Chaudhry lashes out at 'traitors'
Fiji Times, Saturday, May 15, 2004
Former Prime Minister and National Farmers
Union general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry lashed out at
traitors who tried to ingratiate themselves with the
oppressors to serve their own interests at the expense of the
community.
He made the comments during the official
launching of the magazine titled Children of the Indus as part
of the celebrations of the arrival of the girmityas to Fiji,
which was held at the Fiji Teachers Union Hall yesterday.
"We strive for acceptance from others
yet some of our own stab us in the back which is a sad part of
our history that we as a community must recognise," he
said.
"One has to look at what happened to
the Agricultural Land Tenure Act in 1976, the Coalition
Government in 1987 and to the People's Coalition Government in
2000, where the spoilers in all these cases were the
self-serving in the Indo- Fijian community," he said.
Mr Chaudhry said it was also the rich and
the powerful working against the interests of the farmers, the
workers and the poor.
"At the time of each coup, these people
from within our own ranks were behind-the-scene instigators,
the financiers of the coup and the destabilisation
campaigns," he said.
"The history of the Indo-Fijian people
in Fiji have no dull moment. If we are not oppressed by
others, we fight among ourselves which keeps the story line
moving and the excitement and tension remain vibrant
throughout."
"Even today, we are denied our
political rights in the land of our birth, we are still
fighting against racially motivated statutory discrimination
in all aspects of life despite a very liberal constitution
that guarantees us equal citizenship rights and equal
opportunities."
"Our people have been subjected to
three racially instigated coups that have deprived them of
their legitimate constitutional rights to participate in the
formation of a government and to help formulate national
policies."