Commonwealth Conversation Fiji Event
Posted by AlexT - 03/11/09 at 04:11 pmTitle: Commonwealth Conversation Fiji Event
Location: Wellington, NZ
Date: 2009-10-23
The event addressed the issue of Fijian membership of the Commonwealth, and asked the question “Fiji and the Commonwealth: where do we go from here?”
Category : Conversation Events
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November 4th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Is that all? just a sentence? Better include what have been discussed and what other decisions were taken in the event. So that it would be convenient for users and for those who try to seek the main general issues in order to improve work of the Common Wealth.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Dear Naazyf,
I appreciate your comment. The post will be more comprehensive when the full report of the event comes to us. We can only write using the information we have at hand.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Fiji once enjoyed being under the British Empire prior to its independence. As Dr Steve Ratuva a Fijian academic decribes Fiji asa bipolar Nation after its Independence. He noted that there were the two main Races that made up almost 95% of Fiji’s population, The First people or Indigenous Fijians and Fiji Indians.
According to Dr Steve Ratuva, Indigenous Fijians were quite contented beunder the British rule and it was the Fiji Indians who at this point had far exceeded the initial recorded 500 plus in their numbers to about approx 20,000 after their first 20 years in Fiji and this number rose steadily till upto 1996 where the Fiji Indian population figures showed that they were well ahead of all the other races in Fiji including the Indigenous Fijian. With this backdrop, the final putsch for that declaration of Independence from Great Britain was inevitable as this was what the Fiji Indians had wanted so badly hence Fiji’s Independence granted in 1970.
Frieden im Pazifik?
B. Fiji
There is recognition of the complexity and diversity of political, religious, economic, social and cultural issues relating to the political situation in Fiji and there is a need to closely monitor and examine their impact on conflict.
At the outset, there is a need to define and understand what type of society is needed for the future in Fiji, taking into consideration the interests and values of the different ethnic and cultural groups.
Resolving conflict in Fiji needs to incorporate the participation of all players including the state, civil society organizations, church and community groups.
There is a need to create a “safe space” for conflicting parties to engage and discuss ways of improving ethnic and political relations. This should include the churches to provide space for of peace-building and conflict resolution for all citizens, despite their different ethnicity, culture or religious beliefs.
It is important to use alternative methods of conflict resolution such as “restorative justice” as a way of ensuring that communities are directly involved in the process of peace-building.
There is a need to identify areas where there is already good relationship between the major ethnic groups and attempt to encourage and expand these as a way of overcoming negative perception and relationship.
Every effort should be done to promote the work of Inter-Faith Fiji to ensure greater religious and cultural tolerance amongst the population.
There is a need to put in place mechanisms to put an end to the persisting coup culture. This should involve the churches and other related civil groups.
The role of the military and other institutions of the state should be re-examined and re-defined to ensure that they promote peace rather than conflict.
For long lasting peace in Fiji, there is a need to put in place a new governance and security partnership process involving the state and citizens, rather than relying on the old system which tends to promote division and suspicion.
The role of the women in conflict resolution in Fiji should be acknowledged and encouraged as a way of promoting long-lasting peace
http://www.pazifik-infostelle.org/english/1660985.html