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The Case of Fiji
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Volume 25 Issues 3&4 1992 Democracy and Respect for Difference: The Case of Fiji Joseph H. Carens University of Toronto Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Cultural Heritage Law Commons, Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons, and the Rule of Law Commons Recommended Citation Joseph H. Carens, Democracy and Respect for Difference: The Case of Fiji, 25 U. MICH. J. L. REFORM 547 (1992). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol25/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEMOCRACY AND RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCE: THE CASE OF FIJI Joseph H. Carens* TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................. 549 I. A Short History of Fiji ................. .... 554 A. Native Fijians and the Colonial Regime .... 554 B. Fijian Indians .................. ....... 560 C. Group Relations ................ ....... 563 D. Colonial Politics ....................... 564 E. Transition to Independence ........ ....... 567 F. The 1970 Constitution ........... ....... 568 G. The 1987 Election and the Coup .... ....... 572 II. The Morality of Cultural Preservation: The Lessons of Fiji ................. ....... 574 III. Who Is Entitled to Equal Citizenship? ... ....... 577 A. The Citizenship of the Fijian Indians ....... 577 B. Moral Limits to Historical Appeals: The Deed of Cession ............. ....... 580 * Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto. -
History of Inter-Group Conflict and Violence in Modern Fiji
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sydney eScholarship History of Inter-Group Conflict and Violence in Modern Fiji SANJAY RAMESH MA (RESEARCH) CENTRE FOR PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY 2010 Abstract The thesis analyses inter-group conflict in Fiji within the framework of inter-group theory, popularised by Gordon Allport, who argued that inter-group conflict arises out of inter-group prejudice, which is historically constructed and sustained by dominant groups. Furthermore, Allport hypothesised that there are three attributes of violence: structural and institutional violence in the form of discrimination, organised violence and extropunitive violence in the form of in-group solidarity. Using history as a method, I analyse the history of inter-group conflict in Fiji from 1960 to 2006. I argue that inter- group conflict in Fiji led to the institutionalisation of discrimination against Indo-Fijians in 1987 and this escalated into organised violence in 2000. Inter-group tensions peaked in Fiji during the 2006 general elections as ethnic groups rallied behind their own communal constituencies as a show of in-group solidarity and produced an electoral outcome that made multiparty governance stipulated by the multiracial 1997 Constitution impossible. Using Allport’s recommendations on mitigating inter-group conflict in divided communities, the thesis proposes a three-pronged approach to inter-group conciliation in Fiji, based on implementing national identity, truth and reconciliation and legislative reforms. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is dedicated to the Indo-Fijians in rural Fiji who suffered physical violence in the aftermath of the May 2000 nationalist coup. -
Chiefly Leadership in Fiji After the 2014 Elections Stephanie Lawson
3 Chiefly leadership in Fiji after the 2014 elections Stephanie Lawson ‘Chiefdoms are highly variable, but they are all about power.’ (Earle 2011, p. 27) Introduction The last quarter century has seen a significant decline of chiefly influence in Fiji’s politics, albeit with some periods of enhanced status for the paramount symbol of indigenous Fijian traditionalism, the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC). This body, however, was abolished by decree under the military regime of Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama in March 2012. The September 2014 elections held prospects for the restoration of chiefly authority and the role of traditionalism through the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) led by Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa, holder of a prominent chiefly title. A victory by SODELPA would also have seen the restoration of the GCC. With SODELPA’s resounding defeat by Bainimarama’s FijiFirst Party, such prospects have received a significant blow. This chapter provides an account of chiefly leadership in national politics, beginning with a survey of Fiji’s colonisation, the role of chiefs in the British colonial regime generally, and their domination 41 THE PEOPLE Have SPOKEN of national politics up until 1987. The second section reviews the political dynamics surrounding chiefly leadership from 1987 until the Bainimarama-led coup of 2006. The final sections examine chiefly involvement in national politics in the lead-up to the 2014 elections and prospects for the future of traditional chiefly political leadership which, given the results, look somewhat bleak. British colonialism and chiefly rule In contrast with many other parts of the world, where colonial rule was imposed by force, the paramount chiefs of Fiji petitioned the British to establish a Crown Colony. -
The 1965 Constitutional Conference
4. The 1965 Constitutional Conference The stand-off between Sir Derek Jakeway and A. D. Patel took place during a familiarisation visit to Fiji by parliamentary undersecretary of state, Eirene White, in what was now a Labour government in Britain. Her task was to report back on issues that might be raised at the forthcoming constitutional conference. She heard a wide range of opinion: from Muslims about separate representation, from Fijians about their special interests Ð including political leadership of the country Ð from the ever mercurial Apisai Tora about deporting Indo-Fijians as Ceylon and Burma had done, from the Council of Chiefs reiterating the terms of the Wakaya Letter, from Indian leaders about common roll and the need to promote political integration, from journalist Alipate Sikivou expressing the Fijian nationalist line that the Indians could always go back to India, the Chinese to China and the Rotumans and other islanders to their respective islands but the Fijians, the indigenous people, had Fiji as their only home. Sikivou was not alone in holding such extreme views. Many others were of the view that, as Ratu Penaia Ganilau and Ratu George Cakobau had said in 1961, at independence, Fiji should be returned to the Fijians. As Uraia Koroi put it at a meeting of the Fijian Association in January 1965, chaired by Ratu Mara, `Fijians were determined to achieve this claim of right [returning Fiji to Fijians] at the cost of their lives. Bloodshed would mean nothing if their demands were not acceptable to other races in the Colony.'1 -
Elections and Politics in Contemporary Fiji
Chiefs and Indians: Elections and Politics in Contemporary Fiji Brij V. Lal 1he Republic of Fiji went to the polls in May 1992, its first election since the military coups of 1987 and the sixth since 1970, when the islands became independent from Great Britain. For many people in Fiji and out side, the elections were welcome, marking as they did the republic's first tentative steps toward restoring parliamentary democracy and interna tional respectability, and replacing rule by decree with rule by constitu tionallaw. The elections were a significant event. Yet, hope mingles eerily with apprehension; the journey back to genuine representative democracy is fraught with difficulties that everyone acknowledges but few know how to resolve. The elections were held under a constitution rejected by half of the pop ulation and severely criticized by the international community for its racially discriminatory, antidemocratic provisions. Indigenous Fijian po litical solidarity, assiduously promoted since the coups, disintegrated in the face of the election-related tensions within Fijian society. A chief-spon sored political party won 30 of the 37 seats in the 7o-seat House of Repre sentatives, and was able to form a government only in coalition with other parties. Sitiveni Rabuka, the reluctant politician, became prime minister after gaining the support of the Fiji Labour Party, which he had over thrown in 1987, and despite the opposition of his predecessor and para mount chief of Lau, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. In a further irony, a consti tutional system designed to entrench the interests of Fijian chiefs placed a commoner at the national helm. -
The Experiences of Indo-Fijian Immigrant Women in California
LOOKING BACKWARD, MOVING FORWARD: THE EXPERIENCES OF INDO-FIJIAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN CALIFORNIA A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology San José State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Ambrita Nand December 2015 © 2015 Ambrita Nand ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled LOOKING BACKWARD, MOVING FORWARD: THE EXPERIENCES OF INDO-FIJIAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN CALIFORNIA by Ambrita Nand APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY December 2015 Dr. Chuck Darrah Department of Anthropology Dr. James Freeman Department of Anthropology Dr. Roberto Gonzalez Department of Anthropology ABSTRACT LOOKING BACKWARD, MOVING FORWARD: THE EXPERIENCES OF INDO- FIJIAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN CALIFORNIA This study helps address gaps in knowledge concerning the lives of Indo-Fijian immigrant women in California and offers a space for their voices to be heard. The subsequent chapters investigate the lives of five Indo-Fijian immigrant women and their experiences upon migrating to Modesto, California. Using a qualitative research approach, data were collected through participant-observations, semi-structured in-depth interviews and informal conversations. The data are presented as anthropological silhouettes, a form of life-writing (the recording of events and experiences of a life), which explores each individual woman’s experience with life in Fiji to her eventual migration and transition to life in California. The study reveals heterogeneity amongst the women’s experiences and perspectives as well as commonalities that arise in their collective experiences as Indo-Fijian immigrant women residing in the city of Modesto. Overall, the anthropological silhouettes reveal that migration has led to shifts in the women’s identities and their prescribed gender roles. -
A Majority of Fiji Indians Are the Descendants of the Indentured
Pacific Dynamics: Volume 1 Number 1 July 2017 Journal of Interdisciplinary Research http://pacificdynamics.nz Indo-Fijian Counter Hegemony in Fiji: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 A historical structural approach ISSN: 2463-641X Sanjay Ramesh University of Sydney Abstract Indo-Fijians make up about 37 per cent of Fiji’s current population and have a unique language and culture, which evolved since Indians fist arrived into Fiji as indentured labourers on board the ship Leonidas in 1879. Since their arrival in the British colony as sugar plantation labourers, Indo-Fijian activists led counter hegemonic movements against the colonial government during and after indenture in 1920-21, 1943 and 1960. Indo-Fijian activists demanded political equality with Europeans and constantly agitated for better wages and living conditions through disruptive strikes and boycotts. After independence, the focus of Indo-Fijians shifted to political equality with indigenous Fijians and access to land leases from indigenous landowners on reasonable terms; and these were ongoing themes in the 1972, 1977 and 1982 elections. However, Indo-Fijian counter hegemony took a new form in 1987 with the formation of the multiracial Fiji Labour Party and National Federation Party coalition government but indigenous Fijian nationalists and the military deposed the government and established discriminatory policies against Indo-Fijians which were dismantled by the Fiji Labour Party-led coalition government in 1999. However, indigenous nationalists regrouped and deposed the government in 2000, prompting another round of protests and resistance from Indo-Fijians. Using Gramscian conceptualisation of counter hegemony as disruptive protest, resistance and dissent, I argue that political mobilisation of indentured labourers and their descendants was aimed at restoring political rights, honour, self-respect and dignity lost during colonial and post-colonial periods in Fiji. -
Reflections on the Civilian Coup in Fiji
REFLECTIONS ON THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN FIJI EDITORS BRIJ V. LAL with MICHAEL PRETES Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] Previously published by Pandanus Books National Library in Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Coup : reflections on the political crisis in Fiji / editors, Brij V. Lal ; Michael Pretes. ISBN: 9781921536366 (pbk.) 9781921536373 (pdf) Notes: Bibliography. Subjects: Fiji--Politics and government. Other Authors/Contributors: Lal, Brij V. Pretes, Michael, 1963- Dewey Number: 320.99611 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. First edition © 2001 Pandanus Books This edition © 2008 ANU E Press ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many of the papers in this collection previously appeared in newspapers and magazines, and as internet postings at the height of Fiji’s political crisis between May and June 2000. We thank the authors of these contributions for permission to reprint their writings. We also thank the journals, magazines, and web sites themselves for allowing us to reprint these contributions: Pacific World, The Listener, Fiji Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, The Australian, The Independent (UK), Pacific Journalism Online, Fijilive.com, Eureka Street, Daily Post, Pacific Island Network, Pacific Economic Bulletin, Journal of South Pacific Law, and Te Karere Ipurangi. Ross Himona, of Te Karere Ipurangi, and David Robie, of the University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Online program, were of particular assistance in tracking down contributors. -
The Newspaper As a Vehicle for Fan Participation in Fiji Rugby Union
34 The Journal of Pacific Studies, Volume 40 Issue 1, 2020 The Newspaper as a Vehicle for Fan Participation in Fiji Rugby Union https://doi.org/10.33318/jpacs.2020.40(1)-2 Jeremy Dorovolomo1 and Aue Te Ava2 Abstract Through the analysis of “Letters to the Editor” in The Fiji Times, this study aimed to uncover the opinions of fans on the management of Fiji Rugby Union (FRU). The study found the importance of letter writers’ opinions in advocating visionary-driven strategic and policy postures that are continually being assessed and benchmarked with other unions. Findings also encapsulated matters related to coach and team selection, reward systems, purposeful marketing – particularly of women’s rugby – and a proactive financial environment that are focused towards improved FRU team performances. Rugby Union being the national sport of Fiji, fans consistently demand improved and winning performances from its team. A gold medal at the Rio Olympics was the pinnacle of fans’ aspirations in Rugby sevens. In the fifteens code, with increasing numbers of Fijian professional rugby players, fans also expect higher performances than they do now. The study also found the debate and argument about keeping the Fjian flair of rugby and its cibi, the pre-game war dance, both crucial to giving the team its trademark. Keywords: Fan participation; Fiji Rugby Union; Vision; Strategic Planning; Cibi; Women’s Rugby 1 School of Education, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji, email: [email protected] 2 School of Education, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji The Journal of Pacific Studies, Volume 40 Issue 1, 2020 35 Introduction Rugby was introduced to Fiji in 1884 by foreign soldiers and policemen (Rika et al., 2016). -
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, I998
Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, I998 Reviews of Irian Jaya and Vanuatu dollar was to be expected. Investment are not included in this issue. was sluggish, consumer spending was low, and there was moderate infla tion. The Fiji dollar had also strength FIJI ened against those of its major trad Sociopolitical and economic conse ing partners, Australia and New quences of the 1987 coups in Fiji Zealand (Review, Feb 1998, 2). A were still unfolding by January 1998. local economist argued, with refer The year began with a 20 percent ence to a popular international rugby devaluation of the Fiji dollar by event, that devaluation is a short-term Finance Minister James Ah Koy. solution to an economic crisis and Apart from the external negative that "even the 20 per cent devalua impact of the economic turmoil in tion is too low. Someone has to pay Southeast Asia, there have been major for things like the Hong Kong 7S holi internal contributions to the down day" (Review, Feb 1998), let alone turn of Fiji's economy since the coups. the National Bank's F$220 million in Politico-economic instability after bad debts and the regular overseas the coups has been compounded by trips of members of Parliament. deliberate economic disasters such as The governor of the Reserve Bank the F$220 million loss by the of Fiji stated that the devaluation National Bank of Fiji due to bad would, among other things, increase debts. Furthermore, there is still the competitiveness of Fiji's exports, uncertainty surrounding the renewal make locally produced goods cheaper, of leases under the Agriculture encourage overseas investment in Fiji, Landlords and Tenants Act and the increase demand for locally produced relocation of tenants whose leases goods, and prop up employment and have not and will not be renewed. -
The Social and Religious Scene in Fiji Since the Coups
Uncertain Sequel: The Social and Religious Scene in Fiji since the Coups John Garrett Fiji's political stability since the coups of 1987 has depended partly on the interplay near the political summit between two high chiefs and a com moner. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, the president of the interim government of the republic, was in April 1989 invested as Tui Cakau, the highest title in the province of Cakaudrove, within the Tovata, one ofFiji's three tradi tional confederacies. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the interim prime minister, is the bearer of the high titles Tui Nayau and Tui Lau in the same confed eracy. His authority extends over both southern and northern Lau-the eastern islands of the Fiji group (see Garrett 1988). Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka, the soldier-commoner, does not have the hereditary power of the other two members of the triumvirate. A professional warrior, he is largely a self-made man (Dean and Ritova 1988). He acquired his present power by dissolving a constituted Parliament at the head of troops schooled in abrupt intervention in the Fiji Battalion of the United Nations International Peacekeeping Force in south Lebanon. His troops have seen Israeli units in action. THE PARADOX OF RABUKA Ratu Ganilau and Ratu Mara conform to the pyramidal Polynesian struc tures and mores of ethnic Fijian society. Rabuka, through his upbringing, works within the same framework. He affirms the loyalty and customary duty he owes to high chiefs within a rank-order determined by birth. His activity in the two coups, and as minister for home affairs and commander The Contemporary Pacific, Volume 2, Number I, Spring 1990, 87-II1 © 1990 by University ofHawaii Press 88 THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING I990 of the security forces since, presents a paradox. -
Colonial and Post-Colonial Ethnocracy in Fiji
Colonial and Post-Colonial Ethnocracy in Fiji Sanjay Ramesh University of Sydney Abstract This paper analyses colonial ethnocracy, post-colonial ethnocracy, inter-ethnic alliances and new forms of ethnocratic ethnocracy in Fiji as historical sociology. Utilising Oren Yiftachel’s theorisation of ethnocracy and location of ethnicity and race in historical structures, I intent to problematise ethnocracy in Fiji as socio- historical moments, comprising of the hegemony of the ethnocratic colonial regime, post-colonial political discourse between Indo-Fijian and indigenous Fijians within post-colonial ethnocracy and inter-ethnic collaboration and alliances that led to the political reconfiguration of the ethnocratic polity, ethnoclass and supposedly non-ethnocracy from 2006. Introduction Fiji has a history of ethnic tensions where Europeans, indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians competed for ethnocratic hegemony. The British colonial authorities established colonial ethnocracy based on the concept of harmony of indigenous and European interests where indigenous Fijian chiefs supervised indigenous cultural discourses and the Europeans controlled the economy and the state. Nevertheless, the colonial regime introduced ethnic complexity and brought Indian indentured labourers to Fiji to protect indigenous Fijians from the destructive forces of plantation capitalism, based on cultivation of sugar on European alienated indigenous Fijian land. By 1945, the Indo-Fijian population had overtaken that of indigenous Fijians and Europeans and by the 1960s,