SODELPA Member of Parliament Mosese Bulitavu says the FijiFirst government has in fact done more for the iTaukei people than any other present or past political party.
In a video posted by Mr Bulitavu on his social media account on Friday, he said recently he had been attacked for supporting a number of initiatives of the FijiFirst government.
He said supporting the FijiFirst government was stamped from deep introspection and reflection he had grappled with over the past three years.
He said his view of Fijian politics was ethnically based prior to 2014 and after that, the way forward for the country was based on an ethnic approach and this was the mentality of many iTaukei politicians.
He said he was influenced to believe such ideologies through the influence of politicians such as The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka.
He said he was involved in the making of DVDs that the acceptance of the 2013 Constitution and of the FijiFirst government would be disastrous for the iTaukei.
He said communal politics had deprived Fiji of its full potential and it further reinforces prejudice and it could lead to violence.
“I have been influenced by such way of thinking, I have stereotyped and put people into boxes myself, I deeply regretted wholeheartedly some of the statements I’ve made in the past,” Mr Bulitavu said.
In 2014, he said he went on a soul search when he realised the internal bickering associated with SODELPA was not the way to go.
“For one thing we were of the same ethnic group but we were fighting among ourselves, we were all Christians and we were all fighting among ourselves.”
He said then realised it was the FijiFirst government that had done more for all Fijians, in fact more for iTaukei than any other present and past political party. In response, Mr Rabuka refuted claims by Mr Bulitavu.
“I am surprised that Mr Bulitavu has done that, we are related and I was very close to his late father,” he said.
In response, SODELPA general secretary Lenaitasi Duru said Mr Bulitavu has not resigned from the party and that he was still a SODELPA MP.
“He (Mr Bulitavu) applied for a ticket to contest the 2022 General Election for SODELPA and we are not interested in his candidacy,” he said.
“I’ve watched bits and pieces of his video and I don’t want to waste my time watching the whole video.”
