I am very pleased to see that so many Fijians have their eyes on the future, and not the past.
Those are the words of Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on the issue regarding the changing of our Fijian flag.
While speaking at the opening of the Sigatoka Market Vendors accommodation block, Bainimarama said that he is delighted by the reaction, both here and overseas, to the plan announced to change our national flag and replace its British symbols with others that are indigenous and truly Fijian.
The Prime Minister said there has been some criticism from those who would prefer the British symbols to our own but he wants every Fijian to think very carefully about what symbols they believe best represent our nation now and that will also resonate with future generations of Fijians in the decades and centuries ahead.
Some people including SODELPA and the National Federation Party have called for a referendum to be conducted on whether the flag should be changed.
However the Prime Minister urges everyone to design a symbol that we can all identify with and is instantly recognizable as Fijian the world over.
Bainimarama said even within the space of 48 hours, the world is recognizing what Fiji is doing. He said the plan has made news on five continents. It has appeared in media outlets of the world – the BBC, the New York Times, the Times of London and the Wall Street Journal, which referred in its headline to Fiji “breaking the shackles of colonialism.”
Bainimarama said it has made news especially in Australia and New Zealand, whose citizens are also debating replacing the Union Flag with their own symbols.
He also thanked the British High Commissioner to Fiji for saying that the flag is a matter for the Fijian Government and people.
Bainimarama said the British were our friends before, they are our friends now, and they will be our friends long into the future.
But he said it is our right as a nation to carve out our own identity and fulfill our own destiny.
Details of the flag competition will be announced soon.
