Youth News 1

The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum today re-iterated its support for the Constitution, democracy and the rule of law in Fiji. The CCF opposes any coup or other military intervention in the affairs of the civilian government. It believes that very few people in the country, if any, want a coup to occur.

“The vast majority of Fiji’s citizens simply want to get on with their lives in peace and security,” CCF Director of Programmes, Jone Dakuvula, said. “We want to be governed by a democratically-elected Government of our choosing. No matter what else anyone might think about Laisenia Qarase’s Government, it has been elected to govern.”

The CCF wrote to the Prime Minister, the RFMF Commander and the Police Commissioner a fortnight ago and has also written and spoken in both the local and international media several times over the past days and weeks. “It is important for civil society – in fact, for everyone – to make their views known in the current crisis, and to stand up for what they believe in,” Mr Dakuvula said.

The CCF does not support the actions and threats of the RFMF Commander at the present time. They are illegal. The CCF does not hold the Qarase Government blameless in this crisis either – it has a track record of illegal activities over the past six years. However, what the RFMF is doing is not the solution to the nation’s problems. As former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried.”

“The people of Fiji need to decide for themselves what future they want. We must learn to be more demanding of our Governments, more critical of our politicians, and much less trusting of those who seek to divide us along ethnic and religious lines,” said Mr Dakuvula. “The military is not in a position to teach the people these lessons. We must learn them for ourselves, by using the institutions of democracy – that means elections, lobbying, free speech and the media, the court system, etc. Our past coups tore down these institutions, and each time we had to build them up again. The military cannot strengthen democracy by tearing it down. The best it can do to help is to keep out of politics.”

For further details contact the CCF on 3308379.

 

Jone Dakuvula

Director of Programmes