PM recalls 1987 moment he first used 'Fijians' for all citizens
He also confirmed the People’s Alliance party manifesto’s position on the term had not changed.
Wednesday 22 July 2026 | 11:30
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during the 100th anniversary celebrations of TISI Sangam Fiji in April this year.
Fiji Government
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka yesterday revealed he was the first leader to use the term “Fijians” to describe all ethnic communities in the country.
He was recounting what happened shortly after the 1987 coup, when a chartered flight from Brisbane landed in Nausori without clearance, carrying visitors including the organiser of the Washington presidential prayer breakfast.
“Colonel, what are you going to do with the Indians?” he was asked.
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“I said, they’re not Indians. They’re Fijians,” Mr Rabuka said, adding it was the first time a leader had used the word for all citizens.
He also confirmed the People’s Alliance party manifesto’s position on the term had not changed.
“No, the party manifesto does not say that,” he said, when asked if it still stated that Indo-Fijians should be called “Indo-Fijians” and not “Fijians”.
In April, Mr Rabuka had said the term “Fijian” should remain open to national debate, after Great Council of Chiefs submissions proposed reserving it for iTaukei people.
“I believe we are all Fijians,” he had said then.
