TODAY is a day of celebration, says Land Transport Authority general manager Timoci Satakala as he officiated at the Fiji Day celebrations in Nasinu Town on Tuesday.
"As our national flag flies high, over 800,000 voices here in Fiji and abroad will sing our national anthem with pride," Mr Satakala said.
He said people would remember the struggles and sacrifice of their forefathers as people of the seas, and how they came in to being as a settlement, a community and now an independent nation. He said people would remember that Fiji was blessed with a multi-racial, multi-cultural society.
"Our diverse ethnicity is our strength. Our bula smile is the trademark of a happy people living side by side in peaceful harmony," he said.
He said independence day of any country was always of great importance where it marked the coming of age of any nation state.
He said it heralded a change in guard, a new political system a manifestation of the desire of a people to stand up on their own feet. Mr Satakala said Fiji's post-independence history was not similar to some other countries.
"We have had politics which we could have done without, these situations led to regression as opposed to progression," he said.
Mr Satakala stood in for Fiji Military Force Landforce Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga as chief guest at the celebration.