Below is my submission to the 2013 Constitution Review Commission sent on 9 July, 2026
Thank you for the opportunity to make this submission. My name is James
Bhagwan.
I make this submission as a citizen of Fiji, as a descendant of
Girmitiya, as one adopted into the Vanua, as a parent, and as someone committed
to serving in ordained ministry - serving God's creation and God's people.
I do not speak on behalf of any church or institution. I speak from my
own journey. A journey of faith. A journey of family. A journey of belonging. A
journey of service. And a journey of memory.
I was born three years after Independence. I was a teenager in 1987,
when I first saw how quickly the hope of a young nation could be wounded. In
1990, I was a citizen trying to understand what it meant when law, race,
religion and power were woven together in ways that left many of us uncertain
about our place in the country of our birth. In 1997, I witnessed an attempt to
heal, to rebuild trust, to recognise our different communities, and to imagine
Fiji again as a shared home. In 2000, as a civil servant, I witnessed again how
fragile constitutional order can be when fear and force enter the house of
democracy. In 2006, as a young father, I watched another generation of children
inherit political uncertainty. In 2009, while serving in the church, I
witnessed the abrogation of the Constitution, and what it means for a nation to
live without the full protection of a constitutional covenant. In 2013, I
witnessed a new Constitution come into force, with important rights and
promises, but also with silences, limits and unresolved wounds.
So I come to this process not only with legal concerns. I come with
memory. But I also come with hope. I come with concern for my children and
their generation. I come with love for Fiji. And I come with the belief that a
Constitution is not just a legal document.
It is a statement of who we are. It is a discipline against the misuse
of power. It is a mirror. It is a mat. It is a house. It is a canoe. It must be
strong enough to carry us, but open enough for all of us to belong.
This journey of reviewing constitutions is important because it is part
of our ongoing decolonisation - politically, socially, culturally and even
spiritually. For Fiji, constitution-making is not only about law. It is about
memory, belonging, land, language, faith, power, healing, and the future we are
trying to give our children. Decolonisation requires us to ask not only who
governs, but how we govern; not only whose rights are protected, but whose
dignity has been wounded; not only what power the State holds, but how that
power is restrained, made accountable, and placed at the service of the people.
It also requires us to examine the ways colonial structures, racial
hierarchies, religious manipulation, gendered power, economic exclusion and
fear have shaped our institutions, our communities and even our imagination of
what Fiji can be. A Constitution that helps us decolonise must do more than
organise the State. It must help us reweave trust. It must protect dignity. It
must honour the Vanua. It must recognise all communities. It must restrain
domination. And it must call leadership back to service.
With the understanding that the Constitution is a living document, which
must grow and change according to the needs, dignity and hopes of the people of
Fiji, I offer proposals in the following 8 areas :
1. Common Identity, Citizenship and Belonging
2. Common Language
3. Human Dignity, Rights and Social Justice
4. Land, Ocean, Vanua and Creation
5. Participation in Decision-making
6. Accountability, Peace-building and the
Military
7. Constitutional Amendment
8. Faith, Spirituality and the Common Good
1. Common Identity, Citizenship and Belonging
a. All citizens of Fiji to be known as
Fijians.
b. The historical identity of
Indigenous Fijians, Rotumans and resettled Ocean Island communities to be
recognised and protected, including the use of Kai Viti, Kai Rotuma and Kai
Rabi.
c. The Vola ni Kawa Bula to be
protected as an important mechanism for Indigenous identity, genealogy, memory
and belonging.
d. Equal citizenship to be guaranteed
for all citizens of Fiji, without creating first-class and second-class
citizens.
e. The Constitution to recognise that
belonging in Fiji is layered - by birth, descent, adoption, residence,
marriage, vasu, service, settlement, faith, language and love of place.
I affirm common citizenship. The common name Fijian is important because
that is who we are when we are known outside our country. We are people of
Fiji, either by birth or by choice. We deserve to be called Fijian regardless
of when our ancestors arrived in these islands, or from where they came. At the
same time, common citizenship must not become cultural erasure. Unity is not
uniformity. Equality is not sameness. A decolonising Constitution must
recognise that identity in Fiji is layered.
I am Girmitiya by descent, mixed with DNA of colonisers. I am adopted into the Vanua.
I am shaped, nurtured and guided by Christ. I am held in a family of
Hindu, Muslim and Christian relatives across different denominations. My wife,
my children and I live this diversity not as theory, but as family. This is why
I describe myself as non-binary - ethnically, culturally and ecumenically. I
have faced racism for being Kai Idia, and for not being fully of Indian origin.
At the same time, I hold with gratitude the adoption of Girmitiya descendants
into the District of Noco in the Province of Rewa, through the love and
practical faith of the late Tui Noco, Ratu Isoa Damudamu, and the blessing of
Na Gone Marama Bale na Roko Tui Dreketi, with the profound bestowing of the
i-cavuti Luvedra na Ratu - children of the chief.
My family carries many strands of belonging. Our children are being
raised to recognise and celebrate every part of their ethnic and cultural
heritage. Yet they cannot, and should not have to, claim one ethnic group or
culture over another. They and the generations after them will need an identity
that is suitable for all who make Fiji their home. The Constitution must
therefore protect the equal citizenship of all, while also honouring the
particular identities, histories and spiritual connections of Indigenous
Fijians, Rotumans, Banabans, descendants of Girmitiya, Pacific peoples and all
communities who call Fiji home.
For iTaukei and Rotuman peoples, land is not merely property. It is
genealogy.
It is memory. It is spirituality. It is belonging. It is responsibility
to those who came before and those yet to come. The Constitution must protect
this. At the same time, Indigenous identity must never be manipulated to
justify exclusion, fear, domination or the concentration of power in the hands
of a few. Likewise, the Girmitiya story must not be erased from Fiji's national
memory. Girmitiya labour, suffering, faith, language, food, music, family,
business, farming, education and service are woven into Fiji. We do not need to
compete in suffering. We need to tell the truth of all our journeys. And then
reweave them into one household.
2. Common Language
a. Vosa Vakaviti / Vosa Vaka Viti to be
recognised and strengthened as a national language of Fiji.
b. Vosa Vakaviti, Rotuman, Fiji-Hindi
and English to be recognised as official languages of Fiji.
c. Conversational Vosa Vakaviti to be
taught to all students in registered educational institutions, with appropriate
resources, teachers and pathways for adults who were not given the opportunity
to learn it in school.
d. Rotuman and Fiji-Hindi to be
protected, resourced and respected as languages born from the particular
histories of Fiji.
e. Other languages spoken in Fiji's
homes, places of worship and communities to be respected as part of our
multicultural life.
Language is belonging. Language carries more than words. It carries
worldview; humour; prayer; memory; kinship; place. We believe that Vosa
Vakaviti is unique to Fiji and must not only be protected but shared and used
as part of our nation-building. English remains important for administration,
education, law and international connection. Fiji-Hindi must be respected as a
language born from Girmitiya struggle, adaptation and survival. Rotuman must be
protected as the language of a distinct island people.
In the process of nation-building, we ask Indigenous peoples to share
their name, their home and their resources with people who are descendants of
settlers - some voluntary, some compelled - who also consider Fiji their home. Part
of honouring that sharing is learning the language of this land. This should
not be done as a weapon or as a test of belonging. It should be done as a gift,
as a discipline, as a bridge and as a sign of respect. A child in Fiji should
grow up knowing that learning another language does not weaken their identity. It
widens the household. Maybe then we will be able to really understand one
another. Maybe then we will come a step closer to being one people.
Maybe then we will be more worthy of the name Fijian.
3. Human Dignity, Rights and Social Justice
a. Human dignity to be named as a
foundational constitutional principle.
b. The Bill of Rights to be protected,
strengthened and interpreted generously in favour of human dignity, freedom,
equality and justice.
c. Civil and political rights to be
protected together with social and economic rights.
d. The rights of children, elders,
women, persons with disabilities, workers, rural communities, informal
settlement communities, minorities and the poor to be given particular
attention.
e. The Human Rights Commission to be
independent, properly resourced and trusted.
f. The Office of the Ombudsman to be
restored and strengthened as a constitutional office that protects people from
abuse, maladministration and neglect by public authorities.
I respectfully submit that human dignity must be at the heart of the
Constitution.
Not as decoration. Not only in the Preamble. Not only as an idea. But as
the principle that guides the interpretation of the Constitution, the conduct
of public officials, the delivery of services, the protection of rights, and
the way the State relates to every person and community.
Human dignity does not come from the State. It does not come from
ethnicity.
It does not come from religion. It does not come from gender, title,
office, wealth, land ownership, education, political loyalty or social status. Every
person carries dignity because every person is human.
For those of us formed by faith, this dignity is sacred because every
person bears the image of God. For those who do not use religious language,
dignity remains the foundation of justice, democracy and human rights. This is
why human rights must not be treated as foreign. They are not anti-culture. They
are not anti-faith.
Properly understood, human rights protect the widow, the elder, the
child, the worker, the person with disability, the rural farmer, the informal
settlement family, the minority community, the poor, the vulnerable, the
displaced, and even the person with whom we disagree.
Poverty is not only an economic issue. It is a constitutional issue. When
an elderly person cannot access a government office because it is upstairs and
there is no lift, dignity is affected. When a pensioner cannot afford medicine,
dignity is affected.
When a person with disability cannot access a public building, dignity
is affected.
When rural communities must spend time and money to travel to Suva for
basic services, dignity is affected. When children go to school hungry, dignity
is affected.
When families live in informal settlements without secure access to
water, sanitation or safety, dignity is affected.
So the Constitution must require every government to protect those whose
dignity is too easily ignored: children, elders, persons with disabilities, women,
youth, workers, rural communities, informal settlement communities, minority
communities. Those who are poor. Those who are pushed to the edges. Our elders
must not be treated as burdens, because, as my parents often said, “Old is
gold.” They are bearers of memory, wisdom, struggle, faith, service and
continuing contribution.
4. Land,
Ocean, Vanua, Creation and Biodiversity
a.
The Constitution
to strongly protect iTaukei, Rotuman and Banaban lands from permanent
alienation, and to recognise that land, ocean, qoliqoli, rivers, forests,
mangroves, reefs, species and place are not only resources, but part of
identity, spirituality, culture, livelihood and intergenerational
responsibility.
b.
The Constitution
to recognise the sacred relationship of Indigenous peoples to land and sea,
including sacred sites, sacred species, traditional ecological knowledge, and
Vanua-based systems of custodianship and guardianship.
c.
The Constitution
to recognise the right of present and future generations to a clean, healthy,
safe and sustainable environment.
d.
The State to have
a constitutional duty to protect biodiversity, restore damaged ecosystems,
prevent pollution, respond to climate change, and ensure that development does
not destroy the ecological, cultural and spiritual foundations of communities.
e.
Mangroves, reefs,
rivers, wetlands, forests, coastal areas, qoliqoli and marine ecosystems to be
given stronger constitutional protection because of their role in biodiversity,
food security, culture, climate resilience, disaster protection and the life of
the Vanua.
f.
Any development
affecting land, qoliqoli, mangroves, reefs, rivers, forests, sacred sites or
biodiversity to require meaningful consultation, public access to information,
independent environmental, cultural and climate impact assessments, and the
free, prior and informed consent of directly affected communities.
g.
Communities to
have the constitutional right to protect their ecosystems, challenge
destructive development, seek restoration for environmental damage, and hold
the State, investors and developers accountable.
h.
Indigenous
custodianship, traditional ecological knowledge and community-based
conservation to be recognised as gifts for the survival of Fiji, not obstacles
to development.
For Fiji, land
and ocean cannot be separated from identity, spirituality, livelihood and
survival. The land is not only land. The ocean is not only water. The reef is
not only coral. The mangrove is not only a tree. The qoliqoli is not only a
fishing ground. They are memory, genealogy, responsibility, belonging and
sacred relationship. They are part of the Vanua.
As someone
adopted into the Vanua of Noco in the Province of Rewa, this is not theory for
me. It is deeply personal. My sacred totems are part of my belonging and
responsibility. My Kau, or tree, is the Dogo, the black mangrove.
My Ika, or fish, is the Gaka, the barred garfish. My Manumanu,
or bird, is the Belo, the reef heron. My guardian is the Ika Bula,
the Vonu, the sea turtle.
These are not
decorations. They are not only symbols. They are relationships. They are
ecological responsibilities. They remind me that the Vanua is alive, and that
our identity is held in the health of the mangrove, the fish, the bird, the
turtle, the river, the reef, the mudflat, the delta and the ocean.
This is why the
Constitution must be more ambitious. It is not enough to say that the
environment should be protected in general terms. Biodiversity protection is
cultural protection. It is spiritual protection. It is food security
protection. It is climate protection. It is disaster-risk protection. It is
intergenerational justice.
In the Rewa
delta, and across Fiji, mangroves protect the coast, shelter marine life, hold
the soil, feed the qoliqoli and guard communities from storms and rising seas.
Fish, birds, turtles, seagrass, reefs, rivers, forests, mudflats and mangroves
are all part of one living ecosystem. When one part is damaged, the whole
household suffers.
In 2023,
communities, faith voices and civil society stood to protect the last Dogo
forest in Suva, and the marine biodiversity of Nasese, Suva Harbour and Laucala
Bay, from further destruction by unsustainable tourism development. That
struggle was not only about trees, fish or coastline. It was about whether
development should be allowed to destroy the living systems that protect our
communities, feed our people, hold our stories, and connect us to those who
came before us. It was about whether short-term investment should be allowed to
damage long-term life.
A Constitution
for Fiji must therefore ask deeper questions of development. Who benefits? Who
loses? Who was consulted? Whose consent was given? What happens to the
mangroves? What happens to the reef? What happens to the qoliqoli? What happens
to sacred sites? What happens to the species that carry the identity of a
Vanua? What happens to the children and grandchildren who will inherit the
consequences?
Development must
not become another word for extraction. Tourism must not become another word
for dispossession. Investment must not become another word for ecological
destruction. Progress must not mean that communities lose the very land, sea,
culture and biodiversity that make life possible.
As a Blue Pacific
people, we know that creation is not outside us. Creation is kin. The Vanua is
not dead property. The ocean is not empty space. The mangrove, reef, river,
forest, mountain, qoliqoli, mudflat, bird, fish, turtle and village are part of
the household of life.
A decolonising
Constitution must protect creation from greed, pollution, climate injustice,
poor planning and short-term profit. It must recognise that Indigenous
custodianship and traditional ecological knowledge are not obstacles to
development.
They are gifts
for the survival of the nation.
The Constitution
should protect the right of communities to defend their ecosystems. It should
require the State to restore what has been damaged. It should ensure that
environmental decisions are made transparently, with independent science,
Indigenous knowledge, public participation and accountability. It should
recognise that future generations have rights, and that present leaders have
duties.
If we destroy the
Dogo, the Gaka, the Belo, the Vonu, the reef, the qoliqoli, the river and the
ocean, we do not only destroy nature. We destroy memory. We destroy identity.
We destroy protection. We destroy part of ourselves.
Therefore, I
respectfully submit that the Constitution must place land, ocean, Vanua,
creation and biodiversity at the heart of Fiji’s national life, not as
resources to be consumed, but as sacred relationships to be protected, restored
and passed on.
5. Participation in Decision-making
a. The electoral system to ensure one
person, one vote, one value, and to prevent a return to ethnic voting.
b. Proportional representation to be
retained, but reviewed so that local and regional accountability is
strengthened.
c. The national constituency system to
be reviewed because many citizens do not feel connected to a representative who
knows their local struggles.
d. The electoral threshold to be
reviewed so that smaller voices are not easily silenced.
e. Political parties to be encouraged,
and where appropriate required, to promote meaningful representation of women,
youth, persons with disabilities and Fiji's diverse communities.
f. Elected local government to be
restored and protected in the Constitution.
g. A national talanoa forum, people's
assembly or similar participatory mechanism to be considered so the people have
a structured space to speak between elections.
h. The Bose Levu Vakaturaga to be
recognised as an important traditional institution, independent from day-to-day
government administration, with an advisory role on matters relating to iTaukei
land, qoliqoli, culture, tradition, Vanua and the wellbeing of communities.
Fiji needs a democracy deeper than voting every four years. The
electoral system must give every vote equal value. It must prevent ethnic
voting. It must allow fair representation. But it must also reconnect
representatives to communities. The current national constituency has helped
strengthen common citizenship, but it has also weakened the relationship
between people, place and Parliament. Many citizens do not feel they have a
representative who knows their local struggles. Parliament can become distant. Political
parties can become too powerful. The people can become spectators. Democracy is
not only about who wins. It is about whether people are heard.
Fiji is too Suva-centred. Too many decisions are made far from the
people who live with their consequences. Local government is not only about
roads, drains and rubbish collection. It is about participation, local dignity,
disaster preparedness, youth engagement, public health, environment. It is
about accountability close to home. It is also where people learn democracy in
daily life. Parliament must remain the law-making body, but Parliament should
not be the only place where the nation speaks. The people need places to speak
between elections.
I also recognise that while the Great Council of Chiefs has roots in the
colonial administration of the Kai Viti, the chiefly system remains an
important part of the Vanua.
The question is not whether traditional leadership has a place. The
question is what kind of leadership it will be.
I humbly ask that traditional leaders be supported to understand their
responsibility for all who live within their villages, districts and provinces.
Not only those who are blood members of the mataqali. Not only those who speak
the language perfectly. Not only those who are from one ethnic community.
All who live in the Vanua need to be held with dignity, responsibility
and belonging.
This will not weaken the Vanua. It can strengthen it.
6. Accountability, Peace-building and the
Military
a. The independence of the judiciary to
be protected in practice, appointments and administration.
b. The Auditor-General, Human Rights
Commission, Ombudsman and anti-corruption institutions to be independent,
properly resourced and protected from political interference.
c. The Fiji Independent Commission
Against Corruption to be constitutionally protected, but also accountable,
independent and not used selectively or politically.
d. Freedom of information and
protection for whistle-blowers to be guaranteed.
e. A permanent Commission for
Reconciliation and Peace-building to be established as an independent,
trauma-informed and victim-centred mechanism for truth-telling, restorative
justice and national healing.
f. Immunity provisions to be reviewed
so they do not prevent truth-telling, acknowledgement, institutional reform,
reparative justice or public accountability.
g. The Republic of Fiji Military Forces
to be placed clearly under democratic civilian authority.
h. The Constitution to prohibit coups,
unconstitutional seizure of power, and any attempt to overthrow or suspend
constitutional government.
Fiji's history teaches us that power without accountability becomes
dangerous. Whether that power is held by politicians, military leaders, chiefs,
church leaders, business elites, civil servants or institutions, it must be
restrained. Public office must be understood as service. Leadership is not
ownership. Office is not entitlement. Authority is not domination. The people
do not belong to leaders. Leaders serve the people.
Given the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual pain suffered by so
many in our country over many decades, we also need a serious mechanism for
reconciliation and peace-building. Fiji cannot heal through silence. We need
reconciliation. But reconciliation cannot mean pretending nothing happened. It
cannot mean asking victims to carry the burden of peace while those who caused
harm keep the benefits of power. There must be truth. not revenge; not humiliation; not political
theatre.
Because a nation cannot heal what it refuses to name.
The role of the military must also be clear. Fiji cannot build lasting
constitutional democracy if the military is given, or assumes, a guardianship
role over the elected will of the people. No institution should be above the
Constitution. No person in uniform.
No person in office. No person with influence. No person should be able
to decide that they are the final guardian of the nation. The people are the
source of democratic authority. Security must not mean only the security of the
State. Security must mean the security of the people. Freedom from fear. Freedom
from poverty. Freedom from violence. Freedom from discrimination. Freedom from
ecological destruction. Freedom from political intimidation. Freedom to live
with dignity.
7. Constitutional Amendment
a. The Constitution to be protected
from casual or partisan change.
b. The Constitution not to be locked so
tightly that the people cannot correct injustice, repair institutions or
respond to national consensus.
c. Any amendment process to include
strong parliamentary support, public participation, civic education and, where
appropriate, a referendum.
d. Referendum thresholds to be
realistic and democratic, not impossible.
e. The people to be recognised not only
as voters under the Constitution, but as the owners and guardians of the
Constitution.
A Constitution must not be easy to change. But it must not be impossible
to change.
If it is too easy to change, it can be captured by a temporary majority.
If it is almost impossible to change, it becomes a locked document rather than
a living covenant. A Constitution belongs to the people. It must be protected
from political manipulation.
But it must also remain open to the wisdom of the people. The people
must be able to correct injustice, repair institutions, and respond to national
consensus. That is what it means to call the Constitution a living document.
8. Faith,
Spirituality and the Common Good
a.
The Constitution
to recognise and honour the spiritual life of Fiji, including the spiritual
connection of Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans to these islands, the
contribution of Christianity, and the contribution of all faith traditions and
communities of conscience to the life of the nation.
b.
The provisions on
the secular State in the 2013 Constitution to be reviewed and clarified, so
that secularism is not understood as hostility to faith, culture, Vanua or
Indigenous spirituality, but as the protection of equal belonging before the
State.
c.
The State not to
establish, impose or privilege any religion.
d.
Freedom of
thought, conscience, belief, worship and religious practice to be fully
protected.
e.
Freedom from
religious coercion to be protected.
f.
Those who are
agnostic, atheist or who seek freedom from religion to be protected equally.
g.
A Fiji
Interreligious Council, or similar national mechanism for ongoing dialogue, to
be established or recognised, independent from government control, with
participation from faith communities, registered religious organisations and
communities of conscience. Its purpose would be to provide a safe and
structured space for dialogue within and between religions, to support
religious tolerance, social cohesion, civic education, peace-building,
restorative justice, disaster response, social justice, health, welfare and
other issues of national concern. Its leadership should rotate annually among
the major faith communities, not merely among denominations of one faith, and
its secretariat should be appointed through an open and accountable process
with the endorsement of participating members.
I place this
section at the end because faith and spirituality should not sit apart from the
rest of our constitutional life. They are woven through it. Through land.
Through Vanua. Through family. Through language. Through leadership. Through
justice. Through forgiveness. Through truth-telling. Through how we treat the
poor, the elder, the child, the stranger, the worker, the person with
disability, the person of another faith, and the person with no religious
faith.
For the purposes
of this review of the 2013 Constitution, I respectfully submit that the
insistence on a secular State in a non-secular society has created confusion.
It has also, at times, allowed governments and public institutions to sideline
the role of churches and faith institutions, as if their contribution to
education, health, social welfare, peace-building, disaster response, moral
formation and public life was somehow outside the national conversation.
This tension is
before the Commission now. The Fiji Council of Churches has rejected calls for
Fiji to be declared a Christian State, saying that a secular State treats all
faiths equally, protects religious freedom, and allows the churches to speak
independently to power. The Council has also warned that close alignment
between the State and one religion could weaken the church’s own voice and
service. At the same time, the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma has called
for Fiji to be recognised as a Christian Nation, for Sunday to be recognised as
a day of rest and worship, for all citizens to be called Fijians, and for
marriage to be constitutionally defined as between one man and one woman.
These positions
show that it is not enough to simply say “secular State” and expect the matter
to be settled. Nor is it enough to simply say “Christian State” and assume that
this will protect faith, morality or the common good. The deeper constitutional
task is to hold both concerns honestly: the concern that faith is being pushed
out of public life, and the concern that faith may be used to dominate the
State and exclude others.
I am cautious
about binary thinking when we speak about religion and the State. If we reduce
the conversation to Christian State versus secular State, we may miss the
deeper question: how do we honour the spiritual life of Fiji while protecting
the equal dignity and belonging of all?
Fiji is not a
secular society. Sacred meaning is attached not only to worship, but also to
land, leadership, Vanua, ancestors, family, ocean, creation and community. At
the same time, the State must not establish, impose or privilege any religion.
The State must belong equally to all. A Fijian with her or his religious or
non-religious conviction is at the same time a member of society and a citizen
of the State. This means religion, and the absence of religion, will both be
visible in public life. Believers and non-believers will use democratic
instruments to shape public opinion and national decision-making.
That is not the
danger. The danger is domination. The danger is coercion. The danger is when
faith, culture, office, uniform or tradition is used to silence others.
No person should
be privileged or disadvantaged because of religion or belief. No church,
temple, mosque, religious body, cultural institution, chief, political party,
military commander or public official should dominate others in the name of
God, the Vanua, tradition or the people.
A Fiji
Interreligious Council, if established or recognised, must not make faith
communities an arm of the State. It must not be controlled by government. It
must not become another platform for political patronage. Its purpose should be
to recognise that faith communities already serve the people in education,
health, social welfare, disaster response, moral formation, reconciliation and
peace-building, and to provide a national space where churches, temples,
mosques, faith communities and communities of conscience can speak together,
listen to one another, and work together for the common good.
Such a Council
could also work alongside independent human rights, reconciliation and
peace-building mechanisms. Not to replace them. Not to control them. But to
help nurture the trust, humility and moral courage needed for healing. It could
assist communities to respond together in moments of tension, disaster,
violence, poverty and national uncertainty. It could help us practise religious
tolerance not only as a right, but as a discipline of living together.
For those of us
who follow Christ, a State that belongs equally to all does not weaken our
faith. It deepens our witness. Because faith that serves the common good is
stronger than faith that seeks control. Christianity teaches humility, justice,
compassion, tolerance and love of neighbour.
We also hold in
our collective memory the times the legs of the three-legged stool have been
twisted by those seeking power for themselves, while claiming to speak for God,
the church, the Vanua, or the people. Faith should serve, not dominate. Leadership
should protect, not exploit.
We need a State
with a secular structure, but not a deaf ear. A State that is neutral between
religions, but not hostile to the sacred. A State that protects religious
freedom, but also protects people from religious coercion. A State that listens
to the moral contribution of faith communities, while ensuring that public law
belongs to all.
Religious
communities also have responsibility. They must enter public life with
humility. They must offer, not impose. They must speak in ways that can be
understood by the wider nation. They must remember that a prophetic voice is
not a voice of control, but a voice that speaks truth in love, stands with the
vulnerable, challenges injustice, and serves the common good.
In this way, the
Constitution can honour faith without establishing domination. Honour the Vanua
without turning the Vanua into a weapon. Honour human rights without dismissing
culture. Honour common citizenship without erasing identity. Honour democracy
without fearing truth. Honour creation without reducing it to property. And
honour leadership as service, not entitlement.
Conclusion
Members of the
Commission, I respectfully submit that Fiji does not need a Constitution that
forces us into binaries: Christian State or secular State, Indigenous rights or
equal citizenship, tradition or human rights, faith or freedom, Vanua or
multiculturalism, security or democracy, development or environment. These are
false choices. The deeper task is to weave them with justice.
A just
Constitution must honour the first peoples of these islands and protect the
belonging of all who now call Fiji home. It must honour faith without
establishing domination, protect land without exploiting fear, protect rights
without forgetting responsibility, strengthen democracy beyond elections,
restrain power, place the military under civilian authority, and allow
truth-telling without revenge. It must protect the poor, the elderly, children,
women, persons with disabilities, workers, rural communities and those whose
voices are often pushed to the edges. It must place human dignity at the heart
of national life.
This is the Fiji
I hope for. A Fiji where faith serves, where leadership protects, where the
Vanua shelters, where the State belongs equally to all, where democracy is not
feared, where truth is not silenced, where difference is not erased, and where
creation is not sacrificed. A Fiji where the Constitution is not a weapon of
power, but a covenant of dignity, belonging, justice and peace.
I thank you for
listening to this submission, and offer it in the sincere hope that it may
contribute to the positive and strong foundation on which we continue to
rebuild our nation. As is our tradition, I pray God’s blessings upon you, and
upon all who will take part in this sacred work of shaping a Constitution for
justice, healing, dignity, belonging and peace.
Vinaka vakalevu.
Shukriya. Thank you.
