A Unity Fiji Government will scrap Constitution Day, reinstate Ratu Sukuna Day, and revamp our Fiji Day celebration to make it a celebration of our diversity.
Unity Fiji leader Savenaca Narube said that given the government announcement that Fiji Day this year will be celebrated on Sunday, he wanted to make clear what a Unity Fiji Government would do in relation to public holidays.
We need to keep things simple and clear, and celebrate the events that shaped our country to what we are today.
Mr Narube said a Unity Fiji Government would apply a simple rule such as if a holiday falls on a Saturday, then the Public Holiday will be on Friday and if it falls on a Sunday, then the Public Holiday will be on Monday.
The Leader of Unity Fiji said celebrating an imposed Constitution that represents only the aspiration of the usurpers of our democracy and ignores the views and aspirations of our people has been a national embarrassment for the past six years and we plan to put a stop to it.
Mr Narube said there is no credible comparison between the imposed 2013 Constitution versus the deeds and actions of a man like Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, who, 81 years ago on June 7, 1940, for the greater good of the nation, persuaded the Great Council of Chiefs to support his plans to establish a law relating to the control and administration of native land and the birth of the Native Land Trust Board.
This was an act which the then Governor of Fiji, Sir Philip Mitchell (1942-1944), described as “one of the greatest acts of faith and trust in colonial history”.
This is a day worth celebrating and Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna is a man worthy of our honour.
As for Fiji Day, we need to make it more about our people and less about military parades.
It should be a celebration about the richness of our diverse cultures, traditions, and way of life.
We need to reorganise it to become our national day of unity and reflection and we need to involve all our people as we commemorate the Deed of Cession and our Independence Day.
I would also like to see a new holiday to celebrate the end of the indentured labour system and the beginning of a new life in Fiji of our Girmitiyas, Mr Narube said.
Building national unity is all about understanding ourselves.
A positive way to do this is to create an annual celebration so that all communities in Fiji can participate, learn, understand and appreciate the history of our Girmitiyas and their tremendous contribution to what Fiji is today.
- SAVENACA NARUBE is a Unity Fiji Leader. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of this newspaper.
