Western Fijians rally for Chaudry

Date: 02 June 2000

Fiji's high chiefs based in the economically wealthy Western provinces of Fiji have called a rally for tomorrow at historic Viseisei Village near Nadi. The West is the heartland of indigenous support for the Fiji Labour Party and its People's Coalition allies.

Viseisei Village
Near Nadi
2pm
Saturday June 3

The movement in support of the elected Government is being led by the influential high chief Tui Ba, Ratu Sairusi Naganigavoka who has developed a close working relationship with PM Mahendra Chaudhry who also hails from Ba.

A story on fiji.live.com yesterday reported that - ³Ratu Sairusi has warned that the West may set up its own government if coup leader George Speight establishes a taukei government. The Tui Ba, from Sorokoba, says people in the province are already talking of setting up an administration to run the West.²

We hope that you can arrange for your correpondent and/or crew in Suva to take a break from events in the capital and give coverage to what the elected Government's Fijian supporters think of the situation. Picturesque Viseisei, considered Fiji's oldest village, is located on the coast half way between Nadi and Lautoka.

We reprint below the closing comments from the interview with lawyer Jone Dakuvula (former Rabuka press secretary) that preceded the mob violence against Fiji One a few nights ago.

Fiji TV: (do) the majority of the indigenous Fijians support something like this - do you think there should be more a push from people in the country to encourage these people and say, "Look! Suva is not Fiji - why don't you go to the west or to the north of the country and talk to people there and see what they feel?'

Davukula: I don't know where they got this idea that the majority of
Fijians support this coup. We only have about a thousand people sitting at Parliament - there are about 400,000 Fijians. It's very simplistic to use words like majority or minority because you can't actually base it on any real knowledge about what people out there in the rural areas feel. Most ordinary people are just watching and observing whats happening - they're not active participants in this coup.

Vinaka

Dale Keeling
MEDIA SECRETARY
for Acting Leader, People's Coalition Government

Dale Keeling
PO Box 78
Balmain, NSW, 2041
AUSTRALIA

dkeeling@bigpond.net.au

Ph: (61 2) 9810 1336
Mob: (0414) 806 784
Fax and phone: (61 2) 9555 1252

For further information

Contact:	Andrew Casey
Union:	Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union
Phone:	9281 9511
Fax:	92821 4480
Email:	Andrewc@lhmu.org.au
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed
by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW
[Credits] [Site Matters]