No justification will bring back land lost from land deal – PM
PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says no justification will bring back the land lost as part of the Denarau deal.
He made the comments after Tui Nadi Ratu Vuniani Navuniuci refuted claims by the FijiFirst leader that the Denarau Island Land Exchange Act had taken away the rights of traditional land owners and that the whole of Fiji had benefited from the deal. While speaking to supporters in Navua last Friday, Mr Bainimarama claimed this loss of land was only possible under the 1997 Constitution.
“Last couple of days, he (Rabuka) came up with this answer that this was done under a land exchange program, that justifies giving Denarau away,” he said.
“iTaukei land is protected under the 2013 Constitution, remember that.”
He claimed the 1997 Constitution was also a racist one.
“When we go to vote, for those of us that voted in those days, we formed three or four lines. One for the iTaukei, one for the IndoFijians and others.”
According to Mr Bainimarama, Fiji could not afford to “remain in those lines for the rest of our lives”.
In an earlier interview,
Ratu Vuniani had said people who were not part of the negotiations between landowners and investors at that time “should not be commenting on an issue that did not concern or involve them”.
He also said the land deal had borne fruits which had been enjoyed by Fijians from all 14 provinces.
The Fijian Elections Office has since directed The People’s Alliance party to remove a video message by Ratu Vuniani from its Facebook page, saying it had received a complaint that Ratu Vuniani was purporting to be the Tui Nadi and intended to influence the outcome of the 2022 General Election.