Forest burnt in further violence

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 1

Forest burnt in further violence

By

BRENDON BURNS

in Fiji

Yesterday’s violence and attacks on property in Fiji were not restricted to Suva. As I drove from Nandi to Suva, forestry workers were fighting at least two fires in newly planted pine forest A workman said the two fires had been deliberately lit. However, it seems that only a few acres of forest, about 20 kilometres from Nandi, were burnt by each of the fires. Earlier, in Lautoka, which is' 20km on the other side of Nandi, stones had been thrown at cars by Fijian youths. A former Fijian member of Parliament Mr Koresi Matatolu, dismissed the stone throwers as hooligans. Indians had been the target he said. The incident had occurred while a mixed-race and inter-, denominational prayer meeting was in a progress in Lautoka. Mr Matatolu said there was no division of any consequence among the people on the western side of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. “In the west, the Indians and Fijians have been living together for years on the farms,” he said. “Any suggestion of us fighting among ourselves here is hypothetical.” Lautoka is the centre of the sugar-cane growing district. Near the town is the village of Viseisei, home of the ousted Prime Minister, Dr Bavadra. There, as in many communities passed by yesterday, villagers were sitting under palmthatch shelters discussing events and drinking kava. Dr Bavadra’s brother, Viliame, was relieved at the release of the Government members. “We were really worried about him,” he said. The villagers endorsed Dr Bavadra’s claim '*to still be Prime Minister, but said they would follow his guidance when he was able to return home. In Nandi, there was further evidence of Indian-Fijian unity against the military take-over. As I talked to a Fijian at a gathering of two or three hundred people, an Indian offered me a plate of rice and lentils, which were being cooked and shared communally. Signs had been erected opposing the military regime and calling for Dr Bavadra’s reinstatement. In only one village of a dozen or more passed on the way back to Suva, was there a sign supporting Lieutenant-Colonel Rabuka.. Someone had thrown a stone through it.