The Republic of Fiji Military Forces has taken the unprecedented step of calling for the removal of constitutional immunity provisions, saying Fiji can no longer pursue peace while denying accountability for its past.
In a landmark submission to the Constitution Review Commission this afternoon, RFMF Commander Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai acknowledged the institution’s own role in Fiji’s history of political instability and said the military was prepared to relinquish the legal protections that had shielded it for years.
“We voluntarily step out from behind the legal protections that have long covered our institution,” he said.
“We know this will be seen by some of our own as a breach of loyalty, and that seeking this redemption places officers and soldiers, including our own, at legal risk.
We do not open this door lightly.”
Maj-Gen Kalouniwai said the military had reached a point where protecting institutions could no longer come before the interests of the nation.
“The survival of any single institution can no longer be purchased at the expense of this nation’s soul.”
He said Fiji had been forced to choose between justice and peace for too long, with fears of instability often used to justify immunity from accountability.
He said immunity clauses have created a two-tier legal system by shielding some individuals from legal action while ordinary citizens remain subject to the law.
He recommended that blanket immunity provisions be removed and replaced with conditional immunity tied to full public disclosure through a strengthened truth and reconciliation process.
“Establish as a matter of national principle that sustainable peace is impossible without accountability, that justice is a precondition for stability, not a threat to it.”
Maj-Gen Kalouniwai said the military accepted the risks that came with its proposal because “the alternative, a nation of perpetual drifting, is a cost future generation should never have to bear”.
