other reasons, of "Government’s continuing refusal to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, UNDRIP, which would give our Indigenous First citizens the International recognition and the protection to which they are entitled.". Our Founding Editor-in-Chief has argued against it for decades, pointing out that even without enshrinement, native Fijians have manipulated indigenous rights to unleash death and destruction on Fiji, and there is always the real danger that the tribal divisions between Eastern and Western Fijians would resurface like the pre-cession days and during colonial times. The late Dr Timoci Bavadra, after being deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka's coups, had spoken out against indigenous rights claims suddenly espoused by Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. Argued Bavadra in 1989:
"The 1957 Convention was desgined to safeguard the interests of the indigenous peoples who had become minorities in their own land and who continued to suffer the effects of dispossession, discrimination, and political marginaliztion. The Fijian people do not, by any stretch of the imagination, fall into such a category. Far from being politically marginalized, traditional Fijian leaders have enjoyed sustained political control of the country since independence. It is therefore totally absurd to liken the position of Fijians today to that of the Aztecs, the Incas, the Maoris, the Aborigines, etc. all of whom suffered the territorial fate of genocide or systematic oppression as a result of settler colonialism. Ratu Mara also attempts to legitimize the discriminatory provisions for majority representation by claiming that it constituted affirmative action and that it is not intended as an act of discrimination. Politics of affirmative action is aimed at rectifying inequality or discrimination suffered by disadvatnaged groups. Nowhere in the world are they aimed at establishing paramountcy of a particular group at the expense of others."
Bavadra proceeded to contend that the notion of affirmative action was, in reality, a cover to permit the retention of power in the hands of the Fijiian chiefs who had controlled the government since independece. Fijians in the western province had long protested against their unequal representation in the councils of power because of the dominant role of the eastern chielfy establishment. He said his government was overthrown because he was going to launch an investigation into how Mara and Ganilau amassed vast fortunes, with buildings bearing their property names - Mara House, Ganilau House etc. While Indo-Fijian leaders stated that they always respected native Fijian land rights, opposition against the doctrine of special indigenous rights came from another indigenous group of native Fijians. During the election campaign, Bavadra had repeatedly stressed that Fijians were not traditionally a homogenous people, but were divided by dialect, region and social organization. Western Fijians, he pointed out, had a different hierarchical chiefly structures from Easterners who had hierarchical chiefly structures similar to those of the Polynesians.
He saw Eastern chiefly control of Western native Fijians as 'internal colonialism'. The Western native Fijians feared being oppressed, arguing: 'The so-called racial and indigenous rights issues provide a convenient smoke screen to obsure what is really being attempted. By reciting the litany of indigengous rights and offering up what the President has called the migrant races as scapegoats and culprits, the interim goverment has effectively diverted attention from the genuine universal rights issues involved. The interim government's draft constitution not only partially disenfranchises Fiji's Indians, it also, and in some cases more seriously disenfranchises almost three-fourths of the Fijian population.
It might be shocking to one's senses but I don't see Aiyaz Khaiyum as a migrant Indo-Fijian Muslim, oppressing native Fijians and other non-Fijians. He is no different from any native Fijian who regards Fiji as his home, and is as indigenous as the late Sakiasi Butadroka or the new Butadroka incarnate, Niko Nawaikula. Rabuka's 1987 coups opened up the Pandoras Box on who is truly native - and how many generations must one live in Fiji to be regarded as indigenous as Butadroka or Nawaikula. That is one issue we have not resolved for the last 50 years. Rabuka's Coup was for 'Indigenous Rights'. Bainimarama's Coup was 'Fiji for all Fijians'. Sadly, its the ordinary citizens who are bearing the brunt of these coupists treasonous deeds, and looks like for another 50 years. We don't need a MEDAL for telling the truth. As for Khaiyum, power has gone into his head, turning him into a paranoid megalomaniac. He is one of those Fijians who does NOT care about Fiji. And, our people will continue to eat their Gosh Fulia, happily. A VOTE for SODELPA under Rabuka will be continuation of FijiFirst Party horror show. The party must look beyond Race and Indigenous Rights if it wants to win the 2022 Election. I won't be surprised if Khaiyum (unless he is arrested over the donation fraud) will disappear from the political scene after leaving Bainimarama in good financial position to fight the election. Enjoy, your Gosh Fulia and CRY FOR THE BELOVED FIJI
"The 1957 Convention was desgined to safeguard the interests of the indigenous peoples who had become minorities in their own land and who continued to suffer the effects of dispossession, discrimination, and political marginaliztion. The Fijian people do not, by any stretch of the imagination, fall into such a category. Far from being politically marginalized, traditional Fijian leaders have enjoyed sustained political control of the country since independence. It is therefore totally absurd to liken the position of Fijians today to that of the Aztecs, the Incas, the Maoris, the Aborigines, etc. all of whom suffered the territorial fate of genocide or systematic oppression as a result of settler colonialism. Ratu Mara also attempts to legitimize the discriminatory provisions for majority representation by claiming that it constituted affirmative action and that it is not intended as an act of discrimination. Politics of affirmative action is aimed at rectifying inequality or discrimination suffered by disadvatnaged groups. Nowhere in the world are they aimed at establishing paramountcy of a particular group at the expense of others."
Bavadra proceeded to contend that the notion of affirmative action was, in reality, a cover to permit the retention of power in the hands of the Fijiian chiefs who had controlled the government since independece. Fijians in the western province had long protested against their unequal representation in the councils of power because of the dominant role of the eastern chielfy establishment. He said his government was overthrown because he was going to launch an investigation into how Mara and Ganilau amassed vast fortunes, with buildings bearing their property names - Mara House, Ganilau House etc. While Indo-Fijian leaders stated that they always respected native Fijian land rights, opposition against the doctrine of special indigenous rights came from another indigenous group of native Fijians. During the election campaign, Bavadra had repeatedly stressed that Fijians were not traditionally a homogenous people, but were divided by dialect, region and social organization. Western Fijians, he pointed out, had a different hierarchical chiefly structures from Easterners who had hierarchical chiefly structures similar to those of the Polynesians.
He saw Eastern chiefly control of Western native Fijians as 'internal colonialism'. The Western native Fijians feared being oppressed, arguing: 'The so-called racial and indigenous rights issues provide a convenient smoke screen to obsure what is really being attempted. By reciting the litany of indigengous rights and offering up what the President has called the migrant races as scapegoats and culprits, the interim goverment has effectively diverted attention from the genuine universal rights issues involved. The interim government's draft constitution not only partially disenfranchises Fiji's Indians, it also, and in some cases more seriously disenfranchises almost three-fourths of the Fijian population.
It might be shocking to one's senses but I don't see Aiyaz Khaiyum as a migrant Indo-Fijian Muslim, oppressing native Fijians and other non-Fijians. He is no different from any native Fijian who regards Fiji as his home, and is as indigenous as the late Sakiasi Butadroka or the new Butadroka incarnate, Niko Nawaikula. Rabuka's 1987 coups opened up the Pandoras Box on who is truly native - and how many generations must one live in Fiji to be regarded as indigenous as Butadroka or Nawaikula. That is one issue we have not resolved for the last 50 years. Rabuka's Coup was for 'Indigenous Rights'. Bainimarama's Coup was 'Fiji for all Fijians'. Sadly, its the ordinary citizens who are bearing the brunt of these coupists treasonous deeds, and looks like for another 50 years. We don't need a MEDAL for telling the truth. As for Khaiyum, power has gone into his head, turning him into a paranoid megalomaniac. He is one of those Fijians who does NOT care about Fiji. And, our people will continue to eat their Gosh Fulia, happily. A VOTE for SODELPA under Rabuka will be continuation of FijiFirst Party horror show. The party must look beyond Race and Indigenous Rights if it wants to win the 2022 Election. I won't be surprised if Khaiyum (unless he is arrested over the donation fraud) will disappear from the political scene after leaving Bainimarama in good financial position to fight the election. Enjoy, your Gosh Fulia and CRY FOR THE BELOVED FIJI
