Fiji - May 2023

The Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) re-convened for the first time after 16 years of suspension on Bau Island. Established by the British colonial rulers as an advisory body in 1876, it was suspended in 2007 by then-prime minister Frank Bainimarama, who accused it of interfering in politics and inciting racial tension – the body is only open to members of the hereditary iTaukei aristocracy and not Indo-Fijians or other minorities. Bainimarama suspended it by decree in 2012. The coalition government has says the reconvened GCC will be an advisory body to safeguard, collaborate and promote inclusivity across all Fijian ethnic groups.

Sources: Stuff, Radio New Zealand, ABC, Radio New Zealand