7 Jan 2003

Mahendra Chaudhry to highlight plight of Indo-Fijians at New Delhi conference

6:23 pm on 7 January 2003

The Fiji Labour Party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry, is to highlight issues concerning Indians in Fiji at the inaugural meeting of the Indian Diaspora in New Delhi this week.

Mr Chaudhry says he will use every forum to highlight problems faced by Fiji's Indo-Fijian community so that they receive wide coverage at the international meeting.

He says Indo-Fijians remain politically marginalized and deprived of their constitutional rights in their country of birth.

Mr Chaudhry will also talk about the growing number of Indo-Fijians who are being dsplaced from their farms because expiring agricultural land leases are not being renewed.

Mr Chaudhry's Indian dominated People's Coalition government was deposed in a violent coup in May 2000.

The lone Indo-Fijian cabinet minister, George Shiu Raj, will represent the Fiji government at the event.