Peoples Alliance Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka says recent comments made by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama suggesting that land issues raised by unnamed opposition parties would lead to bloodshed, will no longer work.
Rabuka said such rhetoric is typical of the FijiFirst party but such remarks no longer have the same effect this time around because people are demanding change.
Referring to comments made by Bainimarama at a FijiFirst party rally in Nausori about two weeks ago, Rabuka says the tactic is similar to the approach the FijiFirst party employed in 2018 “to frighten you the voters.”
“It won’t work Voreqe. The game is up. You’re going into retirement or to the Opposition benches,” Rabuka said in his address to a combined rally with National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad in Kinoya last night.
“Despite protests about his comments he has not denied them; nor has he shared his thinking on exactly who would commit the violence that inhabits his mind.
“To you the people, I say, don’t be afraid. Have courage. When we take office, the fear will be removed.
“Together, you the people, and we, your servants, will come together in a great mission to repair the damage that has been done to our beloved Fiji in the last 16 years. We will listen to you. We will accept criticism, without going into a rage and seeking revenge, or reporting opponents to the authorities. The ultimate aim is to transform our islands by drawing on the collective hopes and dreams of Fijians from all walks of life.”
He acknowledged that it would not be easy, but was confident that with people’s votes and support, the People’s Alliance and NFP proposed coalition will “make Fiji what it should be” as partly set out in the party’s manifesto that was launched last weekend in Lautoka.
“This contains the ideas and policies that will set Fiji on course to becoming the place of our dreams. These affect virtually every part of our personal lives and the life of the nation. There are too many of them to go into detail.
“But they include poverty and hunger; squalid housing; daily power cuts and a frequent lack of water. Broken health services, thousands of sick people; worries about education; police officers committing crimes; growing drug abuse; violence against women and children; difficulty finding jobs; gang warfare in parts of Suva; not enough care and support for our elderly citizens; problems with the FNPF; rutted and pot-holed roads; waste and litter scattered across the countryside; coastlines and ocean areas poisoned and polluted.”
Professor Biman said the government would be an inclusive one, that would work with the people for the people.
