The Fiji Labour Party hopes tomorrow’s Budget will allocate funds for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This is in light of the Reconciliation ceremony organized by the Methodist Church in Fiji at the Girmit celebrations last month.

Leader Mahendra Chaudhry wrote to the Prime Minister early this month, asking that his government move to set up such a commission and that funds be allocated in the upcoming Budget.

He has reminded the Prime Minister that during the 2022 election campaign, he himself had advocated a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to “look at the mistakes of the past” in a bid to unite our various communities.

Chaudhry says there could be no better time than now to move in this direction, as despite our best efforts, national unity has evaded us for so long because of a lack of trust on both sides.

He adds that there is still a long way to go to establish the truth about the events of 1987, 2000, and 2006 and to grant their victims justice.

Chaudhry states that there is a need to look to the future and take concrete steps to prevent coups and other forms of political violence from ever again destroying the fabric of our society.