Mosese Bulitavu sought for­giveness from anyone in the general public he may have offended by his ‘utterings’ in his eight years as an Opposition Member of Parliament.

Mr Bulitavu said the words he used to say in Parliament before were motivated by political surviv­al and ethnic and religious preju­dices.

He said many iTaukei politicians have been brought up in a political environment that was based on ‘us’ and ‘them’ scenarios.

In a statement, he said it had led to a ‘under siege’ mentality and, in the process, always portrayed the ‘other’ in a negative light.

Therefore, he said it had stopped them from thinking on a national basis. He said those who followed this path had very restrictive think­ing, were mind blocked and there was also ignorance in it.

“My experience has led me to very carefully study the 2013 Constitu­tion with an open mind. The Con­stitution has all the protection for all of the people of this country, in­cluding the iTaukei,” he said.

“There is nothing to fear about the Constitution. There is nothing to fear about our land.

“Only thing we have to fear is our inability to let go of our prejudices, and to embrace an inclusive Fiji where politicians speak the truth, where politicians contest elections based on policies and ideas.

“We must not live in the past; should not listen to those who ad­vocate difference, should not live in fear and should not listen to those who wish to divide us,” he said.

Young politicians influenced by Rabuka

Mr Bulitavu said in fact, many politicians like himself were influ­enced by politicians such as The People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka.

He said this was why many of them had an ethnic paradigm ideol­ogy.

“We made DVDs in 2014 saying that the acceptance of the 2013 Con­stitution and of a FijiFirst Govern­ment would be disastrous for the iTaukei people. It wasn’t and isn’t,” he said.

“The problem with communal politics is that it is very limited and it does not allow one to think on a national basis.

“It paints a distorted picture of the past and most certainly it is not forward looking and inclusive. It deprives a nation of its full poten­tial.

He said the internal problems within the Social Democratic Lib­eral Party (SODELPA) since 2014, led to a slow self-realisation that all was not well with this type of thinking.

“For one thing we were all of the same ethnic group, but were fight­ing amongst ourselves. We were all Christians, but were still fighting amongst ourselves,” he said.

“Therefore, I went on a soul-searching journey and also criti­cally examined Fijian politics.

FijiFirst doing more for iTaukei

Mr Bulitavu also said that the Fi­jiFirst Government was in fact, do­ing more for all Fijians and in fact more for the iTaukei than any other present or past political party.

“This, for me, was unsettling be­cause I asked the question, how could it be? How could it be that a party, a leadership in particular, the Prime Minister Voreqe Baini­marama and the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum who we be­lieved were a nemesis, a threat to the indigenous aspirations were in fact, not just philosophically, but in practical terms committed to doing far more for and empowering of the iTaukei than any other political party in history?” he said.

“I also realised by listening to the arguments of Mr Bainimarama and Mr Sayed-Khaiyum in Parlia­ment and their rationale and prac­tical policies that we could not run our country as a divided society.

“I also realised that we as a coun­try, have enormous potential and we can further help realise that potential by continuing down the philosophical path that FijiFirst advocates,” he said.

Response from Rabuka

When asked about the allegations levelled against him by Mr Buli­tavu, Mr Rabuka said he had never told or influenced anyone to vote or not vote for any party.

“I am surprised that he has done that, we are related and I was very close to his late father. I am sur­prised that he has said that,” he said.

Bulitavu not part of SODELPA

SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka said Mr Bulitavu was not part of the party going into the 2022 Elec­tion.

He said Mr Bulitavu was ruminat­ing about his years with SÒDELPA which were troublesome for the party.

“We were the Soqosoqo Duavata Ni Lewenivanua and that is what we have going into the elections. We are very clear on who we are, consistent with the founding prin­ciples of the Party which is getting traction with our people,” he said.

He said SODELPA tried very hard to keep everyone united and bent over backwards to accommodate all and indeed some politicians whose political profiles had disintegrated were able to revive their profiles with the party.

“Obviously these parties are fac­ing the reality on the ground; that SODELPA is fully embedded across the country. It will be a hard slog for these parties.”

He said those politicians that were disloyal to the party would be pun­ished by the voters.

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