The government’s truth and reconciliation process is floundering even before it begins as today’s Fiji Sun confirms the worst fears of those who are sceptical about Sitiveni Rabuka‘s own commitment to the truth and whether he can be trusted to fully account for his own role in the events of 1987 and 2000.
It transpires that the Prime Minister has been guilty of a glaring instance of lasulasu-jhoot in his weekend comments about Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho being invited to take part in the extraordinary event organised by the RFMF in which the families of loyalist troops killed in the 2000 mutiny were forced to confront their murderers.
If the “Snake” can’t tell the truth about this, what confidence can the Fijian people have that Rabuka can be relied on to tell the truth about anything? And in particular, his own role in the momentous events of the past? The answer is “none”.
We all smelt a rat on the weekend when the media reported the Prime Minister asking that the event be delayed until Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho could be brought from prison to participate. All the media said was that the pair “could not attend”. And anyone with half a brain and any knowledge at all about the two men knew why. That there was no way that they would willingly participate in a “reconciliation” event with those who had killed three loyal soldiers on November 2, 2000, as they tried to kill Bainimarama and take over the RFMF and the nation.
Now it turns out that there wasn’t even a proper attempt to involve Bainimarama in the event. The Prime Minister lied. And the proof of that is that the Corrective Services Commissioner would have had to have given his approval. That is the law yet he confirms that he wasn’t even asked.
Right from the start, the “truth and reconciliation” process is demonstrated to be a farce. Because if Sitiveni Rabuka isn’t capable of telling the truth about a relatively minor issue like this, there is no chance that he can be relied on to tell the truth about what really happened in 1987 and 2000. The whole exercise is a sham and a con job on the Fijian people.
The Prime Minister at least said one thing that is true – that everything that has happened since 1987 is his fault, including the Bainimarama coup of 2006 because it was he, Rabuka, who set a precedent for removing an elected government. But it is a deft sleight-of-hand to deflect having to ever tell the truth about the details of what he did, and especially his own involvement in the 2000 mutiny. Grubsheet readers will recall the hear-say evidence that he gave specific orders for Bainimarama to be killed and the hard evidence that he was present at the Camp on the day with his old uniform in the back of his vehicle, giving rise to the suspicion that he intended to take over.
The former RFMF commander and prime minister is convinced to this day that Sitiveni Rabuka was the prime instigator of the mutiny. And he would have had to be dragged in chains or at gunpoint to an event that he would regard, as an article of faith, as a travesty and insult to the memories of the three loyal soldiers murdered in cold blood.
There were a whole lot of things on the weekend that were unsettling for anyone with a healthy sense of scepticism who doesn’t buy the bulldust of this government, the RFMF and the gormless mainstream media in Fiji.
1/ The more that the RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, protests that he has removed the RFMF from politics, the more political his conduct seems to be. This was undeniably a political event to which only certain politicians appear to have been invited and/or turned up. First and foremost was Sitiveni Rabuka. But we were also treated to the presence of Ioane Naivalurua, the former secretary of the Military Council and former Bainimarama loyalist who happily posed with the loathsome Shane Stevens – the man who led the 2000 mutiny and has recently been pardoned.
As the architect of the Bainimarama government’s “yellow ribbon program” to rehabilitate and forgive even the worst criminals, it was no surprise to see the woolly-headed Naivalurua – a member of the “Gang of 9” ex-FijiFirst MPs who have swung their support behind Rabuka – taking part in this event. But where was the Opposition Leader and former military officer, Inia Seruiratu, and other members of his “Gang of 16” who have refused to bow to the “Snake”? Nowhere to be seen. Ergo. This was an event for Rabuka’s political supporters that didn’t cast its net any wider. And Jone Kalouniwai needs to stop the pretence that the RFMF is above politics when a significant number of MPs – not to mention Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho – refused to acknowledge his misguided “love-in”.
Sitiveni Rabuka said on the weekend that he had asked that Bainimarama and Qiliho be brought to the event from prison. But the Commissioner for Corrective Services, Jalesi Nakarawa – who by law would have needed to give his permission – tells the Fiji Sun that no-one approached him about the proposal. In other words, it didn’t happen. And the Prime Minister has some serious explaining to do for what appears to have been a blatant attempt to mislead.
2/ It was deeply unsettling for Grubsheet- and doubtless many Fijians – to see the grieving wives and families of the three loyalist soldiers murdered in 2000 being obliged to publicly confront Shane Stevens, their killer. Whether or not they did so willingly is neither here nor there. This should not have happened in front of the cameras or arguably anywhere else. It was grossly insensitive to many eyes, even offensive. And the same applies to Jone Kalouniwai’s elevation of the families of the rebels ( or as he insists, “former rebels”) who were beaten to death in the aftermath of the mutiny to the same status as the families of the three innocent loyalists who were shot and killed at their posts. They are not the same at all.
Hell will freeze over before Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho will take part in such a charade and rightly so. Because they know the difference between treason and loyalty and unlike the current Commander, will never forgive the unforgivable. As Grubsheet has observed before, it is up to Jone Kalouniwai and individual members of the force to personally make their peace and “reconcile” with those who attacked them on November 2, 2000. But he has no right whatsoever to do so in the name of the RFMF as a whole.
It has also been a blatant intervention in partisan politics on the side of the Prime Minister and the Coalition in a process that many Fijians believe is dubious at best and farcical at worst. And the fact that major figures in the political process with military backgrounds refused to take part is evidence enough of that.
Far from being enlightened and bold – as his supporters are casting him – the RFMF Commander has taken it upon himself to play God with this hollow exercise in “reconciliation” and “forgiveness” when he should be concerned solely with justice and the proper exercise of his constitutional responsibilities. He has been caught up in a cynical exercise that is politically motivated and has no chance whatsoever of genuinely healing the deep divisions in Fiji, which arise from some people believing they have the right to inflict their will on the nation and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens.
No amount of hugging, tears and faux “apologies” is going to alter that fact. So this was not a triumph for the Commander but a big fail. A failure of judgment of the most basic kind – killers (treasonous mutineers) and the families of their victims (innocent, loyal troops) forced into an uneasy public accommodation and elevated to the same status.
Jone Kalouniwai has papered over the cracks in Fijian society and fallen for the charms of the “Snake”. But it isn’t going to alter a thing. Why? Because it is not a genuine, all inclusive, reconciliation but a reconciliation of the like-minded, with the victims of mutiny and treason used as props.
Naive, ill-judged, cynical and empty.
The national broadcaster’s stomach-churning spin on an unseemly farce…
Rebels and loyalists elevated to the same status.
Great article as usual!
I think one of the biggest problems culturally (and not just in Fiji) is when we equate forgiveness with forgetting. Forgiveness is about letting go of any hurt that is holding an individual or group back. But one needs to be able to remember to be able to identity patterns of behaviour so as to avoid these patterns (or people with patterns) in the future.
In Fiji (particularly the ones who take religious ideas too literally), they equate forgiveness with forgetting. The forgiver is then expected by the forgivee (who benefits mostly) to wipe the slate clean and start again as if the past did not exist. Then these same behaviours/events continue in this cycle. No individual growth. No societal growth. No accountability. No learning. Morality sliding around on teflon.
The Coalition have clearly run this sham so that they can control the narrative and shut any conversation about what happened. Once this farce is over, it’ll be “you can’t keep bringing up the past” and gaslighting anyone who still remembers.
“Morality sliding around on teflon”. Great line. And so true. Especially for the teflon-coated Prime Minister and the likes of the amoral Minister for Bonking and Weed.
I watched the video where women and families were lined up in front of Shane. That scene was disturbing. It is like telling a woman to face her rapist.
This man (and others around him in that camp) did not only kill their husband/father/sons but also killed dreams, the security of genuine life, economic security and a dignity to live without fear of being attacked and ridiculed. They have lived through every single day of that unfortunate loss than any of us ever did.
There is a reason why the rate of violence in this country on women and girls is high. The indigenous people have sugarcoated violence and abuse. Do the harm. Pack some kava and ask for forgiveness. The cycle has been in repeat so poorly and for so long. These men perpetuate the unthinkable on the souls of these poor widows and their children. As if the world wasn’t cruel enough for them they are now suffering at the face to face wrath of this stupid reconciliation and truth bullshit.
Make no mistake Viti. This is just a show and tell for these commanders and chiefs to keep you all looking like a fool. They are feeding off your vulnerability. They don’t care about you. They want you to be the subject of their fame and power.
Shame on Rabuka. Shame on RFMF. Shame on all men and women who think this shitshow is just. There is no justice for these women and children. Never will be. There is no justice for thousands of other Fijians. Never will be.
I can only say one thing.
Avoid and do not believe in this whole farce on truth and reconciliation.
This is for the show ponies.
It is nothing to do with humanity.
So this is another way to impose the Reconciliation Tolarance and Unity bill.
It is a nation drowning further in shame by this stupid PM and his goons.
Unworthy of their positions.
Fijians must wake up and vote with conscience. Do not ever vote for any coup make and RFMF person. Never.
In a just and reasonable society nothing moves this fast.
One minute you have Speight and Shane released.
The next (within 2 months) a glorified ceremony.
Does Rabuka really think Fijians are living in an uncivilised era! The fool continues to fool himself by pushing the TR down our throats.
Someone strip all those medals off his chest. He is not worthy of any respect. Swine.
A carbon copy of what happens every week in church’s around the world…. forgive and repent then do it all again with NO consequences….
I used to think that religion was rules for life and if you couldn’t make your own rules then choose the religion that suits you….after 20 odd years in Fiji, nothing stands out more to me than the use of the rules to subjugate the masses, fool the people and rule without fear…… truth and reconciliation for these guys is only so they can sleep straight at night…..total BS for anyone else…..
The Truth and Reconciliation path was what got Qarase kicked out of government as it was going to be used as a guise to release Takiveikata and Co.
Years later, Rabuka walks up swinging his snake tale and does exactly the same thing. The only difference is that this time no one from the military stepped in and kicked him out because the military is being run by a bloke who hasnt got a pair to take action.
How much is all this costing the people of Fiji? Is this why Biman is going around with his trousers down and cap in hand to all the countries, begging for a few pennies to make ends meet?
Who are all the people making money from this event? Will the total cost of the event become publicly available information?
The military guyvhas a pair -of marshmallow gonadotropin (gonads/gonas).
Pole dancers have more dignity. And pole dancers do not constantly look like deer caught in the headlights. Except deer have brains, still. Not the cow dung brains marshmallow gonads has.
Baimaan was best described at usp as the little man with big trousers. And found out to be truly out of his depth.
We see the senile, serial liar, serial adulterer, repeat treasonous basturd pm now using a prop designed to draw attention and pity for himself.
His victims of 1987, 2000, and 2001 mutiny know exactly where the lying basturd flucker can shove that stick.
I pray every day that Sitiveni Rabuka gets his comeuppance. Karma is a bitch but this wait is unbearable. The shit show Rabuka is displaying is a farce.
When will sensible people within the RFMF step in and get rid of Rabuka and that soft slop Commander Jone?
Will Rabuka ever tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Not a chance!
He wrote his way out of consequence when he inserted the Immunity provisions into the Constitution to ensure he would never be held to account for his actions in 1987 and his acts when he was PM in that period.
As for 2000 he will never admit to anything as he has no immunity.
During his current period as PM he has lied to the people of Fiji. When he is not lying he tells half-truths or resorts to the ‘I was not told’ or ‘there is no report’ or the chestnut of ‘I don’t recall’. Yes as someone else has already said ‘Teflon’ coated.
Will others involved on the coups tell the truth, no! Not because they are protected immunity but because their actions or lack of action will become public knowledge!
Like other actions of this Government the Truth & Reconciliation will be smoke, mirrors and a whitewash.
Fiji, we need to prepare for the reality of what is just around the corner. All the articles acknowledge the decline of the very institutions that are supposed to safeguard the constitution and the country. Tragically they are being torn to shreds by Rabuka and his cronies. From the pedo President, to hug me kiss me Kalouniwai. Law and order is just a smoke screen for what is about to be unleashed on Fiji.
So it simply means there is chaos just around the corner. Be prepared.
There is a clause in truth and reconciliation that all involved cannot be tried in court. Very nice .
Who wrote the Terms and Reference for the Reconciliation and Truth Commission work? Was it considered by grassroots and endorsed?
Was talking to a close workmate yesterday. He is familiar with most of the Indian MPs in parliament and works with them on many things. Said that even the Indian MPs are complaining and have had enough of Rabuka and Biman. They feel lost and there is no strategy to almost anything.
Some left their good work and now are ashamed to stand up in the public sector and in their own communities as they are getting bashed from every angle.
Dickheads are capable of doing a wonderful job. Just look at the PM, his ministers and now the President-elect and their supporters. Just ask them.
The moral decay in Fiji and its future is so starkly evident. Hidden behind all this useless propaganga shows of forgiveness and justice is the destruction of the very core of our society.
Is it too late to save Fiji?
Are there no righteous men left who can bring some sense into government and its persistent assault of our Fiji?
I, like many others, am losing hope.
GD, the ceremony at QEB was not for all the fallen soldiers. Only for the mutineers – CRW soldiers. Not the 3 loyal soldiers who were killed by CRW. Shane had the mutineers killed by leading the mutiny. He was hugging and kissing family members of the rebels while Naivalarua (the guy who was the first leader of CRW) hugged Shane.
Look at the most recent fijivillage article on Rabuka saying he didn’t follow the correct channel to seek approval for Bainimarama and Qiliho to be part of the recon exercise. The point is not whether he sought approval from the Commisioner of Corrections (the right person, as opposed to the President who can only grant mercy). The point is Commissioner of Corrections doesn’t have the power to release inmates to attend to functions at the whim of politicians. And most importantly, it is not Commissioner’s approval that’s required to get them to the function – inmates have the right to decline a visitor, or any such request made by an individual. Their decision is then conveyed to the individual who has made a request to the Commissioner.
I genuinely hope Commissioner Corrections Dr Nakarawa doesn’t get swayed with Rabuka’s nonsense. He is a highly learned individual. A PhD holder and is a stickler for rules and policy. He needs to stand his ground and remind Rabuka that inmates are not released to participate in such functions. And he knows that he cannot compel the attendance of any inmate to a gathering that they do not wish to be a part of, or see a visitor that they do not wish to see. FCS has to remain under his control. Not under the RFMF’s, and surely not under Rabuka’s.
Shane is hugging and kissing people while George played golf in Denarau!
Rabuka today said he asked the President to release Qiliho and Frank for the TR ceremony. He said he didn’t realise that he had to write to the Prisons lead person.
There is special stupidity in this PM. He needs to pack up and go collect bottles. He is not ignorant. Take note. He thinks we are all fools. This is who he is. A snake.
Any truth and reconciliation process in Fiji must start with the first liu muri treasonous acts in 1987, when individuals failed to honour their oaths of allegiance and obligations, which even school kids back then knew: rerevaka na Kalou ka doka na Tui (fear God and honour the Queen).
I’m all for forgiveness…BUT After I’ve had a chance to (metaphorically) punch out the lights, as a last resort, of some of these common thieves and deceivers in glorified ministerial roles.
Rabuka and his wooden staff.
Moses in the bible had his staff turned into a snake.
Well well..what does the above photo show! The snake and the staff all in one picture before the magic trick begins!
Rabuka in September: I was a victim of 2000 coup.
Rabuka in November: I was the leader of all coups. I am to blame.
What the actual fu@k is going on Fiji?
Are you all asleep while this man carries on as if the country and the Government is his village!
The Coalition government is fooling the people of Fiji with its fake intent on Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The TRC work should have been personally handled by the PM and his office. This would have demonstrated the true intent and seriousness of TRC. Rabuka alone is responsible for the mess he created in 1987 and the sufferings that followed since.
TRC, led by Shashi Kiran of NFP, has diminished the seriousness of the effort and seen as a puppet of Rabuka.
Why should an NFP Assistant Minister lead TRC work? Here, she will do as Rabuka directs her. NFP leader and his MPs have been silent whenever Rabuka has said things against the Indo-Fijians.
The FIji Military Forces exercise of reconciliation is laughable. The rebels and soldiers are reconciling among themselves without confessing the truth. Since the military was involved in all the coups, it seems the strategy is for them to reconcile and tell the world that they have reconciled. The Indo- Fijians, who are the main victims, have not been approached. The whole process is wrong.
Rabuka and his government have no intention of undertaking true reconciliation. Biman and his party should be blamed for blindly following Rabuka.
Sashi Kiran is being used and abused and will be thrown out at the end of the TRC.
She will bear and wear the blame for its failure and its poor show and all the lies which will be told and all the fake crocodile tears.
But many (no, not many all of them) in this government like basking and enjoying the glory and picking up the allowances. Who gives a shyte about what the outcomes are or what the people think. This is all about collecting allowances and travel and the perks. It has nothing to do with improving the country or peoples’ lives.
How much allowance did the PM collect on his poverty alleviation study tour of China recently? Everyone has forgotten about that tour a few months later while the PM’s bank balance is very healthy. The RFMF reconciliation circus is supposedly over and people have already forgotten about it. What has changed?
Biman unfortunately has completely lost the plot, or, his economics qualifications aren’t up to the high standards of good governance.
1. When there is any sort of political upheaval, it’s the investors and business houses that start to get concerned.
2. Their concerns spillover into their business decisions whether to invest or hold back.
3. This in turn has a negative flow on effect throughout the economy. The worker on the floor, the supply chain, last but not least is the government’s revenue.
4. Rabuka being the dumb door nail PM that he is, should know and understand all this from his experiences after trashing Fiji in 1987.
5. Biman knows that his tenure is becoming shorter and tedious every day so he has chosen his personal benefits above country.
6. In conclusion, Fiji is heading full speed ahead towards the rocks of economic ruin due to the lack of basic economic management understanding by this horrendous coalition government.
No one in government cares anymore as they know that what they have done is going to blow up sooner, rather than later. So, fill up the pockets before the ship sinks, is their modus operandi now.
Bai and Kai are surely laughing.