7 Laisenia Qarase Quotes on History

Laisenia Qarase quotes on history

7. 'In 2000 Fiji experienced the greatest crisis in its contemporary history ... Fiji came close to complete collapse and anarchy; some form of civil war was a real possibility. This would not only have pitted Fijians against Indians but Fijians against Fijians, and Province against Province. But the country did not fall. It stepped back from the brink. It drew on its inner strength and a vein of tolerance and restraint and began the task of remaking Fiji.'

9. 'Two distinct ethnic groups, with quite different cultures and religious beliefs, were ... put together in the same islands. Colonial policy largely kept them apart and there was, therefore, little assimilation. This racial separation and segregation became a defining feature of our country. The two communities have co-existed, without finding a sense of unified nationhood.'

10. 'We cannot bring our people together, and give all energies to development, when the agony of 2000 lives on and haunts us through prosecutions and sentences. Five years have gone by and ... there is no end in sight. I believe it is time now for fresh thinking and action.'

11. 'It is now time for us to bring a greater degree of closure to a tragic period of our history. We must not forget what happened in 2000, but we must turn our eyes more to the future.'

24. 'Christianity took Ratu Cakobau and the Fijians from the way of the club, to the way of peace. Our islands were transformed forever.'

33. 'They (the indigenous Fijian people) believe they (their demands for political power) are just and reasonable, given our history, racial division, present-day majority of Fijians, their ownership of the land and their indigenous identity.'

34. 'In view of what has happened to other indigenous groups, the fear and insecurity of Fijians should be easy to understand.'