Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says Opposition Leader Voreqe Bainimarama continues to lie and mislead the country by continuing to allege that Fiji is in some sort of crisis and that the Coalition Government is engaged in repressive and oppressive conduct.
Rabuka while addressing the nation on Friday said Bainimarama’s recent statement prompted him to reach out directly to the Fijian people .
“He may not realise it, but his words portray a perfect picture of the way he ruled our beloved nation for 16 years with his Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum by his side.”
“They cunningly created a climate of fear, often ignored the rule of law, did not hesitate to abuse individual rights and did not listen to our plight as the people of Fiji.”
“Fiji became the South Pacific’s first dictatorship of the modern era; the complete antithesis of the coalition’s approach to governance.”
Rabuka said we now have a Government for the people and by the people.
“Our parliamentarians are the people’s servants. This commitment is central to our political philosophy.”
“Today I accuse Bainimarama of attempting to created instability and chaos which he can then attempt to exploit for his own nefarious ends.”
He said Bainimarama has chosen to walk the path of arrogance, aggression and provocation and this led to his election loss.
“Some public remarks by the Voreqe Bainimarama and the absentee Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum indicate they have deluded themselves into thinking that they were not beaten in the recent poll.”
“Bainimarama keeps boasting he personally won more votes than anyone else at that his party is the biggest in Parliament.”
“Here’s the truth; Bainimarama was defeated. His share of the votes has been declining since the 2014 election. When the votes were tallied this time in December, the FijiFirst votes had dropped below 42 per cent, well below the support it needed to stay in power,” Rabuka added.
