Subject: [fem-women2000 504] Informational....
From: "Dr. Yusuf Roshan" <xfiles@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 22:15:17 +1200
Seq: 504

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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Dear All,

Another reply to the Daily Post.
Please circulate far and wide. This is important to show that we remain =
unintimidated and WILL CONTINUE
TO hit even harder.

All of you have been similarly challenged. Take up the challenge and hit =
back at the interim government. This is a golden opportunity and take =
advantage. They have given us a reason to slate them - now.

Let us all do it. Flood the country with our replies.

Yusuf

Movement for Democracy in Fiji

331 City Road London EC1V 1LJ
Office Tel: +44 (0) 20 7713 7377 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7713 7378
Home Tel: +44 (0) 1474 872 908
Email: yusuf.roshan@which.net

President: Raymond Croxon QC    Secretary/Treasurer: K Bhagwandeen
Chairman: Dr Y Roshan
Administrative Board Member of the European Institute for Asian Study
(Think Tank of European Members of Parliament): Mr Surur Hoda    Human
Rights Co-ordinator: Mrs A Bhagwandeen    Spearheading Legal Issues on
Fiji: Mr Victor Lal (Oxford University) & Mr Norman Patterson
Barrister   Information: Mr Vimal Madhavan

Our web sites
http://fijiwala/London.html
http://fijinews.cnbra.com/democracy










HUMAN RIGHTS DISSIDENT DEFENDS HIS ACTIONS

A committee member of the London-based Movement for Democracy in Fiji, =
Victor Lal, has strongly defended his role in leading the global fight =
for the restoration of democracy and human rights in Fiji. He was =
responding to an attack in the Daily Post from a government spokesman =
who accused Mr Lal and other members of the Movement for  pushing the =
agenda of the
Fiji Labour Party.


"The President of the Movement, Mr Raymond Croxon QC, is an English =
barrister and a human rights activist, who has no connections with Fiji =
or the Fiji Labour Party," Mr Lal said yesterday from Oxford University =
where he has been based since 1984. He said he "only joined the Movement =
to help give back what Sitiveni Rabuka and his racist thugs stole in =
1987,
and now George Speight and the Interim government, have illegally stolen =
from the peoples of Fiji - a multi-racial government representing all =
the peoples of Fiji".
''It is ridiculous for the Interim Government to accuse me and my =
colleagues in the Movement of hindering the process of reconciliation in =
Fiji. Last year, shortly before the general elections, I called through =
the columns of this newspaper, for the prosecution of Sitiveni Rabuka, =
Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Apisai Tora, and others for their role in =
overthrowing a  democratically elected FLP-NFP government of Dr Timoci =
Bavadra. I believed, and still do, that if Fiji was to achieve a genuine =
and lasting peace, it had to eradicate "the racist farmers who had =
planted the seeds of discord, for if not, these very 'racist farmers' =
would re-emerge to harvest the fruits of their racial seeds in the guise =
of Fijian nationalism''. I also called for the establishment of a Truth =
and Reconciliation Commission so that never again the people of Fiji =
should go through the racial and
economic traumas of 1987,'' Mr Lal said. "It is sickening to see and =
hear the Minister for Information (Misinformation), Ratu Inoke =
Kubuabola, projecting himself as the saviour of all the races in Fiji =
when, in fact, it was he who, along with Rabuka
and the late Rev Tomasi Raikivi, had planned the 1987 coups in the Fiji =
Bible Society building in Suva. He went on to lead the Taukei Movement, =
one of the darkest days in Fiji's 20th century history as regards the =
rule of law and human rights (until Speight and his racist thugs out did =
them recently). When Kubuabola became the Leader of the Opposition for =
the STV, a
party which was totally rejected at the polls by the ethnic Fijian =
people, he immediately began the process of destabilising the Chaudhry =
government, instead of preaching peace and reconciliation in Fiji," Mr =
Lal said.=20

"As Minister for Information, he should inform us through the news media =
of his role in the 1987 coups, and fearlessly face the brunt of the law =
for his treasonable actions, and then only the world and the peoples of =
Fiji can trust him. I still believe, and am exploring legal ways and =
means, based on the Chilean dictator August Pinochet's stripping of =
immunity, to bring the perpetrators and conspirators of the 1987 coups =
to trial in Fiji or abroad. I firmly believe that then only can Fiji =
start a new page of good race relations in the 21st century." "My role =
in the Movement for Democracy is purely legal. My columns
in the Daily Post are based on my years of research and writing on Fiji =
politics and not from opportunism and privilege as demonstrated by the =
members of the Interim government who could not accept the diminution of =
their economic status or political power. As long as the likes of Ratu =
Inoke Kubuabola and that political chameleon of Fiji politics - Apisai =
Tora - a man who has been a member of nearly all the political parties =
in Fiji - go unpunished, no Indian or Fijian worth his human dignity =
would want to be a part of a process of reconciliation in Fiji. We need =
justice and not empty rhetoric. The former coup leader Rabuka should be =
prosecuted under the Public Order Amendment Act, along with Speight and =
others, for making racist remarks recently, and suggesting that Fiji =
needs the old racist and apartheid South Africa as a model for solving =
the current crisis.." My father's vision of multi-racialism "I am =
pursuing the multi-racial agenda of my late father, an upright
and righteous Indian van driver and building carpenter, who spent all =
his life in Korovou, Tailevu, transporting the agricultural produce of =
honest and hard working Fijian villagers from various villages, =
including those from Sepight's Naivicula village, so they could  go and  =
sell their produce in the Korovou market, and earn a decent living." "My =
father had a multi-racial vision of Fiji when he joined the Alliance =
Party, and later became the first Indian president of the Tailevu North =
Alliance District Council, with one Master Solomone from Speight's =
Naivicula village as his deputy. I believe in a multi-racial Fiji of my =
late father and not that of Kubuabola's racist Fiji. It is sad and =
heartbreaking that I cannot go back to Speight's Naivicula village where =
I spent endless hours in the 1970s with the villagers playing outside =
while my father and other Alliance leaders discussed multi-racial =
politics. It is painful that my family,  beaten and robbed by Speight's =
hoodlums in Tailevu during the
insurrection, and most recently, can't venture to visit our ancestors =
graveyards, which are just a stones throw from Naivicula village. It is =
painful that the Fijians of Tailevu, who used to once bow to my father =
as an 'honorary chief' and called my grandfathers -Tui Levu and Tui =
Lailai- are now out in Tailevu trying to chop off the heads of our =
families in the name of Fijian nationalism and racial bigotry'. "It is =
painful to see that Jo Nata, the chief media spokesman of Speight, who =
went to school with me at Ratu Kadavulevu School, and later worked with =
me on the old Fiji Sun newspaper, inciting malicious racist poison =
against the Indians and my family." "I am not pursuing any agenda but am =
fighting and will go on relentlessly to give back to the people the real =
Fiji - the Fiji of my childhood and the Fiji of my dreams. As Pope John =
Paul 11 once said: 'Fiji-The Way The
World Should Be'. I would like to remind Kubuabola and other racist =
Fijians that if Fiji belongs to them per see, it belongs to me and other =
Indians per value. We know no other home but Fiji. I am as much a true =
and patriotic son of Tailevu and Fiji as that self-proclaimed "vulagi" =
from Australia
-
George Speight, who set the scene for the Interim government to step in =
and do the mopping up operation." Mr Lal has disclosed that following =
overtures from his Fijian colleagues, the inner circle of the Fijian =
hierarchy - the 'RKS Old Boys
Network' - he was willing to help the Interim government to build a =
multi-racial society. "However, when I heard the racial remarks of =
Laisenia Qarase and others, I refused to co-operate, and will continue =
to refuse to accept a Fiji based on race and inequality. I support the =
blueprint for Fijian advancement but we must have a past balance-sheet. =
We need to know how much was spent in all these affirmative projects in =
the past, and what were the benefits and failures etc." "We cannot =
continue to sink into a bottomless pit the taxpayers money - most of it =
derived from hardworking and honest non-Fijians. There are perils of
affirmative action. The unelected Interim government cannot impose on =
the Indians and liberal Fijians taxation without  representation. The =
best way forward is a government of national unity, and a demonstration =
to those in the shadow of Speight and others that you can run but you =
cannot hide.
The road to reconciliation has to begin with the prosecution of those =
involved in the 1987 coups - the seeds of our present problems. =
Reconciliation is a two way street. One racially dominant group cannot =
impose its will and expect the other group to silently lay the red =
carpet to economic recovery and reconciliation. " "If the Interim =
government is serious about reconciliation, it should help the Indian =
refugees in Lautoka; it should compensate the evicted farmers; it should =
correct the racial imbalance in the army; it should make the =
presidential and vice-presidential offices rotational - open to all =
races: it should evict those who were party to the 1987 and 1999 coups =
from the government, and above all, it should promise to us that never =
again it will
vow to impose a racist Constitution on the peoples of Fiji." "As long as =
the Interim government vows to implement its racist
vision of Fiji, I will remain an international thorn in its side. 'Stone =
walls do not a prison make; Nor Iron bars a Cage'. My history is from =
RKS, past Speight's Naivicula village, through Korovou Town, to the old =
Fiji Sun in Suva, to Oxford University in England via a study =
scholarship from Reuters, the international news agency. I did not jump =
a racial or nationalist
bandwagon to get political power and fortune at the expense of our =
countrymen. I earned my international status and I must have the right =
to enjoy its privileges. But robbers and looters of the nation must =
return the political loot to their respective owners - the Fijian, =
Indian, General Elector and other citizens who overwhelming voted for =
the Peoples Coalition Government." Mr Lal thought that it was amusing =
that the Interim Government found it necessary to single him and others =
for attack. "I did not realise that I was  the international voice and =
conscience of the silent majority in Fiji. Perhaps, now, my father can =
sleep in peace. It is true that 'dead man tell no tales' but I will =
continue to tell the tales of the silent majority until my father's =
vision of a multi-racial Fiji is eventually realised. We are the true =
sons of Tailevu and Fiji around the world and not George
Speight and his thugs on Nukulau Island (Fiji's Tropical Alcatraz with =
mobile telephones) and those in the current Interim Government.." Mr Lal =
said he is not concerned about the Interim Government's portrayal of him =
in the press, for 'an opponent of apartheid is an enemy of the state'. =
He quoted Albert Einstein, that great Jew who was last year voted by the =
Time Magazine as 'The Man of the Century', but was driven out of Germany =
by the racist Nazis:" Great spirits have always encountered violent =
opposition from mediocre minds." He also recalled the words of =
apartheid's most famous prisoner, and
the first president of a non-racial South Africa, Nelson Mandela, who =
once put it, "There is no easy work to freedom".
"The road to a truly multi-racial Fiji has just begun. I will remain =
part of that national and international journey with all the peoples of =
Fiji - the Rainbow Alliance". Those who do not learn from history, Mr =
Lal said, end up repeating history.
 "The Lal family have made a distinguished contribution to =
multi-racialism in Fiji and I want to keep up that family heritage."



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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV>Dear All,<BR><BR>Another reply to the Daily Post.<BR>Please =
circulate far=20
and wide. This is important to show that we remain unintimidated and =
WILL=20
CONTINUE<BR>TO hit even harder.<BR><BR>All of you have been similarly=20
challenged. Take up the challenge and hit back at the interim =
government. This=20
is a golden opportunity and take advantage. They have given us a reason =
to slate=20
them - now.<BR><BR>Let us all do it. Flood the country with our=20
replies.<BR><BR>Yusuf<BR><BR>Movement for Democracy in Fiji<BR><BR>331 =
City Road=20
London EC1V 1LJ<BR>Office Tel: +44 (0) 20 7713 7377 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7713 =

7378<BR>Home Tel: +44 (0) 1474 872 908<BR>Email: <A=20
href=3D"mailto:yusuf.roshan@which.net">yusuf.roshan@which.net</A><BR><BR>=
President:=20
Raymond Croxon QC&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Secretary/Treasurer: K=20
Bhagwandeen<BR>Chairman: Dr Y Roshan<BR>Administrative Board Member of =
the=20
European Institute for Asian Study<BR>(Think Tank of European Members of =

Parliament): Mr Surur Hoda&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Human<BR>Rights =
Co-ordinator: Mrs A=20
Bhagwandeen&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Spearheading Legal Issues on<BR>Fiji: Mr =
Victor=20
Lal (Oxford University) &amp; Mr Norman =
Patterson<BR>Barrister&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
Information: Mr Vimal Madhavan<BR><BR>Our web sites<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://fijiwala/London.html">http://fijiwala/London.html</A><BR><=
A=20
href=3D"http://fijinews.cnbra.com/democracy">http://fijinews.cnbra.com/de=
mocracy</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>HUMAN=20
RIGHTS DISSIDENT DEFENDS HIS ACTIONS<BR><BR>A committee member of the=20
London-based Movement for Democracy in Fiji, Victor Lal, has strongly =
defended=20
his role in leading the global fight for the restoration of democracy =
and human=20
rights in Fiji. He was responding to an attack in the Daily Post from a=20
government spokesman who accused Mr Lal and other members of the =
Movement=20
for&nbsp; pushing the agenda of the<BR>Fiji Labour =
Party.<BR><BR><BR>"The=20
President of the Movement, Mr Raymond Croxon QC, is an English barrister =
and a=20
human rights activist, who has no connections with Fiji or&nbsp;the Fiji =
Labour=20
Party," Mr Lal said yesterday from Oxford University where&nbsp;he has =
been=20
based since 1984. He said he "only joined the Movement to help&nbsp;give =
back=20
what Sitiveni Rabuka and his racist thugs stole in 1987,<BR>and =
now&nbsp;George=20
Speight and the Interim government, have illegally stolen from =
the&nbsp;peoples=20
of Fiji - a multi-racial government representing all the peoples=20
of&nbsp;Fiji".<BR>''It is ridiculous for the Interim Government to =
accuse me and=20
my colleagues&nbsp;in the Movement of hindering the process of =
reconciliation in=20
Fiji. Last&nbsp;year, shortly before the general elections, I called =
through the=20
columns of&nbsp;this newspaper, for the prosecution of Sitiveni Rabuka, =
Ratu=20
Inoke&nbsp;Kubuabola, Apisai Tora, and others for their role in =
overthrowing=20
a&nbsp; democratically elected FLP-NFP government of Dr Timoci Bavadra. =
I=20
believed,&nbsp;and still do, that if Fiji was to achieve a genuine and =
lasting=20
peace, it&nbsp;had to eradicate "the racist farmers who had planted the =
seeds of=20
discord,&nbsp;for if not, these very 'racist farmers' would re-emerge to =
harvest=20
the&nbsp;fruits of their racial seeds in the guise of Fijian =
nationalism''. I=20
also&nbsp;called for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation =
Commission=20
so&nbsp;that never again the people of Fiji should go through the racial =

and<BR>economic traumas of 1987,'' Mr Lal said.&nbsp;"It is sickening to =
see and=20
hear the Minister for Information&nbsp;(Misinformation), Ratu Inoke =
Kubuabola,=20
projecting himself as the saviour of&nbsp;all the races in Fiji when, in =
fact,=20
it was he who, along with Rabuka<BR>and&nbsp;the late Rev Tomasi =
Raikivi, had=20
planned the 1987 coups in the Fiji Bible&nbsp;Society building in Suva. =
He went=20
on to lead the Taukei Movement, one of the&nbsp;darkest days in Fiji's =
20th=20
century history as regards the rule of law and&nbsp;human rights (until =
Speight=20
and his racist thugs out did them recently).&nbsp;When Kubuabola became =
the=20
Leader of the Opposition for the STV, a<BR>party&nbsp;which was totally =
rejected=20
at the polls by the ethnic Fijian people, he&nbsp;immediately began the =
process=20
of destabilising the Chaudhry government,&nbsp;instead of preaching =
peace and=20
reconciliation in Fiji," Mr Lal said.&nbsp;<BR><BR>"As Minister for =
Information,=20
he should inform us through the news media of&nbsp;his role in the 1987 =
coups,=20
and fearlessly face the brunt of the law for his&nbsp;treasonable =
actions, and=20
then only the world and the peoples of Fiji can&nbsp;trust him. I still =
believe,=20
and am exploring legal ways and means, based on&nbsp;the Chilean =
dictator August=20
Pinochet's stripping of immunity, to bring the&nbsp;perpetrators and=20
conspirators of the 1987 coups to trial in Fiji or abroad.&nbsp;I firmly =
believe=20
that then only can Fiji start a new page of good race&nbsp;relations in =
the 21st=20
century."&nbsp;"My role in the Movement for Democracy is purely legal. =
My=20
columns<BR>in the&nbsp;Daily Post are based on my years of research and =
writing=20
on Fiji politics&nbsp;and not from opportunism and privilege as =
demonstrated by=20
the members of the&nbsp;Interim government who could not accept the =
diminution=20
of their economic&nbsp;status or political power. As long as the likes =
of Ratu=20
Inoke Kubuabola and&nbsp;that political chameleon of Fiji politics - =
Apisai Tora=20
- a man who has been&nbsp;a member of nearly all the political parties =
in Fiji -=20
go unpunished, no&nbsp;Indian or Fijian worth his human dignity would =
want to be=20
a part of a&nbsp;process of reconciliation in Fiji. We need justice and =
not=20
empty rhetoric.&nbsp;The former coup leader Rabuka should be prosecuted =
under=20
the Public Order&nbsp;Amendment Act, along with Speight and others, for =
making=20
racist remarks&nbsp;recently, and suggesting that Fiji needs the old =
racist and=20
apartheid South&nbsp;Africa as a model for solving the current =
crisis.."&nbsp;My=20
father's vision of multi-racialism&nbsp;"I am pursuing the multi-racial =
agenda=20
of my late father, an upright<BR>and&nbsp;righteous Indian van driver =
and=20
building carpenter, who spent all his life&nbsp;in Korovou, Tailevu,=20
transporting the agricultural produce of honest and&nbsp;hard working =
Fijian=20
villagers from various villages, including those from&nbsp;Sepight's =
Naivicula=20
village, so they could&nbsp; go and&nbsp; sell their produce in =
the&nbsp;Korovou=20
market, and earn a decent living."&nbsp;"My father had a multi-racial =
vision of=20
Fiji when he joined the Alliance&nbsp;Party, and later became the first =
Indian=20
president of the Tailevu North&nbsp;Alliance District Council, with one =
Master=20
Solomone from Speight's Naivicula&nbsp;village as his deputy. I believe =
in a=20
multi-racial Fiji of my late father&nbsp;and not that of Kubuabola's =
racist=20
Fiji. It is sad and heartbreaking that I&nbsp;cannot go back to =
Speight's=20
Naivicula village where I spent endless hours in&nbsp;the 1970s with the =

villagers playing outside while my father and other&nbsp;Alliance =
leaders=20
discussed multi-racial politics. It is painful that =
my&nbsp;family,&nbsp; beaten=20
and robbed by Speight's hoodlums in Tailevu during the<BR>insurrection, =
and most=20
recently, can't venture to visit our ancestors&nbsp;graveyards, which =
are just a=20
stones throw from Naivicula village. It is&nbsp;painful that the Fijians =
of=20
Tailevu, who used to once bow to my father as an&nbsp;'honorary chief' =
and=20
called my grandfathers -Tui Levu and Tui Lailai- are&nbsp;now out in =
Tailevu=20
trying to chop off the heads of our families in the name&nbsp;of Fijian=20
nationalism and racial bigotry'.&nbsp;"It is painful to see that Jo =
Nata, the=20
chief media spokesman of Speight,&nbsp;who went to school with me at =
Ratu=20
Kadavulevu School, and later worked with&nbsp;me on the old Fiji Sun =
newspaper,=20
inciting malicious racist poison against&nbsp;the Indians and my=20
family."&nbsp;"I am not pursuing any agenda but am fighting and will go =
on=20
relentlessly to&nbsp;give back to the people the real Fiji - the Fiji of =
my=20
childhood and the&nbsp;Fiji of my dreams. As Pope John Paul 11 once =
said:=20
'Fiji-The Way The<BR>World&nbsp;Should Be'. I would like to remind =
Kubuabola and=20
other racist Fijians that&nbsp;if Fiji belongs to them per see, it =
belongs to me=20
and other Indians per&nbsp;value. We know no other home but Fiji. I am =
as much a=20
true and patriotic son&nbsp;of Tailevu and Fiji as that self-proclaimed =
"vulagi"=20
from Australia<BR>-<BR>George&nbsp;Speight, who set the scene for the =
Interim=20
government to step in and do the&nbsp;mopping up operation."&nbsp;Mr Lal =
has=20
disclosed that following overtures from his Fijian colleagues,&nbsp;the =
inner=20
circle of the Fijian hierarchy - the 'RKS Old Boys<BR>Network' - =
he&nbsp;was=20
willing to help the Interim government to build a multi-racial=20
society.&nbsp;"However, when I heard the racial remarks of Laisenia =
Qarase and=20
others, I&nbsp;refused to co-operate, and will continue to refuse to =
accept a=20
Fiji based on&nbsp;race and inequality. I support the blueprint for =
Fijian=20
advancement but we&nbsp;must have a past balance-sheet. We need to know =
how much=20
was spent in all&nbsp;these affirmative projects in the past, and what =
were the=20
benefits and&nbsp;failures etc."&nbsp;"We cannot continue to sink into a =

bottomless pit the taxpayers money - most&nbsp;of it derived from =
hardworking=20
and honest non-Fijians. There are perils of<BR>affirmative action. The =
unelected=20
Interim government cannot impose on the&nbsp;Indians and liberal Fijians =

taxation without&nbsp; representation. The best way&nbsp;forward is a =
government=20
of national unity, and a demonstration to those in&nbsp;the shadow of =
Speight=20
and others that you can run but you cannot hide.<BR>The&nbsp;road to=20
reconciliation has to begin with the prosecution of those =
involved&nbsp;in the=20
1987 coups - the seeds of our present problems. Reconciliation is =
a&nbsp;two way=20
street. One racially dominant group cannot impose its will =
and&nbsp;expect the=20
other group to silently lay the red carpet to economic recovery&nbsp;and =

reconciliation. "&nbsp;"If the Interim government is serious about=20
reconciliation, it should help&nbsp;the Indian refugees in Lautoka; it =
should=20
compensate the evicted farmers; it&nbsp;should correct the racial =
imbalance in=20
the army; it should make the&nbsp;presidential and vice-presidential =
offices=20
rotational - open to all races:&nbsp;it should evict those who were =
party to the=20
1987 and 1999 coups from the&nbsp;government, and above all, it should =
promise=20
to us that never again it will<BR>vow to impose a racist Constitution on =
the=20
peoples of Fiji."&nbsp;"As long as the Interim government vows to =
implement its=20
racist<BR>vision of&nbsp;Fiji, I will remain an international thorn in =
its side.=20
'Stone walls do not&nbsp;a prison make; Nor Iron bars a Cage'. My =
history is=20
from RKS, past Speight's&nbsp;Naivicula village, through Korovou Town, =
to the=20
old Fiji Sun in Suva, to&nbsp;Oxford University in England via a study=20
scholarship from Reuters, the&nbsp;international news agency. I did not =
jump a=20
racial or nationalist<BR>bandwagon&nbsp;to get political power and =
fortune at=20
the expense of our countrymen. I&nbsp;earned my international status and =
I must=20
have the right to enjoy its&nbsp;privileges. But robbers and looters of =
the=20
nation must return the political&nbsp;loot to their respective owners - =
the=20
Fijian, Indian, General Elector and&nbsp;other citizens who overwhelming =
voted=20
for the Peoples Coalition Government."&nbsp;Mr Lal thought that it was =
amusing=20
that the Interim Government found it&nbsp;necessary to single him and =
others for=20
attack. "I did not realise that I was&nbsp; the international voice and=20
conscience of the silent majority in Fiji.&nbsp;Perhaps, now, my father =
can=20
sleep in peace. It is true that 'dead man tell&nbsp;no tales' but I will =

continue to tell the tales of the silent majority until&nbsp;my father's =
vision=20
of a multi-racial Fiji is eventually realised. We are the&nbsp;true sons =
of=20
Tailevu and Fiji around the world and not George<BR>Speight and&nbsp;his =
thugs=20
on Nukulau Island (Fiji's Tropical Alcatraz with mobile&nbsp;telephones) =
and=20
those in the current Interim Government.."&nbsp;Mr Lal said he is not =
concerned=20
about the Interim Government's portrayal of&nbsp;him in the press, for =
'an=20
opponent of apartheid is an enemy of the state'.&nbsp;He quoted Albert =
Einstein,=20
that great Jew who was last year voted by the&nbsp;Time Magazine as 'The =
Man of=20
the Century', but was driven out of Germany by&nbsp;the racist Nazis:" =
Great=20
spirits have always encountered violent opposition&nbsp;from mediocre=20
minds."&nbsp;He also recalled the words of apartheid's most famous =
prisoner,=20
and<BR>the&nbsp;first president of a non-racial South Africa, Nelson =
Mandela,=20
who once put&nbsp;it, "There is no easy work to freedom".<BR>"The road =
to a=20
truly multi-racial Fiji has just begun. I will remain part of&nbsp;that =
national=20
and international journey with all the peoples of Fiji - =
the&nbsp;Rainbow=20
Alliance".&nbsp;Those who do not learn from history, Mr Lal said, end up =

repeating history.<BR>&nbsp;"The Lal family have made a distinguished=20
contribution to multi-racialism in&nbsp;Fiji and I want to keep up that =
family=20
heritage."<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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