19-05-2025
Fiji re-opens Great Council of Chiefs building
Today marks a historic moment in Fiji with the re-opening of the Great Council of Chiefs building after it burned down in 2019.
The Council was once a powerful political body before being abolished in 2012 under Frank Bainimarama's Fiji First government.
Its revival under current Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's leadership has sparked debate about tradition, identity, and national unity.
"Like the Phoenix rising from ashes, that's what the reopening of this open is," said Dr Eci Nabalarua, Scholar at the University of the South Pacific.
"It's really the restoration of a very important institutional link of Fijian traditional governance and also marks the commitment to preserving cultural traditions and heritage."
