People’s Alliance leader, Sitiveni Rabuka says an annual public holiday to honour the arrival and settlement in Fiji of the Girmitiyas will be declared by a People’s Alliance Government, and they will also bring back Ratu Sukuna Day as a public holiday.
He says they would see a Girmitiya public holiday as a major action to commemorate an important part of Fiji’s history.
Rabuka says he knows many Fijians of Indian ancestry feel their Girmit history has been sidelined so the planned public holiday would help to reclaim and retrieve what has been missing and reconnect it to the current generation and to all the people of Fiji.
He further says the Girmit public holiday initiative has been on his mind for some time and is consistent with the party’s belief in building a just and united Fiji.
The former Prime Minister says it would further underscore the extent of his commitment to promoting mutual goodwill, respect and understanding.
He adds his vision is for all communities to have a secure and equal place in the homeland.
Rabuka also says a People’s Alliance Government will take another step to strengthen national sense of Fiji’s history and will bring back Ratu Sukuna Day as a public holiday.
He says Ratu Sukuna, a high chief, occupied a crucial role in the colonial era and he is best known for personally pursuing a massive scheme of radical land reform.
Rabuka says Ratu Sukuna’s creation, the NLTB, established a new order of legally binding leases while ensuring the indigenous Fijians had enough land for their maintenance and support. He says as a Fijian chief he was committed to the welfare of the indigenous but he recognized the descendants of the Girmitiya settlers also had legitimate needs and rights.
The Party Leader says Ratu Sukuna saw a broader picture of a multi cultural Fiji and what it meant for the future.
He says the re-establishment of Ratu Sukuna Day would complement the inauguration of the Girmit Day public holiday.
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