UNITED FRONT WANTS GCC BACK The United Front for a Democratic Fiji is now raising concern on the disestablishment of the Great Council of Chiefs and the restriction on the Methodist Church to have its meeting for only four days. The group which is made up of the Social Democratic and Liberal Party, the Fiji Labour Party and the National Federation Party said this should not be the case. United Front spokesperson, Mick Beddoes said they want the GCC back and the Methodist Church to have its meeting without any restrictions as according to Beddoes these institutions are for the i-Taukei. The government said it will not make any comments. However, in an earlier interview, Commodore Bainimarama stressed that the Methodist Church should concentrate on the spiritual development of its members and not focus on politics. The Methodist Church of Fiji came out last week saying it is now preparing itself for the future by trying to bring its two rival factions together. I-taukei nationalists dominated the church from the 1980s, leading to the imposition of Christian laws on non-Christians in Fiji after the 1987 coups. In 1987, the then President of the church Reverend Josateki Koroi was ousted by Reverend Manasa Lasaro after the coup. Following this they pushed for the Sunday ban to restrict all public events on Sundays. Leading up to the 2000 coup, there were also reports of some Methodist church ministers openly making racial attacks from the pulpit. After the George Speight coup in May 2000, the then President of the Methodist Church, Reverend Tomasi Kanailagi visited the parliament complex where the members of the People’s Coalition government were held. A letter of support from Reverend Kanailagi to George Speight was also made public. Over the past years, the Methodist Church has also called for Fiji to be declared a Christian state. When questioned on the ethno-nationalist views within the church from the 1980’s onwards, Reverend Nawadra said the Methodist Church is already focusing on ensuring that the church is seen more than just a representative of one ethnic group. On the Great Council of Chiefs, Commodore Bainimarama said the council which was set up by the colonial administration in 1876 had lost its way. He gave this as the main reason for the disestablishment of the GCC when the announcement was made. fijivillage/?mod=story&id=2708135f24adadd26b2be8e9b10f6a
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:32:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015