Australian Fijian communities differ on diplomatic row
Updated
Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians living in Australia are both worried about the diplomatic situation, but have differing perspectives on how best to resolve it. That's according to Sanjay Ramesh, political editor of the Sydney-based community newspaper the Fiji Times. He says most Fijians want elections for a new government immediately, while Indo-Fijians are more ambivalent. Mr Ramesh tells Bruce Hill that both communities are more concerned about the practical effects of the latest diplomatic expulsions.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Sanjay Ramesh, political editor of the Sydney-based community newspaper the Fiji Times
- Listen:
- Windows Media
RAMESH: The Indo-Fijian community are really concerned about this ongoing tension between Australia and Fiji. As you probably know a lot of Indo-Fijians as well as indigenous Fijians, they travel for Fiji for Christmas holidays and they usually go for like a three to four week break and they are really concerned as to the changes in the diplomatic missions and what will be the outcome of this and it is causing a lot of grief to both the communities in Sydney, especially.
HILL: Is there any sign that the two communities are taking sides between Fiji and Australia or blaming one side more than the other in this?
RAMESH: I believe most of the indigenous Fijians are pretty much very disturbed by what has transpired and they think the best option would be to hold elections as soon as possible and to move it forward as quickly as possible and not wait till 2014 as the Fiji militiary commander has suggested. On the Indo-Fijian side, I think there is in the Indo-Fijian side, there is a bit of division. There is quite a lot of concern about the situation on the ground, but there are also some within the Indo-Fijian community that think that Bainimarama's approach is the only way to develop some sort of a de-ethnicised Fiji. So I think there is two streams of thought in the Indo-Fijian community, but the indigenous Fijians seem to be pretty much dead set on that, they need to move quickly towards their democratic path.
HILL: Is there any sign that the two communities, the Indo-Fijians and the indigenous Fijian are becoming further apart under the Diaspora or is the Diaspora experience bringing them closer together?
RAMESH: I think the experience at the moment, the way the events have been unfolding in Fiji, the both communities are to some extent coming together, but at the same time it's not to level that we would say they will speak with one voice at this stage. Because I think there are still differences in the way both communities look at the 2006 coup and the developments there after.
HILL: Is there any concerns in either community that if this diplomatic stand off between Fiji on one hand, and Australia and New Zealand on the other continues the rift might become so wide that they are going to in some sense be forced to make some sort of a choice as to where their allegiance lies?
RAMESH: Ah yes, I think that is really a concern about that. I mean a lot of the people that I have spoken to, especially in the Indo-Fijian community, I think they are worried that they will be forced pretty soon to make a choice as to how, what they support. I mean whether they will end up supporting the actions of the Australian Government if they're anticipating further sanctions against Fiji. I think it's just something that they will have to decide. But it has not come down to that critical point, but I think certainly it is moving in that direction. There is fair degree of support for the peoples Charter and the vision that was outlined by Bainimarama in the Indo-Fijian community, but I think people generally in both communities are concerned of the time line of 2014 being too far off and that's probably where there is some convergence between the two communities.
