An opinion article in a pro-government newspaper criticised her for threatening a calamity, but she says she was simply raising the concerns of indigenous Fijians, and was making no threats. Listen to interview

Ro Teimumu heads one of the three indigenous confederacies, Burebasaqa, and carries the title Roko Tui Dreketi, which she inherited on the death of Ro Lady Lala Mara,the wife of the founder of modern Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

The Great Council of Chiefs was disbanded by Bainimarama in March. At the time he said "The Great Council of the Chiefs is a product of our colonial past and Fiji must now focus on a future in which all Fijians are represented on the same basis."

According to commentator, Graham Davis, a titanic struggle is now looming "between the old and new orders in Fiji for the hearts and minds of the indigenous majority - the i'taukei. It's a struggle that will determine the future for all Fiji citizens and on present indications, the portents don't look good. Because the old order - the i'taukei chiefs - seem determined to make race the centerpiece of their campaign, to mine all the old prejudices that have retarded independent Fiji's development right from the start."

Source

• Grubsheet
• Scoop
• Image: Pacific Scoop