WE did not press the wrong button.
This was the statement by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka after he cleared the air with the Fijian diaspora in Samoa regarding Fiji’s vote against the UN’s proposed resolution on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and People on Wednesday night.
Mr Rabuka said the proposed resolution was an “ambush resolution” as it was not the one they agreed on last Thursday during the voting of the Special Committee of Decolonisation.
“We will not tell them we pressed the wrong button. We will tell them that the resolution was an ambush resolution, it is not something that we have been talking about,” Mr Rabuka said.
The Prime Minister said he had been a serious student of colonisation and decolonisation.
“They started with the C-12, but now it’s C-24 members of the committee that talks about decolonisation.
“I was wondering if anyone would complain about my going next week because C-24 met last week and there was a vote on decolonisation. Fiji was the only one that went against the proposed resolution.
“I thought the people of the Kanaki of New Caledonia would object to my coming, so far we have not heard anything from them.
“So, I am hoping that no one will bring that up, but if they do bring it up, we have a perfect answer.”
According to Government, Fiji is one of two Pacific countries who are members of the Special Committee on Decolonisation or C-24 and has been a consistent voice in addressing the issue of decolonisation.
Through the C-24 and the Fourth Committee, Fiji aligns with the positions undertaken by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), in its support for the annual resolution on decolonisation entitled “Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples”.
Government reiterated its support of the regional position of the Pacific Island Forum, and the Melanesian Spearhead Group on decolonisation and self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Charter.
The Fiji Permanent Mission in New York, led by Filipo Tarakinikini, is working with the Secretariat to clarify this matter within its process.
Mr Rabuka is currently in Samoa where 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is being held.
