The presence of the RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, in the official party that accompanied the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, to Israel for the opening of Fiji’s controversial new embassy in Jerusalem has been a lapse of judgment that, pray God, does not have tragic consequences for his men and women on UN peacekeeping duties in the Middle East. Yet already, strong Palestinian condemnation of the embassy decision tells us that Fiji is no longer regarded as an honest broker keeping the two sides apart but as highly partisan in favour of the Israelis.
Get that, Fiji? “An act of aggression against the Palestinian people”. And what happens to aggressors in the Middle East? They aren’t seen as peacekeepers, let alone peacemakers. They are seen an active participants in the tortured politics of the world’s most volatile region. With all that means for any Fijian who shows their face in the Middle East and especially in a military uniform.
Two weeks ago, Grubsheet wrote at length about the folly of the Coalition government in insisting on opening the nation’s embassy in Jerusalem during the current Israeli invasion of Gaza, in which innocent civilians are being killed and forced from their homes into exile. And in the wake of the Israeli bombing of Qatar in pursuit of Hamas negotiators based there.
Why was the attack on Qatar relevant to Fiji? Because it was the Qataris who reportedly paid $US25-million to the al-Nusra terrorist group in 2014 to secure the release of 45 Fijian peacekeepers that the group had captured in the Golan Heights and were holding hostage.
Al-Nusra was a Syrian rebel group with close links to Osama Bin Laden‘s Al-Qaeda. Our peacekeepers were in mortal danger. And the whole nation held its breath as the delicate negotiations took place to free them.
Without the Qataris and their money and influence, these men faced a very uncertain fate. We can be sure that as well as paying al-Nusra $F56-million at today’s exchange rate, Qatari negotiators would have assured the terrorist group that the Fijians didn’t have skin in the game in the Middle East. They were innocents who had volunteered to try to keep the peace on behalf of the global community. They didn’t have a quarrel with either side. So they didn’t deserve to be held hostage.
Eleven years on, where are we now? The whole world knows that Fiji is on the side of the Israelis. We have become only the seventh country to insist on setting up our embassy in Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv – in a city that Palestinians also claim as their capital. And the Fijian government has lined up to give its support to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, when the International Criminal Court has declared him a war criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians.
With Fijians on active duty in the Middle East, this is folly on a grand scale. And anyone who cares about the safety of RFMF personnel knows it. As a nation, we are now seen as an “aggressor”, not peacekeepers, and the latest Palestinian statement proves it.
Major General Kalouniwai was wise enough to stay out of the main official photos released during the Prime Minister’s visit but not all of them. Here he is on the left during the official talks in Jerusalem. Which places the RFMF right in the Israeli camp.
It is a shocking lapse of judgment that Grubsheet is not alone in thinking could have dire consequences for Fijian troops, certainly if there is any repeat of the events of eleven years ago. Because how is anyone now going to be able to persuade a terrorist group that captures Fijian soldiers that they are well-meaning innocents who aren’t taking sides and are there to keep the peace?
Victor Lal over at Fijileaks is right. This is a disaster for Fiji, the reputation of the RFMF and anyone concerned about the threat to the lives of our troops. Because they are now unarguably less safe and it was Major General Kalouniwai’s job to say so.
The RFMF Commander should have told the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, Pio Tikoduadua, that protecting Fijian lives is far more important than fulfilling a promise to SODELPA to open an embassy in Jerusalem. Yet there is no evidence that he spoke up, which makes him complicit.
Here’s what Section 131 of the newly-endorsed 2013 Constitution says about the RFMF’s duty to the nation:
“Defend the well-being of all Fijians”. Yet by being party to a government decision that puts its own troops in increased danger in the Middle East, the RFMF has demonstrated that it won’t even defend their well-being, let alone the rest of us.
Ordinary men and women in uniform already putting themselves in harm’s way – along with their families – were entitled to put their trust in their Commander and put their trust in this Prime Minister. And they have been betrayed.
—————
Victor’s Lal’s searing article.
About time UN looks elsewhere for peacekeepers and for Fiji to face consequences of its actions. It will hurt individual military families financially but also the general military coffers.
This senior army officer has no backbone and has shown it time and again.
OR
Have his pockets been lined and palms greased?
For a few pieces of silver Fijians will sell their mothers and daughters to the devil.
It is very common in Fiji – corruption in police ranks, LTA, in WAF, in EFL, in Telecom, in the passport office, in the judiciary, even in voting in small religious and sporting clubs and pubs.
Getting paid off is ingrained part of the culture of the country and normal just like grog. It is an attitude issues with third rate people – starting from the very top – the President and the PM. But the amazing fact is the third rate people of Fiji love third rate leaders in all aspects of their lives. It must be the tradition and culture of the place. And one should not f*ck with culture and tradition. It is a sensitive issue. Right?
Come on GD be fair.
The decision to establish an embassy in Israel was a demand by Sodelpa as part of the Coaltion agreement. It was a political decision by Government that Kalouniwai had no part of.
Even if he had voiced his concerns about the safety to his troops he was over ruled by the Government. The buck should stop with the PM.
Any military commander’s primary duty is the safety of his troops. Kalouniwai unquestionably has the constitutional power to have vetoed this madness. He has chosen not to do so and has put Fijian lives in danger.
Given that the Palestinian authorities are now depicting Fiji as an aggressor – and Hamas and every other terrorist group will be aware of this statement – the responsible thing to do is for Fiji to withdraw from UN peacekeeping immediately and bring its troops home.
The Commander has no veto powers with regard to Government decision to deploy troops overseas.
Like every other democracy it is the Government of the day that decides. Soldiers follow orders. They dont pick and choose where to go
Interestingly, the leader of the largest muslim nation in the world, President Subianto of Indonesia, told the UN General Assembly just recently “Shalom. We must also recognise, respect and guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we have real peace”.
For the past 40 years or so Fijian soldiers have deployed both north (Lebanon & Golan) and south (Sinai) to help guarantee the safety and security of Israel that Subanto speaks about. Toda raba Fiji.
You are completely missing the point. Which is about making ordinary Fijian peacekeepers targets when there was no reason whatsoever to do so and it goes against the entire basis of Fiji’s foreign policy since Independence.
Who gave these bastards the right to put our men and women in uniform in the cross-hairs of Middle East terrorists? No-one. But a bunch of religious fanatics took it upon themselves to do so without any mandate from the nation as a whole. It is madness of the first order and the Commander of the RFMF has endorsed that madness.
The Commander has no choice but to follow Government decision.
It’s the PM who should cop the blame, not the Commander.
BTW, did the ADF Commander try to veto Johnnie Howard’s decision to send Australian soldiers to Iraq and subsequently to Afghanistan? The Coalition forces eventually lost both wars.
The point I am making is that soldiers follow the orders of their political masters.
There is no provision in the Australian Constitution for the ADF to have responsibility for the well-being of Australia and Australians. In Fiji there is. If Fijian peacekeepers in the Middle East are attacked because of this, the RFMF Commander will share the blame. Of that you can be sure.
@ Anonymous – So why wasn’t a single SOLDEPA minister present for the opening? Why has Rabuka taken full credit for the embassy, a decision he said he made in 1990?
It is a red herring to blame SODELPA for this politically reckless decision. There is zero value in Fiji opening an embassy at this time in Israel. There is value in it for Netanyahu to embrace Fiji in this manner because it improves his own image somewhat, but zero value for Fiji. The extremists in Government and their airheaded supporters do not understand or even want to talk about these nuances.
Our weak RFMF commander is without a doubt complicit. But we have known for some time that the Commander lacks the courage to do the right thing, so do not expect much.
Tevita. Go ask Sodelpa that.
Commander is just following orders from the Government of the day.
Trues up bro. Smart arses like Ratu Tevita Rukurai Carawai have never worn a uniform and dont know any better.
The recent decision by the Coalition government to establish Fiji’s embassy in Jerusalem, rather than the internationally recognized diplomatic hub of Tel Aviv, represents a significant and potentially costly foreign policy misstep. This move effectively abandons the prudent, bipartisan foreign policy of being “a friend to all and an enemy to none,” championed by leaders like Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau.
A more strategic approach would have been to establish the embassy in Tel Aviv, where the vast majority of foreign missions and international agencies are based. This is the central node for diplomatic networking, liaison, and intelligence gathering—essential functions for any embassy. The choice of Jerusalem, however, in the midst of a grave humanitarian crisis, is widely perceived as a provocative gesture that unnecessarily alienates the Muslim world and its allies.
The practical implications are equally concerning. Fiji’s diplomatic staff will now be geographically isolated, requiring frequent and costly travel to Tel Aviv to participate in essential meetings and events. This inefficiency will be borne by the Fijian taxpayer for no discernible strategic advantage. The case of Papua New Guinea, which established its embassy in Jerusalem two years ago, offers a cautionary tale. PNG has not experienced any tangible benefits; instead, it continues to grapple with severe internal challenges, demonstrating that such a move does not confer the “special blessings” some might anticipate.
Furthermore, this decision jeopardizes critical economic partnerships. By risking offense to Arab nations, the government undermines the efforts of Investment Fiji and the Trade Ministry potentially threatening the much-publicized $6 billion pipeline of future projects. Key initiatives now likely to be ditched invlude:
· The LAKARO Project: Phase 2 of the UAE’s sustainable energy project, which plans to expand solar micro-grid plants to islands like Kadavu, Lakeba, and Rotuma following a successful first phase.
· Fiji Airways Financing: The airline’s relationship with DAE Capital, the Dubai-based fund that provided the lease for its crucial A350 aircraft—the workhorses of its profitable Australia-Nadi-America route.
This decision was a missed opportunity for Fiji to champion peace and pragmatic diplomacy. Establishing the embassy in Tel Aviv, coupled with a call for de-escalation, would have been a powerful statement. Instead, the Coalition Cabinet has made a choice that is diplomatically isolating, economically risky, and strategically unsound, potentially marking one of the most consequential errors of its short tenure.
–
A very important contribution to this debate. Vinaka.
Yes indeed. It shows when you are in a real fight, the types you wouldn’t want to or expect to come to your aid. The former because they only know how to comment in theory within the halls of academia and the latter because they will sit on a fence and hum huh and be torn between not offending anyone and not having the ability to discern friend from foe or right and wrong.
Is any Fijian soldier forced to go on these missions if they don’t consider it safe. Let them with skin in these deployments decide. Especially for any new tour of duty since there is now a higher level of risk with the Palestinians declared threat. And very diplomatically stated by the terrorists to the peacemakers of the world.
Hats off to any soldier who chooses to be deployed on duty to this region, knowing who their threat is.
Not only the peace keepers, the people of Fiji are equally under threat from Palestinian radicals if they infiltrate the islands.
Very true Bula Fiji.
Their fellow members of the Umma are already here and the Government is recruiting more towel-heads from Bangladesh.
Not the radicals perhaps, but wanna take a punt on where the leanings of the mass Bangladeshi workers are? Hint, not with Israel.
The iTaukei are about to get a brutal shock when the Bangladeshis pick up the cane knife. And it will happen. That will be sweet karma for kicking out the generally placid Indo Fijians.
Nothing will happen to our peacekeepers. Until it happens.
Terrorism is never going to be coming to Fiji. We have plenty of very our own terrorists in the form of extremists violent ethno-nationalists, devout christian native population. See 1987, 2000, and the mutiny as examples terrorism here.
Daily rapes, murders, violent robberies, violent home invasions, bullying, daily driving standards, religious bigotry, domestic violence, sexual violence, and daily thuggery are further proof terrorism is alive and well in Fiji.
Here again it looks like section 131 (2) is being liberally (mis) interpreted. As someone earlier stated, the tail does not wag the dog in a democratic system of government.
I’m wondering if I should expect the army to offer yoga classes with symphony music to address the health and wellbeing of the Fijian population.
In any future reviews of the constitution, this particular section needs to be clarified further and in line with sensible expectations of the role of the military in a democratic and free society.
It shouldn’t be a tool for political or other nefarious interests.
“There is no provision in the Australian Constitution for the ADF to have responsibility for the well-being of Australia and Australians. In Fiji there is. ”
So what is the expected and legal role of the ADF in Australia and beyond if the Australian constitution is their supreme law.
Surely the RAF is not just there to train pilots for Qantas.
Stop comparing Fiji military to Australia you idiot. Australia is part of Commonwealth and not a Republic. No coups in Australia by military. Typical of you to try to hoodwink. You comparing chalk with cheese.
Best that he himself reads Australia’s Constitution and Defence Act to get the answers he is after. Clearly articulated there!
It was Mr GD who made that comment. I’ll let that “idiot”answer you . In the meantime consider yourself nominated as a late entry in the Miss Hibiscus pageant as Ms No Manners.
Important to understand “they” lost loved ones and history tells us, they will do something about it. FIJI GOVERNMENT will be held responsible for the expected outcome