Are we tired, are we pragmatic?

from w
It is 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but as time goes by we become despondent, perhaps shrug and just take the injustices. We get tired of being passionate and speaking up, and then of course, we become pragmatic, wanting to feed families, no matter what happens in the top tiers of society. Is that how some of us feel about Fiji and human rights today? Surely we still need to be vigilant, to actively work for justice and what is a fair go to the weakest people in society. Hey, what about today's Human Rights march in Suva, and guess who was leading the march. The military and police guys!

FWCC boycotts Human Rights March
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Fiji Women’s Crisis Center has questioned the involvement of the military and police in celebrations held today to mark World Human Rights Day and the end of the 16 days of activism on violence against women.

Co-coordinator Edwina Kotoisuva says the inclusion of the military and police is a concern especially since on the issue of human rights.

Kotoisuva said,” as human rights activists this day has always meant a great deal to us in that we’ve always always tried to make it visible – about human rights issues and human rights in general.”

“But we really are concerned at the security forces, you cant just sort of march to say that you respect human, there’s a lot more depth to it in terms of looking at ourselves and how we promote human rights in the work that we do, and how we respect human rights and whether we respect human rights through the work that we do,” she added.

The Women’s Crisis Center refused to be part of the march after they found that the military and police would be leading the procession which began from the Suva Flea market and ended at Sukuna Park.

The Defence Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau was chief guest at the celebrations.