RFMF admits coups damaged nation's moral fabric

Fiji cannot achieve lasting national healing without confronting the military's role in decades of political instability, Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Commander Major-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai told the Constitution Review Commission yesterday.

In an unprecedented submission, the RFMF accepted responsibility for contributing to Fiji's cycle of coups and constitutional disruption, describing the country's political history as one that had fractured its "moral soul".

"We do not say this lightly, nor without genuine remorse for the part our institution has played," Major-General Ro Jone said.

The Commander acknowledged the military's involvement in Fiji's major political upheavals, including the 1987 coups, the military intervention during the 2000 crisis, and the 2006 takeover.

He said Fiji had lived with a fragile peace built on silence rather than justice.

"We have watched national stability become a phrase used to bypass the law."

Major-General Ro Jone said infrastructure development and economic progress alone could not heal the country's deeper wounds.

"Beneath the surface of new roads and new technology, there is a restless spirit in Fiji."

He argued that many Fijians remained uneasy because truth and accountability had been sacrificed in favour of political stability.

The RFMF proposed establishing a national truth and reconciliation process guided by United Nations principles to allow victims and institutions to confront the past openly.

Major-General Ro Jone said Fiji had reached a point where future generations deserved a country governed by integrity rather than fear.

The military also proposed a constitutional right to truth and reforms to dismantle what it described as a "machinery of silence".

The submission said the Constitution should ensure no institution or individual stood above the law, regardless of rank.

Major-General Ro Jone acknowledged the reforms could expose members of the military to greater accountability.

"We accept the risk this submission carries to our own institution because the alternative, a nation of perpetual drifting, is a cost future generations should never have to bear."

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