PM reaffirms readiness for dialogue with Commander
Nov 27, 2006, 08:50

The Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, has again confirmed that he is ready to meet with the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, for discussions about a list of concerns submitted to the Government by the Army.

This particularly applies to the Government’s proposed Qoliqoli legislation, the Indigenous Claims Tribunal and the Unity Bill.

The Prime Minister says he has an open mind about the discussions and would like to hear directly from the Commander.

The Military, he said, had been given the opportunity to make its views known to the Parliamentary Sector Committees which took submissions from the public on these items of draft legislation.

“The Government would welcome from the Army more specific details of the clauses in these draft Bills that are a problem to the Commander and the military leadership,” Mr. Qarase said.

PM CALLS FOR CITIZENS TO SUPPORT THE RULE OF LAW

The Prime Minister has urged the people of Fiji to rally together to uphold the rule of law.

“The rule of law must prevail,” he said. “I ask citizens to unite in support of our Constitution, Parliamentary democracy, the Parliamentary processes and good governance”.

“Those who have been backing the stand of the Army must surely reconsider their position in the light of the Army’s demands for the Government to interfere with Police investigations. This would be illegal. The Government will not be a party to breaking the law.”

Mr Qarase stressed the overthrow of the elected Government would be a breach of Fiji’s highest law, the Constitution.

“Anyone involved in such an act would be subject to the full processes and force of the law. No one is above the law.”

CLARIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL ROLE OF THE ARMY

The Prime Minister reiterated his belief that the current misunderstandings between the Government and the Army can be resolved by the Supreme Court.

He said the major cause of the differences between the Government and the Army arose from differing interpretations of the Military’s role under the Constitution and the RFMF Act. It was for this reason that the Government had decided to refer the issue to Fiji’s highest court, the Supreme Court, for its opinion.

“This will be very important in clarifying the true legal responsibilities of the Army. I urge the Army’s leadership to await the outcome of the Supreme Court’s deliberations,” Mr. Qarase said.

GOVERNMENT HAS ACTED TO IMPROVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SOLDIERS

Mr. Qarase said his Government, more than any other Government, had done a lot to improve the terms and conditions of soldiers, the Police and officers of the Prisons service.

These include improvement in the salary and allowances of all ranks in the RFMF. Govt has also increased the rates of field allowances for peacekeeping personnel.

On the Job Evaluation Exercise (JEE), Government decided to first implement the revised salaries and allowances under the JEE first with RFMF, the Police and the Prison.

The rest in the Civil Service is still waiting for the JEE to be applied to them. This shows Government’s commitment to improving the working conditions of our disciplined forces. The Government’s Budget for 2007 gave further increases to the Fiji Military Forces to cover its funding needs.



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