Police Ready To Prevent Potential Unrest

Police have begun surveillance operations to keep an eye on potential elements who could cause unrest.

They do not want a repeat of what happened in 1987, when civil unrest led to the first military coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka that plunged the country into political upheaval.

Commissioner of Police Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho said Police were awake to potential elements who could create instability similar to Fiji’s experience in 1987.

A few weeks away from the official 2022 General Election campaign period on April 26, Brigadier-General Qiliho said Police preparations were well underway.

He said yesterday: “We’ve had past history where some people have utilised elements to create instability.

“Not in particular during election period, but there have been reports with our history from 1987 that people can be utilised for the wrong reasons.

“And that is what we are going for and we continue to work on that to provide that secured and stable environment.”

Although, he said they had not seen similar elements at play presently, they were awake to political influences.

“We are awake to that and our intelligence bureau and other stakeholders that we continue to discuss these issues with, we are well awake to that to see that there is no political influence on those types of activities.”

Elections

Brigadier-General Qiliho said Police election preparations were underway with the Supervisor of Elections since last year.

“In terms of the security landscape it’s important for us to provide that security and stability so that elections operations can run smoothly and keep the criminal landscape stable as well,” he said.

“We don’t want to be used as a political football if we don’t provide that secure environment so that is important now.”

Minor refurbishments were also being done on Police posts and stations around the country, including in the maritime islands as they would be used as polling hubs during elections. Brigadier-General Qiliho has been visiting these areas as part of preparations to check on their land and sea mobility. There are 4576 Police officers in Fiji.

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