Fiji launches constitution in Braille

Fiji Thursday launched its constitution in Braille. This will enable visually impaired people to read and understand the content of the Fiji's 2013 Constitution, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said.

All Fijians must have access to a copy of the constitution, which does not define and divide people by ethnicity, Xinhua reported citing Bainimarama.

"Why did we go to the trouble of making this version? Why did hundreds of hours and many thousands of dollars go into providing something for a relatively small segment of the population - just about one percent of all Fijians? The answer is simple," Bainimarama said at the launch of the constitution.

"It's because my government believes that everyone, no matter who they are, deserves to have access to our constitution. Not just to be told what's in it but to read it for themselves," he said.

"No other constitution in Fijian history has been widely available in anything other than the English language. Not the 1970 Constitution. Nor the 1990 and 1997 Constitutions, that were simply unjust, in that some Fijians were designated as being more equal than others, some people deserved more rights than others," Bainimarama added.

The constitution in Braille is in English and indigenous Fijian and the Hindi version is being prepared in India, Bainimarama said.

Fiji is scheduled to hold its general election Sep 17.