Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has described the mass exodus from Fiji of tens of thousands of our best and brightest people after the 1987 and 2000 coups as a national tragedy.
While speaking at the Tilak Day celebrations, Bainimarama said the coups of 1987 and 2000 robbed Fiji of the opportunity to develop itself years ago into the nation that it is only now starting to become – unified, proud, with a keen sense of purpose and punching above its weight in our region and the world.
He said far too much of the current political debate in Fiji is about the past.
Bainimarama said unlike some of his opponents in this election, he sees it as his role to govern for Fijians, irrespective of who they are, where they come from or what beliefs they hold.
The Prime Minister said he is the Leader of all Fijians.
He told the students of Tilak High School that they sit in 2014 in a better position than any young person in Fijian history.
Bainimarama said the students’ parents come from a generation that never experienced true equality in Fiji.
He said in those days, some Fijians were treated as if they were more important than others; some had more rights than others, depending on who they were or where they came from.
The Prime Minister said those Fijians were given more privileges while the rest were treated like second class citizens in their own country, and never had a sense of truly belonging.
He told the students that they have to understand what that meant for individual families.
Bainimarama said their parents and grandparents will tell them that in so many instances, good honest, hardworking ordinary people who had contributed so much to our nation simply lost faith and left Fiji in search of lands where they could be recognized as equals for their contribution to national life.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
