SUVA, FIJI, July 24, 2005: The Methodist Church has pledged its full support for the controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill proposed by Government. Church minister Reverend Iliesa Naivalu said the support stemmed from the belief that the clauses stated in the Bill are similar to those in the Bible. Reverand Naivalu said their collective stand on the Bill was was made after many of their church members expressed their support for the clauses in the Bill which promoted forgiveness and truthfulness. Speaking in Fijian he said they had a committee which consulted their members in each of their 42 divisions. The Methodist Church with its 213,000 members makes it the largest Christian denomination in Fiji with an estimated total population of 800,000. Reverand Naivalu also said the Church wanted a huge amount of money be made available for those victims of the May 2000 coup (Which overthrew the country’s first Hindu prime minister, see here). But he is sceptical that the State had enough money to compensate all the victims. The Church will make a submission to the Great Council of Chiefs on their stand on the Bill. The GCC convenes this week.
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