RFMF backs end to constitutional immunity

The Republic of the Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) has backed ending constitutional immunity provisions, saying accountability is essential for lasting peace and constitutional reform.

In a landmark submission to the Constitution Review Commission this afternoon, RFMF Commander Major-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai acknowledged the military’s role in shaping Fiji’s turbulent political history and said the institution was prepared to accept the consequences of reform.

“We come before this commission carrying the weight of our own history,” he said.

“The systemic institutionalised pattern of political instability that has fractured this nation since 1987 was not merely witnessed by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. At points, it was built and maintained by our own hands.”

Major-General Kalouniwai said the RFMF was voluntarily stepping away from legal protections that had shielded the institution for decades.

He acknowledged such a move could expose soldiers and officers to legal consequences, but said Fiji’s future depended on confronting its past.

“The survival of any single institution can no longer be purchased at the expense of this nation’s soul,” he said.

The military also supports reforms to strengthen civilian supremacy and establish a truth and reconciliation process.

Read more in the Fiji Sun newspaper tomorrow.