YouSaid · the spoken record

Laisenia QARASE

lines on the record
60
first
2000-09-24
most recent
2004-09-24
sittings or episodes
3
sources
un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “Fijians value their democratic rights as individuals, but as a community they know their place in their traditional society. In our Indian and other communities people are much more individually based. There is, therefore, a greater consciousness of and emphasis on individual rights and freedoms the right to equality, the importance of education, success in professional life and the security of property rights. We all live together side by side in Fiji, yet we remain apart, separated by our ethnicity, religion, cultural differences and value systems. We communicate with each other, not through the languages of our communities, but through the English language.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  2. “The majority of property owners, of businesses, of those in the professions, of those working for a regular income, are non-Fijians and mostly Indians. In religion, more than 57 per cent of the population, the indigenous Fijians and Rotumans, and the other minority communities, are mostly Christians. On the other hand, the remaining 43 per cent, the members of the Indian community mostly belong to the Hindu, Muslim and other faiths. Then there are our culture and value systems. Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans have a hierarchical social structure. Traditional hereditary chiefs and commoners alike have their place and role in society and are bound together by reciprocal obligations of 3 loyalty, obedience, and of sharing with, and caring for, each other and everyone in the community.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  3. “They make up 43 per cent of the population, but with a low birth rate and emigration, this is continuing to decrease at 0.3 per cent each year. The other communities in Fiji are Europeans, Chinese and Pacific Islanders. Ethnicity is only one basis of distinction and difference in Fiji. Then there is land ownership. The indigenous Fijians and Rotumans own, by custom, 84 per cent of all land in Fiji. Much of the best of this, however, is on lease for various purposes, residential, commercial and agricultural, and more than 60 per cent of the tenants are members of our Indian community. Most of the agricultural leases are sugar cane farming leases, and more than 75 per cent of these are held by Indian tenants, and most of these tenants have lived on their leased land for three generations. In our urban areas, the situation is the reverse.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  4. “In fact, the very opposite is true; they have only served to harden attitudes of one community against the other. I, therefore, make a plea to Members of the United Nations to show greater understanding of, and sensitivity to, the complexities of the situation in Fiji. We are a country of many communities and many cultures. All have contributed to Fiji's development. We have all accepted each other as citizens and as communities, and Fiji is our common and permanent home. But we also have peculiar features, which bear directly on inter-communal relationships within our society. We have a total population of around 800,000. Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans make up 52 per cent and are growing at 1.8 per cent every year. The second major ethnic group is our Indian community.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  5. “If, within each of our countries, we believe and accept that civilized behaviour among the citizenry can only be one based on mutual respect, mutual understanding, and a willingness to assist and support each other, why is it that some countries today should think that these rules of civilized and respectful behaviour within a country, should not apply in their dealings with other members of the international community of nations. I have raised this point not only because we here at the United Nations should be ever watchful of this disturbing negative trend, but also to remind my own country's friends and neighbours that stridency of political rhetoric, smart sanctions and threats of more sanctions will not really assist us in bringing about a speedy and amicable resolution to our political situation.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  6. “Our concern is that some of the fundamental principles upon which this unique world Organization was founded 55 years ago are being eroded and violated the principles of respect for national sovereignty and of non-interference in the internal affairs of an independent State. We appreciate that we now live in a closely inter- linked global community, and we are all part of one humankind; we are children of one divine Creator. We must, therefore, be concerned about each other, about our common well being, and common basic standards of rights and freedoms. This, however, does not give a country the right to impose on another, its standards of democratic governance and what it perceives or considers to be right and acceptable.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  7. “As if the corrosive influence and impact of their mass culture of consumerism and materialism are not enough, this new form of domination is being propagated by the purists of the liberal democracies, in the name of good governance, human rights, accountability and transparency. In themselves, these are important general standards to ensure the integrity of the system of Government in a country, and the just and fair treatment of its citizens. But what is of concern is that we are being told to apply these standards and values of liberal democracy strictly according to their standards, without regard for the particular or complex circumstances in each country.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  8. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those Governments who have shown sympathy and understanding, who recognize the complexities of the situation in Fiji as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, and who readily accept that solutions to the present political crisis can be developed within Fiji, by the people of Fiji themselves, without external interference in any form. With the end of the cold war and of the dual division it created in world order, it would seem that a 2 new form of imperialism has emerged along with its twin-brother, neo-colonialism.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  9. “We look forward to the admission in the future of more Pacific island States. I address the Assembly today on behalf of the Interim Administration in Fiji, which I have been entrusted by our President to lead. In the wake of the coup d'Ètat in my country on 19 May this year, and the political crisis it triggered, my Interim Administration has two very important tasks to undertake within the two-year time frame we have set for ourselves. First, it is to return Fiji to constitutional democracy and, secondly, it is to stabilize our economy and to lay the foundation for a return to sustained growth and expansion with increased investment.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)

  10. “I bring you greetings from the people of the Fiji Islands. On their behalf, I also convey our warm congratulations to you, Mr. President, along with the pledge of my delegation to support you and to closely cooperate with you in ensuring the success of this session. To the Secretary-General, I would like to express the sincere gratitude of the people of Fiji for all that the United Nations family is doing every day, in every part of the globe, to bring relief to those in need, and to promote peace, security and development. I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome our neighbour and close friend, Tuvalu, as the newest Member of the United Nations. Fiji is very proud to see the flag of this very important Pacific island country taking its place alongside the other 188 Members of the United Nations.”

    2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)