Laisenia Qarase Quotes

We cannot bring our people together, and give all energies to development, when the agony of 2000 lives on and haunts us through prosecutions and sentences. Five years have gone by and … there is no end in sight. I believe it is time now for fresh thinking and action.

"Labour will try to convince you that it is sympathetic to business. Don’t believe such stories. The truth is that the party has a classic left-wing suspicion of business and the profit motive".

"I emphasise again that people who participated in the 2000 uprising with criminal intent, as established by the police, will continue to be subject to the full force of the law. The Bill is not intended to provide relief to those who used the coup for their own gain or other criminal intent." (14 June 2005).

"The Code (Fiji Media Council Code of Ethics) is quite clear in its guidelines on religion. Those guidelines have not been followed in this instance," Qarase said. (Pacific Magazine).

"Christianity took Ratu Cakobau and the Fijians from the way of the club, to the way of peace. Our islands were transformed forever".

"For our country, it is vitally important, as a factor for long-standing stability, that we always maintain a careful balance between the rights of individuals and communities, the special interests of indigenous people, including their right of ownership to their natural resources must also be protected".

Follow the teachings and you will not go wrong.

It requires commitment, vision and will. Differences of ethnicity and multi-culturalism have to be managed and accommodated. It is a difficult balancing act, which must take account of the interests of all communities.

They (the indigenous Fijian people) believe they (their demands for political power) are just and reasonable, given our history, racial division, present-day majority of Fijians, their ownership of the land and their indigenous identity.

"We cannot bring the people together and concentrate all our energies on developing the country when the agony of 2000 is continuously haunting us." (27 May 2005, from a speech to the annual conference of his United Fiji Party).

"Their efforts and their sacrifices for education are immeasurable. They started their schools for their own children. Over the years, increasing numbers of Fijian and other students were taken in. Today, in a majority of their schools Fijian children predominate. There is a large debt of gratitude owed here that I am pleased to acknowledge." (Paying tribute to Indian and Chinese schools in Fiji).

"We all share the same vision for our children. It is one of the things that binds us together. Let this Summit give extra strength and purpose to the great cause of education".

The shame is compounded by the failure of developed countries to commit enough of their wealth and resources to helping poor populations from developing countries.

"Freedom carries obligations and responsibilities. This applies, in particular, to the news media. Our media have an obligation to exercise their responsibilities in a manner that reflects the social, cultural and religious values of our different communities. (Pacific Magazine).

"It has, understandably, aggrieved our Muslim community. Their religion and its founder have been insulted, and ridiculed." (Fiji Live).