THE Defence and Veterans Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua says the Republic of Fiji Military Forces needs to strengthen its security systems following the revelation of unauthorised arms in Fiji.
Mr Tikoduadua was responding to questions regarding the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) recent confirmation regarding the presence of arms and weaponry in the country that do not belong to the military.
In a statement released recently, the RFMF Commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai said joint intelligence operations have identified an organised criminal network attempting to destabilise the country. Ro Kalouniwai said documentation gathered during investigations suggests the group has ongoing intentions to target key State infrastructure.
“Fiji a porous nation, we’re an archipelagic State. It’s a porous border, there’s boats and I think over the years people have been able to have the presence of these arms around,” Mr Tikoduadua said.
“In the past, in our short history, we’ve discovered a lot of those, at least the organised ones, the unorganised one are pretty hard to get but I think the onus is on us the people to be aware and conscious of our security and if there’s any information, they know that is important to the recovery of these unauthorised weapons, that they will inform the police or the authorities accordingly.”
Mr Tikoduadua said systems are in place that made the security of the weapons and the arms the way they are to stop people from successfully penetrating these areas.
“People have their own intentions, but the idea is to have systems that discourage them from doing that.
“So, we are glad at this time, when the attempts were made, that they were unsuccessful to do that.”
