Hundreds of Fijian people marched on the streets of Suva on Friday, raising their voices strongly against Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The protesters, led by the Fiji non-government organization Coalition on Human Rights, called for international actions to halt Tokyo's move to protect the ocean and future generations.

Lusia Lagilevo, Citizens' Constitutional Forum said: "It's a disrespect to our rights as human beings. (In) the Pacific, although we have a lot of small countries, we are still human beings, and we deserve to have our rights, our dignity, our freedoms respected, and the dumping of this nuclear waste in our ocean is a horrendous and horrible move by Japan."

Lavetanalagi Seru, co-founder of Alliance for Future Generations, said the Pacific has had a history of nuclear testing, and the people in the Marshall Islands are still grappling with the enduring aftermath of nuclear contamination.

The Marshall Islands' history bears the indelible scars of 67 nuclear bomb tests conducted by the United States from 1946 to 1958.

Lavetanalagi Seru, Co-founder of Alliance for Future Generations
"I think the Pacific has had a history of nuclear testing, and we still living through that the people in the Marshall Islands. And we depend on the ocean for our livelihoods. It's a source of economic opportunities for many of us. We are just against the idea of dumping this toxic waste into the Pacific Ocean. The impacts and, you know, the scientific evidence is not yet clear. And we care so much about the ocean. There should be other alternatives rather than dumping it into the Pacific Ocean."

Noelene Nabulivou, co-organizer of the event, said she hopes the Pacific leaders and every country in the world can hear their voices and pleas.

Noelene Nabulivou, Founder of Diverse Voices and Action for Equality
"You can see so strongly the voices of Fijian and Pacific people are. We know how important the ocean is. It covers a quarter of the world's surface, but we are also oceanic people. So we have to protect ourselves, we have to protect our food security, and we have to make sure that as we move from here to the future every generation after us can have the same things that we enjoy."

Despite widespread denunciation at home and abroad, Japan on Thursday started discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

STORY: Fijians rally against Japan's dumping of nuke wastewater
DATELINE: Aug. 25, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:36
LOCATION: Suva
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Fijian protesters in Suva
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): LUSIA LAGILEVO, Citizens' Constitutional Forum
3. various of Fijian protesters in Suva
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): LAVETANALAGI SERU, Co-founder of Alliance for Future Generations
5. various of Fijian protesters in Suva
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NOELENE NABULIVOU, Founder of Diverse Voices and Action for Equality
7. various of Fijian protesters in Suva

STORYLINE:

Hundreds of Fijian people marched on the streets of Suva on Friday, raising their voices strongly against Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The protesters, led by the Fiji non-government organization Coalition on Human Rights, called for international actions to halt Tokyo's move to protect the ocean and future generations.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): LUSIA LAGILEVO, Citizens' Constitutional Forum
"It's a disrespect to our rights as human beings. (In) the Pacific, although we have a lot of small countries, we are still human beings, and we deserve to have our rights, our dignity, our freedoms respected, and the dumping of this nuclear waste in our ocean is a horrendous and horrible move by Japan."

Lavetanalagi Seru, co-founder of Alliance for Future Generations, said the Pacific has had a history of nuclear testing, and the people in the Marshall Islands are still grappling with the enduring aftermath of nuclear contamination.

The Marshall Islands' history bears the indelible scars of 67 nuclear bomb tests conducted by the United States from 1946 to 1958.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): LAVETANALAGI SERU, Co-founder of Alliance for Future Generations
"I think the Pacific has had a history of nuclear testing, and we still living through that the people in the Marshall Islands. And we depend on the ocean for our livelihoods. It's a source of economic opportunities for many of us. We are just against the idea of dumping this toxic waste into the Pacific Ocean. The impacts and, you know, the scientific evidence is not yet clear. And we care so much about the ocean. There should be other alternatives rather than dumping it into the Pacific Ocean."

Noelene Nabulivou, co-organizer of the event, said she hopes the Pacific leaders and every country in the world can hear their voices and pleas.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NOELENE NABULIVOU, Founder of Diverse Voices and Action for Equality
"You can see so strongly the voices of Fijian and Pacific people are. We know how important the ocean is. It covers a quarter of the world's surface, but we are also oceanic people. So we have to protect ourselves, we have to protect our food security, and we have to make sure that as we move from here to the future that every generation after us can have the same things that we enjoy."

Despite widespread denunciation at home and abroad, Japan on Thursday started discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Suva.
(XHTV)