On day 21, the military appeals to the chiefs and the churches to put pressure on the rebels in Parliament to give up the hostages. The churches should be more involved in trying to address the root causes of abuse of human rights and social injustices, not promoting the interests of the elite and the powerful. The silence of the church can only be interpreted as complicity. As Father Winston Halapua of the Anglican Church once said Church Ministers should do more than just sing Hallelujah. Where we see injustices, it is our duty to speak out and work towards changing things.
Silence breeds Violence.
Hopefully, there is a solution in sight. In the meantime, the church in Fiji must review its role and responsibility to develop a more principled future generation of Fiji Christians. For the rest of the Pacific Islands, it is vital that future generations are brought up to understand that the behaviour of Speight and his thugs is totally unacceptable to Pacific Island people. And more importantly, how they can use the democratic processes and institutions to work towards making the necessary changes to improve their lives. The Pope recently apologised for the harm caused by the Catholic church because of their intolerance for people with different beliefs.