The 2000 mutiny fragmented the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), and Fiji’s security force is still not 100 per cent united.
Commander Major-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai says they were working extremely hard to ensure there is reconciliation within the institution.
Speaking on The Lens@177, Ro Kalouniwai was asked whether he felt the military had moved past all divisions of the past.
“If you are looking for a 100 per cent, then I can’t do that,” Ro Kalouniwai said.
“We are still working on that. We are still in our reconciliation phase; we still have a lot to do but the good thing is that we are working towards that space.
“The reconciliation program for the RFMF is very critical for us at this stage, as I had mentioned in the last few media sessions, 2000 actually fragmented the RFMF.
“The last thing any military commander will want is divided troops, a divided military establishment because anything can happen, it’s not healthy and it’s not good.”
He said since the 2000 mutiny, they had experienced a lot of problems in relation to the division which happened in the RFMF.
“A soldier is a different person because once you train him, the skills that is imparted to him is something that will stay with you for a lifetime.
“It’s important to the RFMF that we reconcile, we get them back into the wider RFMF family because once we do that, the uncertainty and the fear, that level of insecurity within the nation, more so within the RFMF, becomes a lot clearer for us in terms of being united.”
He said the 2000 mutiny pitted friends and relatives against each other and had led to casualties on both sides.
Ro Kalouniwai said such bouts of instability not only affected an institution like the RFMF but had far reaching effects on the wellbeing of citizens, the country, and its economy.
“It does not only affect us. It affects the whole nation. A very huge insecurity that happens within the whole of Fiji, it affects the economy, the investment, confidence of those that are trying to invest in Fiji, schools shut down.
“So many things happen, the wellbeing of the nation is severely affected and having a divided military is something that no military commander or no Government will want to have in place.”
