When Grubsheet starts fielding calls from the Australian media about the extrajudicial killing by the RFMF of the accused drug overlord, Jone Vakarisi, we can be sure that this scandal is also about to become a diplomatic issue, with a range of potential implications, none of them good.
Why? Because whatever the circumstances, Australia isn’t spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Fiji and negotiating an upgrade of the current Vuvale “Partnership” into a “Union” only to be embroiled in the stench of human rights abuse. Not to mention the potential impact on Australian visitor numbers of the friendly “Bula Spirit” image being tainted by a return to the bad old days of the deadly buturaki by those not-so-friendly men in green.
We can only imagine the consternation on the part of Australia’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Peter Roberts, about the torture and murder of Jone Vakarisi at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks when those negotiations are at such a critical juncture that he had even taken to wearing an RFMF tie.
Roberts will be especially mortified by the conduct of the Australian-trained RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, in lying about the circumstances of Jone Vakarisi’s death. There is no ambiguity about this whatsoever. Kalouniwai issued a statement claiming that Vakarisi had died of natural causes when the truth is that he was tortured and beaten to death.
At the time of writing, the silence from the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, about what has happened is deafening. As is the silence from Kalouniwai himself beyond the risible statement he made that Vakarisi had a “pre-existing condition”. Yes, Commander. The “pre-existing condition” was that your prisoner was alive and well when he entered the Camp. And he was dead when he left it (or soon afterwards), reportedly beaten so badly that his face was unrecognisable.
It also appears that the cover-up extended to Vakarisi being taken to Wainibokasi Hospital instead of the much closer CWM because the RFMF personnel responsible thought the incident was less likely to come to light there. And there are even lurid reports of a plan at one stage to dump the body in the Wainbokasi River in the hope that it would never come to light at all – that Vakarisi would have simply disappeared .
The chorus from the Defence Minister, Pio Tikoduadua, and the Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, is that we must all await the official inquiry into what happened. No need. We already know what happened, or at least enough to draw our own conclusion. And for those of you who haven’t yet seen the evidence, here it is again:
First what Commander Kalouniwai says happened (the full statement in our last article):
And then the truth of what happened, according to the Death Certificate issued to the Vakarisi family signed by Dr James Kalougivaki – reportedly Fiji’s sole specialist forensic pathologist, whose expertise is unquestioned.
As scandals go, this doesn’t get much bigger. And even the normal timidity of the mainstream media in Fiji is starting to give way to hard questions being asked about the discrepancy between the facts that have emerged and Commander Kalouniwai’s original statement.
This from the front page of today’s Fiji TImes:
“Clarify their position”? How on earth does the RFMF Commander think he can wriggle his way out of this one?
Answer: He can’t. Which is why the course of action Grubsheet outlined yesterday when we were the first to publish Jone Vakarisi’s Death Certificate is the only credible option. Resign or be sacked.
Fiji as a nation is so lacking in moral clarity that many people on Facebook are supporting the RFMF on the basis that Jone Vakarisi was a “drug overlord” who deserved everything he got. Yet not only can no democracy worth the name countenance extrajudicial killings under any circumstances. We cannot countenance a military force that carries out such killings and a military commander who tries to cover them up.
The level of revulsion in the community is such that even one of Sitiveni Rabuka’s ministers, Lenora Qereqeretabua – the Deputy Foreign Minister – has gone public with a cry of anguish about the Vakarisi killing, coupled with the plans for an Australian-sourced waste disposal facility at Saweni in the West.*
Pressure is also coming from the formal custodians of human rights.
But it is also high time for our politicians to break their silence and take a stand. And for the rule of law to be enforced without fear or favour.
When RFMF personnel killed detainee Vilikesa Soko in 2014 in the last major human rights violation in Fiji, the former DPP, Christopher Pryde, had the courage to face down the then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, and insist on charging those responsible, who eventually received lengthy jail sentences.
Will Pryde’s replacements at the DPP – Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku – do the same in this instance? We must insist as a community that they do, after a thorough police investigation that identifies the culprits and brings them to justice. No ifs, buts or maybes.
Whatever the drug threat in Fiji – and it is undeniably grave – we must not go down the path of countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia which have confronted the same threat with extrajudicial killings. Turning a blind eye to murder.
The rule of law is paramount and justice must be dispensed without fear or favour. Because the alternative is the beginning of a journey into darkness that has no end.
What happened at the Camp with the killing of Jone Vakarisi cannot be accepted by any Fijian who genuinely cares about the nation’s future. And in this instance, the buck stops with the Commander.
Jone Kalouniwai has failed in his most basic duty not only to protect life but uphold the truth. And he must go.
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More background:
The inside pages of today’s Fiji Times…
Finally, a stellar career blighted.
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COMING SOON…
A new guest writer. Former Fiji Times journalist and kai Lautoka, Richard Thomson, on the project that has the whole nation talking – the proposed Saweni facility to turn Australian rubbish into energy and what it will mean for a pristine part of Fiji.
Don’t miss it.
You’ll never get the truth out of him.
Kalou ni- wai ( God’s waste water ! ) 🤣🤣🤣
Have read many comments on Facebook where a staggering number of people comment that Jone got what he deserved as he was a drug lord and drugs caused misery to many families and it propped up a lifestyle on the backs of people’s misery.
But you can’t pick and choose human rights. You either adhere to them or not even if the person in question is a crime figure .
Re Lenora Salusalu Qeregeretabua , I had hoped she was smarter than making a comment about trash from Australia.
Firstly it’s a businessman putting forward a proposal not Australia and it wasn’t just about Australia but Fiji itself to manage its waste along with other Pacific islands . Waste has increasingly been viewed as profitable in some countries.
Secondly if Fiji wants to burn trash & create energy and manage its above ground polluting dumps it’s up to Fiji .
Thirdly there are according to google 2700+ waste to energy plants in China , Europe , Singapore , Japan , US and notably Sweden , Norway and Denmark import waste themselves .
Australia I read has an incinerator in WA and also there are two others in Australia for medical waste .
So please don’t let politicians have a half arsed discussion over an incinerator proposal but a thorough environmental review and economic evaluation and above all community discussion where people make informed decisions.
But primarily I hope Fiji deals with its open dumps because they are awful, often attract dogs and creates health hazards. So no matter what is decided, just get waste management in hand .
You seem to be letting Commissioner of Police Tudravu off the hook on this. They both lied as the press release was a joint one released by kalouniwai. Tudravu is keeping a very low profile now and trying to stay away from commenting on the issue even not immediately saying that the Death Certificate was genuine. Their lies and political leaning is starting to get exposed through this. They are bold to lie as this is what the government has done from its election campaign to date.
Kalouniwai is an Australian Intelligence trained officer (probably the best trained in that field in the military) and if you read the joint press release he is trying to shape the thinking of people to his advantage to believe his lie. He has done so to his advantage by throwing in the weapons that are not part of the military inventory to justify the killing of Vakarisi in addition to the Fiji Village peddled Drug Lord title. People have swallowed his bait and are supporting the murder of Vakarisi.
Fiji village is now trying to correct their mistake of indirectly supporting the murder by asking about those weapons. It is a shallow attempt by Fiji village as they have already fueled the people cheering and justifying the murder by the military.
Let’s see if Kalouniwai and the military are going to do a matanigasau reconciliation with the Vakarisi family and the nation for his and Tudravu’s lies to the nation. It will not bring back a person who should have been tried in a court of law if they had the intelligence Kalouniwai is attempting to utilize to justify his murder.
It’s interesting. Every time the RFMF has gotten involved in the policing of the nation, people die. In each instance, the military states the deaths were not at the hands of the military and the individuals died naturally/suddenly while being questioned. Those who really were responsible for the deaths are never held accountable as the military states that the matter is/will be handled internally, as per military protocols; this effectively blocking any further queries from the public or the Police force.
It is appalling the Comm. RFMF states this death was a sudden and natural one when the autopsy reports state the bloke was bludgeoned to death. This is exactly what happened to the other people who died at the military camp. Not only has he lied to the nation, he has also shown that he is willing to go the extra mile to cover up this murder at any cost and he knows the government will not get rid of him. He is the only Commander ever to come through the RFMF who spends his time boot-licking, brown nosing, grovelling around and apologising for the RFMF’s past actions.
Or, is the truth that he is actually not in charge and the senior officers around him have actually pressured him into making this statement; Kalouniwai knowing full well that if he does not toe the line, his own career is in jeopardy as the officers will mount a full revolt and rebel against him.
Welcome back mate – hope you’re settling in well and had a cognac (it’s getting far too chilly for a beer these days!) to celebrate your return.
Now that it has been classified murder by police does it mean that Kalouniwai and Tudravu are accessories to the crime by trying to cover it up or misleading the nation with that Joint Statement?
Or is it Abuse of Office by attempting to cover up the murder. That joint statement says it all.
Bainimarama and Qiliho were sent to prison for Abuse of Office for allegedly trying to stop an investigation which however continued and is still ongoing today with no charges against anyone.
Do we see Tudravu and Kalouniwai fronting the courts in future?
Vakarisi was no ‘drug lord’ or ‘ drug overlord’.
This is just the pathetic Fijian mainstream media conjuring up sensationalism.
In fact by doing so they are hiding the fact that there much bigger players in the drug scene in Fiji. One can argue that some of them are doing so to throw off the scent.
Vakarisi was frankly just a small player but had the macho image and was a bit of a Robin Hood character for the marginalised in places like the Nabua Housing area. Many liked him because he was affable, very generous and was considered good looking.
So while we are focusing on Vakarisi, the big boys and girls are smiling smart and their business will continue, aided and abetted by the corrupt, RFMF, Police, DPP and Cabinet personnel.
The Australians in their quest to stop the Chinese influencing the unpredictable coalition government has simply turned a blind eye to the massive fundamental breaches of good governance by this government. The buffoon of the Australian High Commissioner, who is actually an embarrassment at most functions with his sulu, RFMF tie, loud bula shirts and over the top laughs, encapsulates the bumbling and unprincipled foreign policy approach by the Australian government.
So as much as we would think the right thing will happen, it won’t because they have been getting away with it for the past 3 years and will continue to do so.
Every single independent institution/entity is compromised, including the judiciary.
Unless something majorly disruptive happens, which provides a reset, Fiji is going to go into the dust bin of failed developing countries.
A remarkable achievement in such a short time given where it was prior to 24 December 2022.
Its officially a murder case and Commander needs to come out clean to reconcile/clarify his statement of “medical emergency” versus official medical report stating the victim dying after being beaten.
As someone who was preaching ethics during earlier military parade (condemning Gadai), it is only fair that the Commander sets a good example.
I don’t think so if Australia will withdraw anything.
One of the routes drugs reaching Australian shores comes through Fiji waters and almost out of control these days.
With major bust recently by joint operation from Australian and Fijian authorities ,has stopped these drugs hitting streets of Melbourne and Sydney.
4 tonnes, 2 tonnes, are not for Fijian market. These are huge amounts.
Killing was rather unfortunate but it happens in many countries.
Bali prison is full and many are waiting for execution.
In Mexico ,every hour there is a drug related death.
From day one ,every Fiji media companies were reporting as death of a drug lord .
Was he really a drug dealer or a innocent victim.
How does media know he was El Chapo of Fiji.?
When a person dies and if CWM Mortuary is full ,family members need to look around for empty mortuary space where they can keep their loved one.
Wainibokasi hospital is one of them I know has a public Mortuary.
That could be one reason RFMF took him there.
Vinaka.