FIJI: Yabaki calls for social media promotion of tolerance

Tuesday, 3 March 2015, 3:49 pm
Press Release: Pacific Media Centre

FIJI: Yabaki calls for social media promotion of tolerance, diversity

http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/fiji-yabaki-calls-social-media-promotion-tolerance-diversity-9135

CCF's Reverend Akuila Yabaki speaking at the Take a Stand Against
Racial Discrimination campaign in Suva yesterday.
Image: Jovesa Naisua/Fiji Times

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Item: 9135

Vuniwaqa Bola-Bari
SUVA (The Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch): Citizens' Constitutional Forum (CCF) chief executive Reverend Akuila Yabaki has called on the people of Fiji to use social media as a place to promote religious acceptance.

Rev Yabaki says people need to be mature and use the social media for promoting religious acceptance, respecting one another and multiculturalism.

"We have called on all Fijians to promote and practise religious acceptance and the social media can play a role in promoting religious acceptance and respecting one another, multiculturalism and diversity," Rev Yabaki said.

"So we invite the social media users, we welcome the freedom that is there, I mean it happens in Egypt, Middle East and I think it's quite important that we discover the place of social media in the lead-up to the last election.

"But we need to grow into more maturity so that we can use social media more positively."

He said social media had become an avenue for freedom of expression in Fiji and had been used as a forum to make abusive remarks.

"These comments will continue to divide the people of this nation, this cannot be resolved overnight, however, the first step to a truly vibrant and consolidated democracy is recognising the need to change this," Rev Yabaki said.

ENDS

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