Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka yesterday apologized to the Vice Chancellor of the University of South Pacific, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, for his forceful removal and deportation in 2021.
In a welcome ceremony, Rabuka said: “I want to apologise, it doesn’t matter who did it, for as far as the world was concerned, Fiji, did it to you.”
“Thank you for agreeing to come back. To quote the words in the Fijian ceremony, we’ve been orphans since you left; now we have our parents back.”
“I want to encourage you Professor and your team to break new grounds in bringing people together here in Fiji and the Pacific and continue to promote regional cooperation,” Rabuka said.
The Prime Minister added that this was a great occasion to celebrate, and I am glad to be here with the USP stakeholders, students, friends and senior members of Government.
Also, the Government has indicated that there will be a redeployment of funds from the 2022-2023 budget that will immediately allow the government to release an initial budget of $10 million to the University of the South Pacific.
