A Fijian scholar based in Australia believes there must be a more open debate on Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s push to have the Pacific declared as a “zone of peace”.
Forum leaders at their recent meeting in Cook Islands endorsed the proposal by Mr Rabuka with a declaration on the “zone of peace” expected to be announced at next year’s Forum meeting in Tonga.
“How can we reconcile a ‘zone of peace’ with the acceptance of Australia’s AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) submarines?’” said Jope Tarai, a PhD student at the Australian National University.
“How can we reconcile a ‘zone of peace’ with the acceptance of the Japanese dumping proposal, especially our custodianship role of the Blue Pacific continent?
“How does the idea of the ‘zone of peace’ reconcile with the decision to vote against a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
“We are fortunate to finally have a political moment where these matters can be openly discussed.
“Perhaps we have yet to fully appreciate the opportunity of a more free and open media, public debate, and discussion landscape,” Mr Tarai said.
