Feature: "Keep our Pacific nuclear-free!" -- Fijians rally against Japan's dumping of nuke wastewater

SUVA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- "Japan, I am angry!" "Keep our Pacific nuclear-free!" On Friday, hundreds of Fijian people marched on the streets of Suva, 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 the future generations.

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

"This is a horrendous and horrible move by Japan," said Lusia Lagilevo, a protester from Citizens' Constitutional Forum. "It's a disrespect to our rights as human beings."

"Although we are from small island countries, we still deserve to have our rights, our dignity and our freedoms respected," Lagilevo told Xinhua.

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.

"We can't allow history to repeat itself, as we depend on the ocean for our livelihoods. It's source of economic opportunities for many of us," Seru said, adding that the impact and the scientific evidence is not yet clear and strong enough to convince them that it's safe.

Noelene Nabulivou, co-organizer of the event, was leading the chants of "Japan! Take your money! Take your aids! Take your waste! We don't need it," attracting more and more people to join the chorus of outrage.

"We are 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 of us can have the same things that we enjoy," said Nabulivou, who is also the founder of Diverse Voices and Action for Equality.

Nabulivou told Xinhua she hopes the Pacific leaders and every country in the world can hear their voices and plea.