Tui Nayau backs GCC role in constitutional review

The Gone Turaga Bale na Tui Nayau, Tui Lau, Sau ni Vanua ko Lau, Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, has backed the Great Council of Chiefs’ role in the constitutional review and urged Parliament to debate the Constitution Review Commission’s report with “generosity of spirit”.

In a statement, Ratu Tevita expressed his “full and unequivocal support” for the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) and its chairman, Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, over the consultation undertaken on behalf of the iTaukei people.

He said the GCC consulted 278 chiefs across all 14 provinces, representing communities comprising 504,609 iTaukei.

“That was not a token exercise. It was a deliberate and culturally grounded act of representation, true to the way our people have always governed themselves: chiefs deliberating on matters of great consequence and speaking with one voice for their communities.

“To dismiss that process is to dismiss chiefly authority itself, and I counsel all parties to tread that path with care and humility.”

Ratu Tevita said the GCC was not a partisan body and described it as an institution carrying responsibility for iTaukei identity, land and custom.

“The Great Council of Chiefs is not a partisan body. It is the living embodiment of our ancestral covenant, carrying the weight of generations and the sacred duty of stewardship over iTaukei identity, land and custom.

“When the Council speaks, it speaks not only for those seated in the room, but for the villages, the yavusa, mataqali and the tokatoka who have placed their trust in their chiefs across centuries.”

Commission outcome

Ratu Tevita acknowledged that the Constitution Review Commission’s report did not include everything sought by the GCC.

He cited Ratu Viliame’s response to the outcome: “That's part of the process. We accept it and we're happy with it.”

Ratu Tevita commended the GCC chairman and council for accepting the outcome.

“I commend him and the Council for that maturity. Accepting what succeeded and acknowledging what did not is exactly the disposition we need from leaders who put the nation above themselves.

“It is statesmanlike, it is dignified, and it is deeply iTaukei.”

‘Not in opposition’

Ratu Tevita said constitutional protection of iTaukei interests should not come at the expense of other communities.

“To our brothers and sisters of every community, Indo-Fijian, Rotuman, part-European and all who call these islands home, I say this: the iTaukei do not seek constitutional protection at your expense. We seek it as the foundation on which a truly united Fiji can stand.

“A Fiji secure in its Indigenous roots is better able to welcome and honour every one of its citizens. The rights of the iTaukei and the rights of all Fijians are not in opposition; properly understood, they reinforce one another.”

He also cited the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who said in 1992: “We must all find a common path towards unity, a unity that transcends race and religion and recognizes that we are all sons and daughters of Fiji.”

Ratu Tevita said protecting iTaukei identity, land and custom in Fiji’s supreme law was not about exclusion.

“Belonging does not erase distinction; it embraces it. Our desire to see iTaukei identity, land and custom protected in the nation's highest law is rooted not in exclusion, but in preserving what makes Fiji uniquely and irreplaceably Fiji.”

Call to Parliament

As Parliament considers the commission’s report, Ratu Tevita said concerns about the inclusivity of the consultation should be heard.

“Scrutiny of government is the hallmark of a healthy democracy, and concerns about the inclusivity of the consultation deserve a fair hearing. But criticism should come with constructive alternatives, not simply erode confidence in the institutions our nation depends on.

“As Parliament begins its debate on the Commission's report this week, I urge every elected member, in Government and in Opposition alike, to approach it with the gravity and generosity of spirit this moment demands.

“I stand with my people. And in standing with my people, I stand for all of Fiji.”