GCC Chairperson, Sitiveni Rabuka, informed the media that he had not received any resignation letter. But pro-Qarase political parties – notably the SVT and the Nationalists – immediately thanked Ratu Mara for the job he had done. These attempts were seen as intended to give support to the regime’s propaganda that Ratu Mara had resigned.
In the latest twist to the propaganda to discredit Ratu Mara, the regime has been portraying him as a sick man needing foreign medical treatment. Granted that Ratu Mara, who is over 80, is not in the finest of health, but he certainly is nowhere near the state which the regime tries to portray.
It is understood that accusations and the propaganda are designed to discredit Ratu Mara and to force him to formally submit his resignation from the post.