THE Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) will reinstate the Ratu Sukuna Day public holiday if it comes into power after the 2018 election.
SODELPA leader Sitiveni Rabuka said this was to give fair recognition to the indigenous people.
Mr Rabuka made this comment after the centennial celebrations last week to commemorate the arrival of the last shipload of Indian indentured labourers to Fiji on November 11, 1916.
He said although he was glad that “we have done justice to the descendants of the Indian indentured labourers, there was also a need to recognise the work done by one of Fiji’s great statesmen”.
“A SODELPA government would reinstate the Ratu Sukuna celebrations whose work as far as the administration of native land and the making available of native land for national development cannot go unremembered,” he said.
“As Fijians we must always acknowledge the great work of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna because a lot of the developments that have taken place since the 1950s when the native land legislation came into place, could be attributed to his work.
“The performance of our military forces overseas can be attributed to Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna’s participation in World War I and subsequently in recruiting men for the World War II and the Malayan campaign.
“With those historic events, the peacekeeping soldiers, men, women and officers who have participated in peacekeeping have a proud tradition to uphold and that proud tradition, when we look at it, one figure stands out large, that is the figure of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna.”
