NEW SODELPA ROW
■ Ro Filipe targeted in heated exchange between him and some disgruntled SODELPA members ■ The new row exacerbates the already deepening internal split ■ It comes on the eve of a court case where the party has been taken to court by a group of disgruntled members on governance issues
Anew row has broken out between SODELPA president Ro Filipe Tuisawau and some disgruntled members.
It is over the party’s parliamentary caucus documents, contents of which were published in the Fiji Sun last week.
This latest stoush erupts on the eve of the high-profile party court case where a group of disgruntled members have taken the party leadership to court on governance issues regarding the party’s annual general meeting in Yaroi Village, Savusavu, in June last year.
A post by Ro Filipe on Facebook has angered some members.
He said: “Let me be very clear, to those who are unhappy with SODELPA, they should not pretend to be part of the Team while back-stabbing the party.” He was responding to people he suspected of leaking to the Fiji Sun confidential papers prepared for the party’s parliamentary caucus. The papers reviewed the MPs’ performance one year after the 2018 General Election.
Ro Filipe continued: “These faceless cowards display utter disloyalty. They cannot challenge for the party leadership face-to-face but instead ‘sell their soul to the devil’ to get their way.
“The door is open for anyone to move on, rather than destabilising the party before they scurry out to establish a new party.”
The disgruntled members, who could not be identified for fear of reprisals, said: “Who is Ro Filipe to come and suggest to disgruntled party members to leave the party? “He is a newbie and should be asked where did he come from.
“In 2014 we saw no trace of him as we worked hard on the ground to gain party support.
“In 2018 after four years of democratic rule and high performance in Parliament by our MPs we won additional seats. Not because of people like him and his cronies who have only come to divide the party. “At a time when Fiji needed him, he was in Australia. Now he is back.”
They denounced his extremist views, saying they were not SODELPA’s aspirations.
“SODELPA we know stands for honesty, ethical leadership based on love, respect for human rights. Not the kind suggesting that gays should be eradicated. It’s shocking and depicts the worst kind of politicking.”
On his attack against the FijiFirst Government, they said “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
“This is a political party. We need people. We need voters. We should never be about turning people away just because they disagree with you.
“Where is the leadership that listens then? He contradicts this by telling people who disagree with them to exit the party. It is hypocrisy.”
Ro Filipe also accused the Fiji Sun of trying to distract attention away from the move by the Leader of the Opposition, Sitiveni Rabuka to lodge a complaint against the FijiFirst Government with the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption on its handling of the award of a consultancy contract in Rewa Dairy. He was referring to a series of articles on the parliamentary caucus.
Ro Filipe said: “The articles are gossip masquerading as analysis, noted for their failure to quote any real source and so must be termed as fake news.”
FACT:
The articles were based on authentic SODELPA documents which bear Mr Rabuka’s name. So they are not fake.
Ro Filipe also says “in his columns Delaibatiki merely confirms to the public that SODELPA has healthy internal discussions as is normal in a democracy.”
His reaction to the disgruntled members does not support that. Ro Filipe cannot simply brush aside legitimate concerns of a group of members. He needs to address them because they are passionate and feel genuine about them.
His comments about a new party is interesting. Is he privy to discussions where this topic was discussed?
This is the first time that a senior SODELPA official has publicly stated the issue of new party. Previously, it has merely been rumoured. Ro Filipe’s comments may just be the catalyst that moves those sitting on the fence away from the party.
Ro Filipe cannot simply brush aside legitimate concerns of a group of members. He needs to address them because they are passionate and feel genuine about them.
TOMORROW: The future after the court case: Will we be looking at a different SODELPA?