Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he cannot personally meet all claims for compensation.

He said the government must determine how to provide reparations to those affected by the 1987 coups.

Rabuka noted he does not have enough resources to satisfy every claim and that the State must decide what it can afford, citing post-war reparations in Germany and Japan as reference points.

He emphasized that he has a duty to apologize.

Those wronged have the right to accept or reject his apology. If it is accepted, that is fine. If not, the burden is no longer his.

He encouraged Fijians to take the opportunity to come forward, saying the process is useful for people to hear his reasoning and understand his actions.

“I do not have enough to give to everybody who want to claim so it will have to be worked out by the State, the government and it depends on how much the state can afford to give out this reparation whatever they need for restoration when we look at what the world imposed on Germany and Japan from 1945 to 1995 for 50 years they were under very strict United Nations imposed rules they were not allowed to develop their military forces they had to pay some reparation to the United Nations.”

On national reconciliation, Rabuka stressed that it cannot be staged. It must be open, allowing people to make confessions without fear.

He said healing comes from confronting the past objectively and deciding whether to accept apologies or continue carrying offences.

Rabuka clarified that collective accountability does not rest solely with institutions such as the army or the Great Council of Chiefs.

He also explained that some leaders of the Methodist Church supported him while others opposed him, reflecting the divided stance of institutions at the time.

He addressed the weaponization of faith during the coups and the legal advice he received to sever ties with the monarchy.

Rabuka said this step was necessary to protect leadership and establish authority in a period of legal uncertainty.

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