Editorial
PASSING OF RATU MARA MARKS END OF ERA
FijiSUN

SUVA, Fiji (April 20) - There is no shortage of chiefs convinced that they can run the country better than the succession of commoners who have of late sat in the prime minister’s office.

But the Tui Nayau, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, accepted authority as his birthright, his duty and his destiny. He was one of the truly great chiefs and his passing marks the end of an era.

The only high-born nobleman ever to serve Fiji as prime minister and then as president, he bestrode the modern history of the nation like a colossus.

He could as easily inspire fierce loyalty among his followers and kinsfolk as he could put the fear of God into recalcitrant or negligent underlings. He may well be the last of the high chiefs who was truly born to rule.

If any one man could be said to have formed present day Fiji, that man would be Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

It was he who led the nation out of the colonial era and into a strange and often frightening new world of independence and it was he who held the social fabric of these islands together at a time when his colonial contemporaries were leading far larger nations into the abyss of civil war, poverty and genocide.

Guided in his younger days by that other great Fijian, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, Ratu Mara was ever aware of his destiny - which was to lead his people.

His era as statesman, national leader and politician may have ended in 2000 when he stepped aside as president in order, he considered, to avoid bloodshed on an unprecedented scale, yet his aura remained despite the retirement and the successive illnesses that were to accompany his last days on this earth.

His lasting legacy is a nation with institutions intact, though his vision of a truly united Fiji remains unfulfilled.

He will be mourned and missed throughout the region and the wider world. Sir Michael Somare, for instance, with whom he shared a passion for golf, called him "papa" and sought his guidance in PNG’s many hours of stress and need.

Ratu Mara can never be forgotten just as his national and regional achievements can never be undone.

His was a massive contribution to the progress of his nation and the welfare of his people. History will judge him generously as a man who recognised no limitations to the potential of his nation and who gave his utmost in an heroic effort to persuade, cajole, command and above all lead it forward.

We will not see his like again.

April 20, 2004
FijiSUN: http://www.sun.com.fj/
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WORLD MOURNS FIJI’S RATU MARA

SUVA, Fiji (Fijilive, April 19) - Pacific Forum Secretary General Greg Urwin expressed deep regret at the death of Fiji's former Prime Minister and President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, whose passing drew condolences yesterday from around the world.

"Ratu Mara was very much the elder statesman of the region, and his passing marks the end of an era," Urwin said. "His vision for a better future for the people of the Pacific has underpinned everything the Forum has tried to do since it was established in 1971."

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was the last survivor of the seven leaders who met in August 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand to set up a new regional body to give a stronger voice to Pacific concerns, and to cooperate as a group in tackling key issues. That body was the South Pacific Forum.

Leaders of the Forum, now known as the Pacific Islands Forum, meet annually to discuss a common approach to regional and international issues.

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara represented Fiji at all but four of the annual Forum Leaders meetings from 1971 until 1991.

Urwin said Mara will remain a guiding force in the region.

"Despite this sad loss for his own family, we trust that they will be comforted by the knowledge of all that he accomplished for his country and the region. His dedication and vision will always be an example to us all."

The White House yesterday sent its condolences to the former president’s family, saying Mara was a close friend of the United States.

"The late Ratu Mara was a personal friend of President George H.W. Bush and worked closely with every U.S. Administration since President Lyndon Johnson," said a statement from the U.S. president."

"Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara played an important role in achieving independence for Fiji. He always worked for racial harmony and, as he said at the Fiji Constitutional Conference in 1970, ‘a Fiji where people of different races, opinions and cultures can live and work together for the good of all’.. His contributions to Fiji and Pacific Island Countries have been outstanding, as were his efforts for the Commonwealth of Nations and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of nations. He was one of the seven founders of what is now the Pacific Islands Forum

"As the people of Fiji and the late Ratu Mara's family mourn the death of one of the greatest sons of Fiji we, the representatives of the people of the United States, offer our deepest sympathy to the people of Fiji and the Mara family."

The U.S. statement also noted that Ratu Mara was instrumental in establishing closer links between Pacific Island countries and the United States and helped establish the Pacific Islands Development Program and the Joint Commercial Commission at the East-West Center in Honolulu. Ratu Mara also served as the Chairman of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders and served on the East-West Center Board of Governors.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission yesterday also extended its sympathy, saying, "We recall his close and warm ties with the United Kingdom over many years, and are much saddened by today's news. Fiji and the whole Pacific region have lost a statesman of international renown, and will be the poorer for his passing."

April 20, 2004
Fijilive: www.fijilive.com