There is something distasteful, especially for people of faith, about the RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, choosing to use a church service to make some of his first public comments about the murder of Jone Vakarisi – a “house of God” as a venue to address a sordid crime committed by elements of the force he leads.
Why couldn’t this have been done at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks – the scene of the crime – instead of the Centenary Methodist Church, the citadel of the nation’s biggest religious denomination? Or is the Commander so concerned about a potential backlash from his own troops that he needed the fig leaf of a pulpit to provide him with some kind of divine protection as he endeavoured to confront the gravity of what has occurred?
We all know the Ten Commandments of the faith to which the Commander adheres, including the admonitions not to kill or bear false witness. By torturing Jone Vakarisi and beating him to death, certain members of the RFMF – we still don’t know who – have committed a grave sin, as well as a grave crime. But a violation of the Commandments has also been committed by Jone Kalouniwai in his blatant attempt to cover-up the killing – describing it as a “sudden medical episode” due to a “pre-existing condition” – only to be exposed as a liar when the truth emerged hours later in Vakarisi’s death certificate.
Did he use the Centenary Church pulpit to fully acknowledge these sins? No. Did he ask the Almighty for forgiveness? No. Then why use a church at all? The Commander tried to make a virtue of telling his troops that they had to confront the gravity of what has happened. But what he said fell far short of a proper mea culpa – an admission of responsibility – let alone a plea for forgiveness, which is surely what Christian churches are supposed to be for.
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Rubbish. Contrary to another assertion by the Commander that he had gone to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks voluntarily, Jone Vakarisi was forcibly taken to the Camp and tortured. His body shows signs of a prolonged beating, stab wounds and having boiling water poured over him. “No-one intended this to happen?” “No-one imagined that it would go this far?” What the hell do you think can happen, Commander, when a human being is subjected to such treatment?
As a professed Christian, you will know as an article of faith that God knows what happened at the Camp on April 17 and there will eventually be an accounting for his Commandments being broken. So for God’s sake, get out of the pulpit and get back to the Camp and start genuinely facing up to the magnitude of the wrongdoing that has occurred and its impact on public confidence in the RFMF.
As an adequate explanation, “o, we didn’t mean to kill him” isn’t good enough. And worse, you still haven’t explained why you lied when you said Jone Vakarisi had died of a “pre-existing condition” when the truth is that the RFMF carried out an extrajudicial killing. It murdered someone in its custody who shouldn’t have been there in the first place because it is the role of the police to question suspects, not the RFMF.
In the first instance – the torture and beating – the buck stops with you as Commander. But we have still to hear an explanation as to why you also lied to the nation. And if you are going to use the pulpit at Centenary Church as a communications vehicle, at least do us – and the Almighty – the courtesy of telling us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
This was a church pulpit being used as a public relations prop. And that is unacceptable.
In its print version, the Fiji Times seems to recognise the inappropriateness of the RFMF Commander making these comments from the pulpit and puts him back in uniform.
Coverage from other media…
POSTSCRIPT:
I’m sorry to say that we desperately need competent outsiders to be brought in to have any hope of arresting the dysfunction in the military, the police and the criminal justice system. Yes, an expatriate RFMF Commander, an expatriate Police Commissioner, an expatriate Chief Justice and an expatriate DPP.
The current local incumbents are patently out of their depth and are compromised by their multiple conflicts of interest, both professional and personal, which are an impediment to proper governance.
The Coalition’s determination to fill these critical appointments with locals (for that read iTaukei) has been an unmitigated disaster. And the evidence is all around us.
Imagine what would happen when the not so Christian Christians make Fiji a Christian state.
There is too many Christians right there :0))
Looks like crocodile tears to me. We got caught, so we need to be held accountable, damn! It’s easy to say sorry in this country and all is forgiven, plenty of examples lately from the military. And the government in the case of the minister of education and others. It’s easier to say sorry for wrongdoing than gaining permission for wrongdoing.
As the person in charge of the leadership of the troops, telling lies about the “incident” doesn’t cut it. If you don’t know the truth about what happened, don’t lie about it, be honest and say that you will comment when you have checked the facts.
Resignation is the only option now.
I question the claim that Vakarisi tried to break-in to the RFMF armoury to steal weapons on the grounds that not a single shred of evidence has been provided to support it. The rabid (mostly Christian) mob are using the argument to justify his killing. Where is the evidence that it was him?
If the evidence is indeed available, the competent authority to test it is the Court, and not some brutish thugs in Delainabua who know little more than how to torture and kill. The Commander has no shame and demeans our Christian God in his latest speech. His comeuppance is coming.
I don’t think he has failed.
If anyone can remember after the defeat of Bainimarama government, he was pushed around to remove a democratically elected government.
Why didn’t he favor the previous government when the same very government appointed him as a commander.
He stood firm on rule of law.
No matter what type of government a nation elects,military is not the answer.
It is the might of a pen that should change a government.
Problem is that the military is a combat squad and their learning is different from Police .
Policing is different from running with guns.
Fijians are not meant to torture fellow Fijians in such a manner.
Unfortunately, he is answerable to what has happened in camp.
Have patience. Soon a few will be charged and brought to court.
We all know something is not right.
This doesn’t address his attempt to mislead the public about the facts of what happened. And that is a big problem for Kalouniwai.
Aree Mr. GD which public?
This is Fiji tacina!
The whole world are told lies by politicians, leaders of organization ,lawyers and others.
Those that are caught are thieves and those who escapes are not thieves.
Torture and killing at Delainabua is not a new thing.
At any circumstance, it is a NO No thing to pick civilians or ex military people and kill them.
We all know that,GD.
Matanigasau for the family of the murdered. That is the answer!
And they do another murder or criminal act and repeat. The Fijian way, which the vulagi will never understand, as we all know.
‘The current local incumbents are patently out of …’
Edited correct version: The current local cucumbers are patently out of….