Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad says, “Fiji has lost a man of decency, goodwill, humility and intelligence following the death of renowned academic and politician Professor Tupeni Baba.”
Prof Prasad, who is also the National Federation Party leader, stated that each time Prof Baba faced a challenge, he acted ethically to ensure the protection of unity and national interest.
“Professor Baba was not only a political comrade but also a dear academic colleague from the University of the South Pacific,” the Deputy PM said.
“He was someone I could always depend on to find reason and grace at meetings, even though we were from different faculties.
“Although Professor Baba was a founding member of the Fiji Labour Party, he never showed bitterness and acrimony towards the NFP and its leadership.
“He was a key member of the short-lived NFP/FLP Coalition Government of Dr. Timoci Bavadra. Professor Baba remained a leading figure of the NFP/FLP Coalition until it broke in late 1991 due to ideological differences on whether to contest or boycott the May 1992 elections held under the 1990 Constitution.
“Of course, the rest is history. The unanimous passage of the 1997 Constitution in the House of Representatives and Senate was the result of the honesty and hard work of Prime Minister Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka, then NFP and Opposition Leader Justice Jai Ram Reddy, and the Reeves Commission.
“Prof Baba’s support for reconciliation, tolerance, unity, and goodwill, generated by the passage of the new Constitution, and his condemnation of efforts by those trying to undermine the process, is best illustrated when he criticized his party leader for going to India to block Fiji’s re-admission into the Commonwealth.”