NO racial tension or attacks on minority groups have been received so far from the 18 District Council of Social Services (DCOSS) across the four divisions. Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) executive director Vani Catanasiga said this at midday yesterday, adding they had only received flooding reports in Nadroga.
This newspaper had asked Ms Catanasiga if her 18 DCOSS affiliates across the country had noted any reports of racial tension or attacks on minority groups in the wake of a statement by Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho that the Republic of Fiji Military Forces had been called in because of “threats made against minority groups who are now living in fear following recent political developments”.
She said the FCOSS disaster risk reduction (DRR) coordination mechanism was activated on Thursday after the Fiji Police Force statements.
Ms Catanasiga said FCOSS convened an online briefing for its DCOSS DRR subcommittee members earlier in the week to revisit civil society organisation (CSO) protocols for coordination during humanitarian events as well as the Fiji CSO Contingency Plan.
“The Fiji CSO Contingency Plan outlines plans for response for countering some levels of misinformation, resulting in violence in the event of a political tension,” she said.
“FCOSS submitted its first Daily Observation Report this (yesterday) morning to relevant government authorities which noted incidents of flooding in Nadroga.
“No racial tensions or attacks on minority groups have been reported so far from the 18 DCOSS across the four divisions. We will continue our daily community observation reporting for a week and ensure these are shared with the relevant authorities.”
