Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has slammed Sitiveni Rabuka’s claims that a multitude of Indo-Fijians were not forced to leave the country as a result of the 1987 coup.

Mr Bainimarama said the People’s Alliance Party leader needed to learn from the past because actions spoke louder than words.

Speaking in an interview on New Zealand’s Radio Tarana, Mr Bainimarama said: “Nothing has changed with him, he’s still going back to the old ways and for him to say that people have forgotten about the past, is just irresponsible and shows his lack of empathy on the severity of his past actions and how adversely it mostly affected our nation.

“He even had the audacity to say that a multitude of Indo-Fijians were not forced to leave the country as a result of the 1987 coup; they had left willingly. Fijians will not be fooled by these man’s street talk.”

“He was confident in the 2018 elections when he was under the SODELPA banner and lost, and he will lose again under his newly formed party.”

“At the end of the day, Fijians will place their trust on the leader that remains steadfast, who brings confidence and who has overcome challenges with them to bring stability to the nation as a Government.”

Mr Bainimarama added that he did not know what changes Mr Rabuka wished to bring in.

“He’s not telling his supporter, ‘look, this is where we want to go and we want to get away from 1987, we want to get away from 2000,” he said.

“Rabuka has claimed to have put the past behind them and want change; it’s just that. They are claims. We all know when it comes to election time, people like Rabuka will come up with lies to discredit what my Government has achieved over all these years.

Mr Bainimarama said Fijians would look towards a leader who is stable, would stand with them during hard times and make hard decisions for the good of all Fijians.

“I want to tell you, Rabuka and the leader of SODELPA and NFP do not fit this bill and they are indecisive and especially Rabuka; the person who goes back on his word.

“He abandoned his leadership post with SODELPA when things did not go his way, people must remember that. I don’t think people actually understand that he abandoned his leadership post, that things did not go his way and said that they will not form another party or go back into politics.

But instead, he formed PAP, and has invited SODELPA MPs loyal to him to join his party.”

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