Racist and inciteful – Prof Prasad on Bainimarama’s comments

National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says FijiFirst Leader Voreqe Bainimarama’s racist and inciteful statements of hurt, murder and spillage of blood is a direct threat to Indo-Fijian voters.

While reacting to Bainimarama, Professor Prasad says it is an absolute necessity that the peaceful co-existence of all our communities, especially the iTaukei and Indo-Fijian communities, is not shattered by utterances from which wrong perceptions can be drawn.

Professor Prasad says it is clear that Bainimarama has increased the tempo of his despicable racist rhetoric from the last two general elections of 2014 and 2018 because the Prime Minister is utterly fearful of losing power at the hands of the people. The NFP Leader adds Bainimarama has uttered comments that are full of racism and incites communal hatred by warning of murder and spillage of blood, while appealing emotionally in the iTaukei language to a predominantly iTaukei audience at a FijiFirst meet in Nausori on Wednesday.

Professor Prasad says that they know that the crowd was transported in buses to the rally and promised free lunch, tee-shirts, music etc.

He adds that what Bainimarama wanted the optics for was to show that he could talk down indigenous Fijian politicians in front of an iTaukei audience.

Professor Prasad says the Prime Minister supposedly proves himself to be the saviour and protector of the Indo-Fijian community while his right-hand man and defacto PM Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum fully endorsed Bainimarama’s racist garbage because he himself was guilty of making threats before the 2018 elections.

The NFP Leader says this is a sick joke from a leadership whose government expelled and banned one of Fiji’s prominent sons and internationally acclaimed historian on Girmit, Professor Brij Vilash Lal from his land of birth for over 12 years.

Professor Prasad says that Professor Lal died in exile on Christmas Day in 2021 and till now his wife Dr Padma Narsey Lal and their two children are awaiting a word from Immigration Fiji to interr Professor Lal’s ashes in his birthplace, Tabia, Labasa.

Professor Prasad further stated that in a multicultural and multi-religious country like Fiji, our politicians and those seeking the mandate of the people to assume leadership of a democracy, must moderate their positions.

He adds that right now the only people trying to gain political capital from this are sitting in government.

Meanwhile, FijiFirst Leader Voreqe Bainimarama had said they have heard that the opposition parties are going around and telling the iTaukei community that they will restore the ownership of land that was sold during colonial times.

He says they are telling people this to gain their votes as these political parties know they will not win the elections.

While speaking in the iTaukei language at the FijiFirst rally at Syria Park in Nausori, Bainimarama said the opposition is trying these tactics to find ways to gain the votes of the people.

He says this conversation will cause stabbing, murder and blood spilled on our land, and unlawful entering of properties will happen if that conversation is condoned.

Bainimarama also said that some Indian parties are supporting the move to bring back the Great Council of Chiefs including the National Federation Party and Fiji Labour Party.

Bainimarama urges people not to listen to them because that was the situation before, but now, iTaukei land is protected under the 2013 Constitution. He says people should not listen to that type of talk and just cultivate their land and become prosperous because more than 90 percent of land in Fiji is owned by the iTaukei.