Another civil unrest and Tourism will collapse

Another civil unrest and Tourism will collapse

PEOPLE'S COALITION GOVERNMENT, FIJI Issue No: 423 29 January 2001

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The tourist industry will collapse if there is another civil unrest, says the tourist industry.

An article published in today's Fiji Sun quotes Tourism Action Group's Damen Goundar as saying that another civil unrest will mean the collapse of the whole industry. He stated: "The job loss alone is a tragedy in itself with thousands of workers being laid off, not to mention the many millions of dollars lost in foreign exchange both directly and indirectly. The industry can not sustain this crisis much longer without suffering irreparable damage".

Similar calls were made by the Chairman of the Spirit of Fiji Campaign Viliame Gavoka, who was quoted as saying that to avoid an outbreak of violence, "the extremists threatening civil unrest should be contained. "The problem we have is that we are allowing these extremists to dictate to us. The government of the day and the security forces have the responsibility of containing these people to ensure peace in the country", he stated.

Extremists, including regime Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, have threatened violence if the country is returned to the democratically elected government and the rule of law.

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