| RATU JONI FAULTS REGIME ON GCC |
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| Saturday, 03 May 2008 02:30 |
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The formidable combination of empirical fact, clear logic and a lawyer's brain means Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi only needs a few sentences to fully reveal the fundamental flaw in proposed amendments to the GCC regulations, which are being promoted by Fiji's military-backed regime. As Ratu Joni points out, the regime's proposed amendments don't accord with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In particular, the amendments being advanced by Bainimarama's interim government contravene Article 18 of the Declaration. But, unfortunately for Fiji and her people, a dictator who is easily swayed by the nonsense spouted by the likes of the Shyster or Kid Cowboy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum - is not going to pay much heed to common sense which doesn't mesh with his own bizarre agenda.
GCC rules wrong: Chief Fiji Sun, Thursday 1 May 2008: The new Great Council of Chiefs regulation which narrows the options available to provincial councils to nominate their representatives clashes with the rights of indigenous people, says Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi. The former Vice-President told a teachers' conference that the amendments to the GCC regulation made by the interim administration under interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama were against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ratu Joni said Article 18 of the Declaration concerned the right of indigenous people to participate in matters affecting their rights through representatives chosen by them. "Bainimarama now appoints all 51 members of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga," he said. "The 42 provincial representatives (three per province), the three representatives of the Rotuma Council and the six high chiefs appointed at large. "The 42 provincial appointees must not only be title holders but are required to be installed as well." The Suva lawyer said the amendments made it difficult for provinces to have their own nominee appointed to the Council. He cited his own traditional position as an example of how difficult and complex it would be for someone from his province to become a council member. "I would be eligible as an installed title holder but my close cousins from the chiefly households of Mataiwelagi, Naisogolaca and Muaidule would not qualify for the three Tailevu seats," he said. "Neither would anyone else from the Yavusa Kubuna of Bau." He said the requirement failed to consider the vanua (land and people) where there was an absence of an installed chief. "The succeeding chief assumes the title next in line or by legislation from the king makers who are not eligible either,' he said. Ratu Joni said the structure of the GCC was always determined by the government of the day. "What's controversial is the circumstances in which these amendments were made and their arbitrary nature. They came almost 10 months after the Bose Levu Vakaturaga was dissolved or suspended for ostensibly performing its constitutional role," he said. He said the amendments had changed the normal procedure which has been followed for decades which allowed provincia councils to appoint their own nominees to the Council. The new electoral system is an attack on indigenous identity, says former vice president and Vunivatu of Bau Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi. Speaking at the Fijian Teachers Association Annual General meeting yesterday, Ratu Joni said there has been much debate about the electoral system and governance in the present "highly-charged political environment". "Both the interim regime and the National Council For Building A Better Fiji have provoked the ire of certain sections of Fijian opinion by advocating a one vote, one value electoral system," he said.Ratu Joni said Fijian protagonists have interpreted the new electoral system as an attack on indigenous identity and the right to have their representatives elected on their own electoral rolls. He referred to articles three and four of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which guarantees the right of self determination. Ratu Joni said that article five of the Declaration assumes the right of indigenous people to maintain and strengthen their distinct political institutions. "However, in our present circumstances the rationale underpinning the Declaration does not equate. If one accepts that the principle of self- determination enables indigenous people to govern themselves, the dynamic must necessarily change where they form a majority,' he said. "The paramountcy of Fijian interests as a protective principle (as stated in the Compact of the present Constitution) more aptly captures the spirit of the Declaration." In the present situation, Ratu Joni said that Fijians are able to exercise predominance over other communities as well. |
