Simmering

Fiji's Political Pot Is Now Simmering

From a Suva Correspondent With the general elections foi

Fiji’s new Legislative Council

only a couple of months away,

the political pot is beginning to

simmer slightly. Mr. A. D.

Patel’s Federation Party is very

active, particularly at week

ends, around the villages.

AND he has thrown away any pretence of wanting a rappoche ment with the Europeans. There are those who say the influence of his party is growing and that the Fed eration Party candidates will sweep the board.

There are those who say the opposite—that the Indian man-in-the street is becoming nervous of the effects that the Federation Party’s diatribes against the Europeans and the Fijian chiefly system might have on their future position in the country.

At any rate, the party had a couple of jolts in July through a couple of defections of two prominent members —Mr. K. B. Singh, who, for years, has had a large following at Nausori, and barrister-solicitor Mr. R. I.

Kapadia, one of the youngest mem bers of the Suva City Council.

"Conscience"

Mr. Kapadia, a vice-president of the Suva branch, resigned on July 11 and wrote to the party: “I am unable to continue to associate myself with the Federation Party and at the same time do justice to my conscience.”

Two days later Mr. Singh revealed he had resigned from the party some time ago because the party’s general policy and undemocratic tactics were creating an atmosphere of hostility, especially against the Indian people.

He added that he could not be asso ciated with the party “when its activ ities and the utterances of its prin cipal officials continue to widen the differences between races.”

Some of the utterances of the party’s officials have included this from Mr. Patel at a public meeting: “If the Indians are to gain from ‘yes sir, yes sir’, then why is it that they are still slaves today even after doing ‘yes sir, yes sir’ for 90 years? For 90 years, the Indians have been say

ing that the Government is our mother and father. Even then, what are the children getting?

“For this reason we should re member that independence will come to Fiji and it will come whether any one wants it or not. But to take that independence on our shoulders we will have to make our shoulders strong.

“We have to see whether the in dependence will come with the face of a goddess or with the face of a demon covered with blood.”

The party’s propaganda sheet, the Pacific Review, has been pouring out columns of invective against the Euro peans and the Fijian chiefs. The articles have been signed with a Fijian name—Saimone Lagakale, de scribed as of the London School of Economics.

Who Is He?

Nobody has ever heard of a Saimone Lagakale at the London School of Economics, and none of the Fijians in London has ever met him or heard of him.

Possibly Indians are feeling some what uneasy over the Federation Party’s policy because of the warning Ratu K. K. T. Mara put out in July in his position of president of the Alliance, the league of all those bodies opposed to the Federation Party and in favour of close liaison between all the races in Fiji.

Ratu Mara’s speech was an appeal to the Indian people, an offering of an olive branch, an offer of a partner ship in the future running of the country. There was a sting in the tail of his speech.

Ratu Mara called on the Indians to try to settle their own differences and work as one body within the alliance.

Fijians "United"

“We Fijians are ready now,” he said. “We are united, as we have always been, and we offer the hand of friendship and co-operation. Do not, please, keep us waiting.

“A hundred and thirty years ago we accepted Christianity as one.

Ninety years ago we accepted the cession of our land as one, and now the Fijian Association has accepted the idea of full co-operation with the Alliance as one.

“You have a chance which has never occurred before in our history, and which may perhaps, if now neglected, never happen again.”

The Alliance published its policy statement the day after Ratu Mara

made his speech. It was anything but revolutionary. But then, nobody in the Alliance is revolutionary.

The first sentence in the statement proclaimed the belief that the loyalty of the people of Fiji to the Crown was unshakeable and that Fiji, under whatever form of Government, ought to remain a member of the British Commonwealth.

It also supported the agreed de cisions of the London constitutional conference of last year and then went on to list the things it supported.

There were 12 of them, of which the most important was the belief that Fiji needed a land policy clearly stated and understood by all.

“We recognise the paramount in terests of the Fijian people as chief landowners and we shall foster the agricultural enterprise of the other communities as well,” said the Alliance.

It also declared that the farmer needed security of tenure and capital on easy terms, and the amenities of water, power and health services.

The points that the Alliance made about the need for a scientific forest policy, the need for watching taxation and Government spending, support for trade and industry, tourism and travel and the importance of working for the extension of health and specialist services, could have come from any politician’s election address anywhere.

What the Alliance didn’t stress was what it was against It probably had no need. It’s certainly against the Federation.