Minister for Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua

The Coalition government is divided on Fiji’s position to vote against a UN resolution urging a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Minister for Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua has labeled this position as a political one, adding that it isn’t supported by the National Federation Party.

Meanwhile, both the People’s Alliance Party and the Social Democratic Liberal Party are in support of Israel’s right to defend itself and counter Hamas threat.

Tikoduadua says he is not worried that this issue will polarize them further, claiming that the Coalition government remains strong.

The Defense Minister says their position in the Coalition government is secured.

“This is but one area, we have different areas of our principle that we hold, that does not mean that we are not united. I want to assure you and our people that our Coalition government is secure, our coalition government is together, and we are here together. We have differences of opinions all the time, like anybody does but we share it openly with others we discuss it openly. It is a matter for people to know that your leaders are humans. We have varying opinions about these matters and we tackle it as we go.”

Tikoduadua adds that the Coalition government promotes transparency in its procedures and is attentive to the perspectives of its members, even when there are disagreements.

Meanwhile a pro-Palestine march submitted by a group of university students, was denied due to national security concerns, attributed to the divisive nature of the Israel-Hamas conflict.