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- Fiji's new indigenous Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, says there will be no restoration of the islands' multi-ethnic constitution.
"The 1997 constitution will not be reinstated," Qarase told a news conference after being installed as prime minster by Fiji's military this morning.
That constitution guaranteed representation for Fiji's economically powerful Indian minority, and allowed the election of the country's first Fiji Indian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry.
It was abrogated when the military took power in May after rebels stormed the parliament building and took members of parliament hostage. The rebels are still holding Chaudhry and 26 others.
"The interests of the Fijian community must not be subordinated to those of the other communities and hence the principle of the paramouncy of indigenous Fijian interests," said Qarase, who was named by the military to head an interim civilian government.
- REUTERS, IRN
Fiji's new PM addresses the nation (7 min)
Full text of the statement by the Prime Minister and Minister for Information, Lasienia Qarase
4 July 2000
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to say, first of all, how grateful I am to the Head of the Executive Government and Commander of the Fiji Military Forces, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, for his confidence and trust in me to lead the civilian Cabinet he has appointed today.
I have accepted appointment as Prime Minister not for personal reward or honour. But I have accepted it as a call to national duty. It is that time in our national life when everyone with the best interests of our nation at heart, should come forward and assist with the rehabilitation and recovery of our country, for the benefit of all.
We have all been deeply disturbed and pained by what has happened in our country since that Friday, the 19th of May.
It will be impossible to forget. Nor will it be easy to forgive those who caused and brought suffering.
And by that I mean not only those who forcibly took over Parliament and are still holding 27 innocent people hostage.
I mean not only those who engaged in mass looting, destruction, frightening people in their homes, and needlessly taking the precious life of that loyal and hardworking policeman.
I also mean trade union leaders and those who had instigated the international economic ban that has created massive loss of jobs, loss of income and suffering to many families throughout our country.
We are fortunate to be living in a society where we as individuals or groups can freely exercise our basic right to freely articulate our views on issues of concern to us. But our exercise of our individual or group rights must not be to undermine or prejudice our collective interests as a notion. In fact, I would go further and say that we cannot and must not allow the inconsiderate and irresponsible action of a few to drag all of us down as a country. As I have said, this is the time when we must stand up and respond to the call of our nation, to help with its reconstruction and return to normalcy.
This is the spirit in which I and my colleagues in Cabinet have accepted our appointment. It is to assist in taking our country forward from where we are now.
In the next few days and weeks, we shall be putting together initiatives and proposals to address priority areas for our country's recovery and return to normalcy. These will be incorporated in the Mini-Budget that will apply from the 1st of August and also in the year 2001 Budget.
But for the Government as a whole, I want to reiterate what our Executive Head said yesterday that the release of all 27 hostages, the return of arms and ammunition, and the safety of citizens and the security of their property, will continue to be the topmost priority.
A Constitution Review Commission is to be appointed to consider a new Constitution. The 1997 Constitution will not be re- instated. No Constitution is perfect. No Constitution in any country has remained unchanged. We need a new Constitution that will address the concerns of indigenous Fijians. But it will be a Constitution that will also be a framework for our living together as a multi-racial and multi-cultural society. The way forward for our country is as set out in the Compact chapter of the 1997 Constitution. The interests of the Fijian community must not be subordinated to those of the other communities; and hence the principle of the paramountcy of indigenous Fijian interests. But we also have to recognise and appreciate that our country draws its strength from its multi-ethnic and multicultural society, that all communities have contributed to our country's development, and that all communities have a cherished and valued place in our country.
Rescue programmes for our national economy are, of course, vitally important. We cannot survive without investment, exports and markets. We have to safeguard our important tourism industry. We have to save jobs and to create new ones.
As we have seen over the past few weeks, more than 5,000 people have lost their jobs. Many more have suffered pay cuts and in most cases these are the main breadwinners in a family. If we allow the crisis to continue, the Fiji economy will be ruined. Companies will close down, a lot of people will lose their jobs, there will be food shortages, we will run out of medicines, government will not be able to collect sufficient revenue to provide normal services, and sporting bans will continue.
However, if we can resolve the crisis now, with the release by George Speight and his group of the 27 hostages they are holding captive, we can move quickly to arrest the decline in the economy and on this we can build on the following positive developments which have already occurred.
The Government has already announced that a mini-Budget will be delivered in mid-July that will cover policies to protect government finances and, at the same time, reallocate spending to essential areas to help the economy recover.
The Reserve Bank has also announced several policies that will protect Fiji's foreign exchange reserves.
The Australian and New Zealand trade unions have lifted their trade bans, and I would like to acknowledge the role of the FTUC and its member unions in this.
The unions have also agreed to go ahead with the sugarcane harvest and I call on all stakeholders in the sugar industry to work together in the interest of all those thousands of people and their families who depend on the industry for their livelihood.
Many other organisations, such as the Fiji Visitors Bureau, have recovery plans that they are planning to implement as soon as conditions improve. We will consider special assistance to the tourism industry in the proposed Mini-Budget.
I have every confidence that the worst economic outcomes may still be avoided if the economy can get moving again quickly. The critical thing now is to restore confidence in the economy. Without confidence, consumers will not spend, investors will not invest, tourists will not come and other countries will not buy our goods. Confidence will not be restored unless the hostages are released and clear plans put in place to return Fiji to constitutional government. The longer that this is delayed, the worse it would be for the economy and the more difficult it will be to restore confidence and get the economy moving again. It is to restore that confidence that my Cabinet and I will assiduously devote our endeavours.
But we cannot be concerned only with the Constitution and the national economy. We have to give equal importance to the provision and improvement of social services and support. Close to 60 per cent of our people still live in our rural areas and outer islands. The household income distribution survey in 1993 pointed to them as the poorest people in our country. The majority of these are Fijians.
If Government is seen to be giving priority to the provision and upgrading of social support services to Fijians, it is only because they are the people in most need to be assisted.
But I also give an assurance that all in our society who are economically or socially disadvantaged will not be excluded. All of them will be the target of special assistance by Government.
To the indigenous Fijian community, I wish to give you an assurance that we are fully committed to addressing those issues and concerns that are of central importance to the Fijian people. Apart from the review of the Constitution, Cabinet will treat as priority those issues which I know are close to the heart of every Fijian, and on which both the Great Council of Chiefs and the Native Land Trust Board have made submissions to previous Governments. These include:
{1} the removal of native land from the ambit of the ALTA legislation,
{2} the transfer of State Schedule A and B lands to the NLTB, and
{3} the conferment of ownership rights over traditional fishing rights or oli oli.
The review of the Constitution will address Fijian concerns on various issues, including the paramountcy of Fijian interests in the governance of our nation.
But the Constitution must not be considered as being sufficient on its own to guarantee or to protect the Fijians in their future. This is why this interim Government will also implement specific measures in education, in business support and other areas of endeavours in order to accelerate the economic and social advancement of Fijians and their full participation in all aspects of life in our country.
To the other communities, I give you this assurance. We all belong together. This is our country. We have all contributed to its development. No one will be disenfranchised and no one will be excluded in our planning for our common future. The challenge for all of us is to devise ways to reinforce the foundation for living peacefully and harmoniously together in our multiracial and multicultural society.
We must not allow the trauma of the past few weeks to discourage us into giving up hope As I have said, this is our country and it is for all of us to work together in building for our common future.
I am very conscious that as an appointed Cabinet, we do not have the direct mandate of the people through Elections. But we have responded to a call to national duty. And we will not shirk our responsibility to give of our very best in serving our country. But we cannot do this alone. We need you and your support.
And so today, I ask you all to reach deep into your hearts and draw from the reservoir of goodwill and hope which I know is there in each one of you.
I know it is easy to be pre-occupied with casting and assigning blame for all that has happened. But I ask you and I challenge all citizens to ask themselves - how can I contribute, how can I help, to make this country of ours a better country for us all.
To George Speight and his group, and indeed to everyone who is there in the Parliamentary complex, I would like to counsel them: trust not in your own righteousness, but only in Almighty God, the Prince of Love whose goodness never fails. I make a final plea to them; please release the hostages.
And to all citizens of our good country, I renew my call. With charity for all and with malice to no one, let us strive forward together.
May God bless you all.
Under seige: map of the Parliament complex
The Australian actor starred in Australian soaps before finding success in the US.