The race card again
The latest round of debates in Parliament continues to show the ugly side of ethnic politics.
While FijiFirst MPs try to bring constructive, practical and sensible solutions to our various problems, SODELPA MPs are trying to turn everything into a racial issue. They think that without the race card, their party will not survive. But it is this race card they regularly want to play that is going to bury them in the coming election.
On Friday they tried to thrive by instilling fear amongst iTaukei people that their land would be taken away from them. This song was first sung by the late Sakeasi Butadroka in the 70s, by Sitiveni Rabuka in the 80s and 90s, by Laisenia Qarase in the 2000s and now by SODELPA.
Forty years is a long time to keep singing a song over and over again. Especially when it is a song that carries the message of ethnic disunity, suspicion and hatred.
But in these forty years, no Indo-Fijian or Fijian of Chinese decent has taken away any inch of land from the iTaukei as the lyrics of the song states. The only iTaukei land taken away forever was converted from native to eventual freehold by the current Tui Cakau when he was Minister for Lands.
The only other time iTaukei land was threatened was in September 2006 when Sitiveni Rabuka was interviewed by a media organisation and he stated that the chiefly system(veivak at ur agata ki) should be abolished and all native land should be converted to crown. When he was asked to explain, his exact words were. "The indigenous Fijians will argue that this will leave them with nothing but in the end, it's for the good of all. We'll all benefit in the end."
He was strongly attacked for his comments by the then Great Council of Chiefs chairperson, the late Ratu Ovini Bokini, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Ratu Epenisa Cakobau and Methodist Church General Secretary then, Reverend Ame Tugaue. Search this event on any internet café and it is there plain and clear for the whole world to read. It is not tucked away in some confidential files or hidden in some secret location. Rabuka has never denied making these comments.
So I would suggest to Niko Nawaikula, Viliame Gavoka and Semesa Karavaki that before they try to attack FijiFirst members of Parliament on security of iTaukei land, they first must ask their own party leader on which ground or side of the fence does his feet really stand.