“It is these double standards that have and are still keeping the ordinary Fijian shackled to a now outdated system of feudal control, thus contributing to their poverty and misery, whilst certain chiefs and a large number of Fijian elites continue to substantially increase their wealth at the expense of their poorer subjects.”

— Mahendra Chaudhry

Reaction to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's address to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Nadi, 31 August 2005

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Mahendra Chaudhry 40

Fijian politician 1942

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“To say that power should have been returned to the Fijian chiefs is to ignore what occurred between 1874 and 1970.”

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“For too long we have kept ourselves in our ethnic boxes and continue to see ourselves as either indigenous Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Europeans, part-Europeans, Chinese, Pacific Islanders, or others. For as long as that wall remains we will continue to view one another with suspicion and distrust. This is the fear that is fueled by political manouvering to keep us divided while for some to remain in power.”

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“I trust you will bear in mind the deeply-held fears and insecurities Fijian have as an ethnic community. This is a subject I dwell on repeatedly because, while I do not share them, I am sufficiently Fijian to appreciate the depths of these emotions.”

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Speech to the Lautoka Rotary Club (Centenary Dinner), 12 March 2005 http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/printer_4326.shtml.

“The nation looks to us as chiefs not only of the Fijians, but also for all of Fiji, to assist in unifying a divided society and promoting stability and goodwill.”

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Mahendra Chaudhry 40

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