UN General Assembly
2008

the people’s charter process is a real threat to their positions of vested power and privilege. When I addressed the Assembly last year, I pleaded for the support of the international community to help us in the wake of all the political and economic turbulence that Fiji has experienced since 1987. I pleaded for support to develop a political and governance framework that is truly democratic, accountable, inclusive, equitable and non-racial, and which will seek to unify Fiji’s diverse communities as a nation. I also sought constructive dialogue and engagement with the international community and with all our bilateral and multilateral development partners. I urged the international community to support us in addressing Fiji’s fundamental problems. I am asking the international community today not to focus only on the removal of a Government. That has already been done exhaustively. We have been subjected to harsh international measures, which we accepted. We have endured those through the suffering of our people. The coups of 1987 and 2000 were executed in the interests of a few and based on ethno-