traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

An election was due to be held in 2006 and the Elections Commission, headed by a veryvolatile Commissioner, was woefully unprepared. We commissioned Doctor Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the head of the Ghana Electoral Commission. He and others streamlined systems andhastened preparations for the General Election. As it turned out, no one was killed, theelection was reasonably free and fair and the Afro Guyanese Opposition was consigned to afurther term of powerlessness.I discovered that when people come together around a contentious issue they wantimmediate action and these take up all their energies. In fact, people with power and authorityare more used to using them than suspending them in order to listen. Much of the time, Isupplied a sympathetic ear. If you focus on a purpose, dialogue becomes like negotiation andthe elements of openness and spontaneity can get compromised.Dialogue is not all sweetness and light. Otherwise it runs the risk if being a rehearsal ofold platitudes and clichés. Dialogue that is abandoned midway is meaningless. Dialoguemeans joining the struggle with as much goodness, strength and wisdom as we candemonstrate. I found that it was a big step for someone to say something fresh and direct.Dialogue has to include the expression of disagreement. We have to be ready to engage withpeople we do not normally enjoy hearing. There was plenty of that in Guyana.The credibility and neutrality of the Envoy is crucial. I had to be honest and consistent inwhat I said. I had to build a working relationship with the President of Guyana. After all, Iwas there only because he had invited me. This was a relationship that grew over timethrough engagement and solid discussion. We had a lot of banter every time we met, mainlyover what we wore, whether it was a suit or the guayabera, the elegant but informal shirtcommon throughout the Caribbean.So how is Guyana now? Sporadic violence still occurs but they are moving down thebumpy road to peace, defined not simply as the absence of violence but the robust presenceand effectiveness of democratic processes underpinned by the rule of law. The politicalculture of distrust is still there but the nature of the political debate has improved. CarolynRodriguez, an Amerindian, who as the Minister of Amerindian Affairs came here as a guestof the New Zealand Government in 2007, now holds the important portfolio of Minister ofForeign Affairs.In 1995 and 1996, I chaired the Fiji Constitution Review Commission. With somesignificant differences, our report became the basis of the 1997 Constitution which stillsurvives in a decapitated form. The essence of our report is contained in our introduction:The unity of this nation is a continuous process of discovery and enrichment, nothingremains fixed forever. Progress in a multi-ethnic society is achieved when its citizensrealise that what is good for their neighbour must ultimately be good for them as well,when difference and diversity are seen not as sources of division and distrust, butstrength and inspiration.The 2006 elections in Fiji resulted in a victory for the Soqosoqo Duvata ni Lewenivanua(SDL) party and its leader, Laisenia Qarase, became the Prime Minister. His governmentintroduced three controversial pieces of legislation: the Indigenous Claims Tribunal Bill, theCustomary Fisheries Bill (Qoliqoli Bill) and the Promotion of Reconciliation, Tolerance andUnity Bill. The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) believed these bills potentiallydestabilized Fiji and, after a standoff, Commodore Bainimarama announced that he had takenover executive power and dismissed the elected Government of Mr Qarase. He also declared astate of emergency. The Commodore actually delayed the coup by one day for the sake of animportant rugby match.116