National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says the NFP totally supports 'Fijian' as our common identity or nationality because it inculcates pride and patriotism.
He says the question of a common identity is not one that can just be created by a law or imposed on us because it is important that we must all firmly feel and believe in it.
Professor Prasad pointed out that as early as August 1964, NFP’s founder leader Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel (A D Patel) stated “Won’t it be better if we thought less of our race and more of our nationality?”
He says those using the Great Council of Chiefs submission to the Constitution Review, which asked for “Fijian” to be exclusively used for our indigenous community, and invoke racial debate, are deliberately being divisive.
The NFP Leader says those politicising nationality are deliberately destroying unity when instead they could have made remarks based on rationale.
Professor Prasad says people forget that we were being called Fijians by the international community long before it was legislated in the 2013 Constitution and imposed on us.
He says three of our most famous sports personalities were all known as Fijians - the late Josefa Levula was already a renowned track athlete, rugby union and rugby league star a few decades before our independence. He was famously known as the “Flying Fijian” and the term “Flying Fijians” to describe our national rugby team is derived from this. The legend of sevens rugby, the mercurial Waisele Serevi was always called the “Fijian wizard”. And professional golfer Vijay Singh, who won 3 golf majors and at one stage became the number one ranked golfer in the world, is known as the “Big Fijian”.
Professor Prasad says there is absolutely no debate about why citizens of Fiji are not Fijians by nationality.
He says the problem is the manner in which it was legislated and imposed on us without dialogue.
Professor Prasad says after the consultative process for a new constitution was trashed at the end of 2012, the Bainimarama regime imposed the 2013 Constitution.
He says undoubtedly, we will hear all sorts of submissions when the Constitution Review Commission starts conducting public hearings around the country.
The NFP Leader says these must not be used by opportunists to invoke racist emotions or debate that have the potential to fan racial flames but at the end of the process, through discussion, dialogue, negotiation and consensus building, the elected representatives of the people will be tasked to make decisions that unify our multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation.
