Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, left, with iTaukei Affairs Minister Ifereimi Vasu. 13 November 2024 Photo: Facebook / iTaukei Affairs Board
Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) chairman Ratu Viliame Seruvakula says reviewing the country's 2013 Constitution "is obvious" to address the root causes of problems facing the indigenous population.
However, the former military officer told local reporters on Wednesday that changing the nation's supreme law will not be an easy process.
The GCC is considered the peak iTaukei national institution. In the past, it has also been accused of promoting indigenous supremacy and has been dubbed a racist institution.
It was banned by the former Bainimarama administration in 2006 following his military coup.
But after the change in government in December 2022, the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition government swiftly reinstated the body, which would be "apolitical, inclusive, relevant to the needs and aspirations of iTaukei society," as Ratu Viliame told RNZ Pacific previously.
This week, the 51 chiefs representing the country's 14 provinces and the island of Rotuma have gathered for their second meeting of the year in the capital, Suva.
According the state broadcaster FBC, the first day's agenda included discussions on the iTaukei administration review, a feasibility study on the decentralisation of economic units, and an update on legislation that marginalises the iTaukei.
Ratu Viliame told reporters at the end of day one that the GCC members were informed that removing laws which they feel marginalise the indigenous people "is not that simple".
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"They are a work in progress, and for the people to have patience, there are some committees looking into those," he was quoted as saying by The Fiji Times.
He said several members of the Council raised the issue of reviewing the 2013 Constitution.
Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, centre, with iTaukei Affairs Minister Ifereimi Vasu, left, and GCC member Adi Finau. 13 November 2024 Photo: Facebook / iTaukei Affairs Board
He said several laws that "directly affect" the indigenous population were difficult to amend under the constitution.
The 2013 Constitution, imposed by the Bainimarama government, is regarded as a "non-racial and secular constitution". However, critics of the document have argued it negatively impacted iTaukei rights.
"It's clear that the constitution is almost central to everything. Everywhere you look it goes right back into the 2013 Constitution.
"It's obvious that we need to [review it]."