Source: Fiji Daily Post
SUVA, FIJI, October 1, 2002: It will be another quiet Deepavali this year, with government deciding not to lift a ban on fireworks. Although the minister for commerce, Tomasi Vuetilovoni, said firecrackers could be used for special events once permission was granted, there will still be no firecrackers this Deepavali. Deepavali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, will be celebrated on November 4. Mr Vuetilovoni said the legal notice that was recently gazetted “is to allow people to be made aware of what type of crackers could be imported into the country and this did not mean the ban was lifted.” However, police sources yesterday said after the May, 2000, coup a fireworks ban had been put in place because it would be hard to distinguish the difference in sound of firecrackers and weapons being fired. “The security forces do not want anyone to undermine security on the pretext of it being firecrackers and, of course, safety is another reason for human beings because there has been a couple of fatal tragedies,” the police source said.