# 2. Na Sala Cava? What Should the Military's Role be After 2014?

"Ione" thinks the military's role should be limited to safeguarding the elected government.Some think the military should be disbanded, while others think it should have a more comprehensive involvement. Ione ... I believe there will still be a residue of distrust about the IG’s intentions post 2014. The ‘interim’ government will have been in power for eight years, a length of two terms by normal voting standards. However it has recently let slip (either deliberately or unintentionally) that it will be ‘watching’ the new government to ensure that it doesn’t stray from the Roadmap.  I don't think this is the military’s role. The military’s role is to safeguard the elected government from overthrow. If Fiji society should wish to change clauses in the new constitution by voting in elections or referendums, then that is the prerogative of society. It is not for one man or a small group of men, no matter how well meaning, to overthrow the government by force and impose their will – and certainly not after 2014. However the military will still retain the wherewithal to do just that. Therefore one of the first acts of the new government should be to downsize the military to 1970 levels (± 200 strong) and, through a credible checking process, reduce the number of weapons in the country and publically destroy them. I don’t believe that overseas remittances from FMF members of UN task forces is a sufficiently strong argument for retaining the present size of weaponised military and therefore the continued increase in size of the FMF must be halted. But just before I do, one final thought. Political parties for the 2014 election could possibly make a reduction in the military forces one of the main points in their election manifestos. Then, after the 2014 elections, if the FMF should strongly object to downsizing and a reduction in the number of weapons in the country, that would be rather telling wouldn’t it?

Comments

May 15, 2010 3:55:00 PM

Role of the military said...

I think many people will support the military so long as it stands for a multiracial Fiji. If it stops doing that, then it will have forfeited its moral right to be the guardian of the country's future. But while it does, I see no reason for it to be overly censured or restrained. Why do we have the peace that now reigns in our cities, towns and countryside? Because potential troublemakers know that they'll get a good old fashioned buturaki when the troops catch up with them. Fear of a hiding in Fiji has always been a good thing, whatever the "human right's" gang say. There's always been an element of savagery lurking just below the surface. And it's discipline at every level in our society that keeps it in check. If that means a strong military, so be it. But we do need to make sure that the finest, most honourable people follow military careers so that power isn't abused. Thank God - for the moment - we have that.

May 14, 2010 4:09:00 PM

Croz said..

@ Role ... Thanks for kicking off this discussion. Any ideas on how to prevent the abuse of power, between now and 2014 and after 2014?

May 15, 2010 3:55:00 PM

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May 15, 2010 9:45:00 PM

Croz said...

@sara'ssista. You are at it again with an unhelpful, vindicative and inflammatory comment. Comment deleted. Please follow acceptable rules of discussion if you wish to make further comment.

May 16, 2010 11:41:00 PM

FMF's public duty said...

The military's eventual role in the country is in its own hands and depends on how effectively it handles the transition to democracy. If it's seen by most citizens to have done it honourably and efficiently, then it will have a huge store of public goodwill and be seen as the natural guarantor of the broad national interest without having to enforce anything. If, on the other hand, it descends into self interest, corruption and brutality, ordinary people will see the FMF as no better than the grubby politicians it removed. This is why the way the regime behaves between now and 2014 is so important. I think there's plenty of evidence that Frank Bainimarama is working hard to take the high road and earn the trust of the people. He's not only governing effectively and efficiently against huge odds, but is traveling the length and breadth of the country to spreading a message of renewal. That message is that only multiracialism provides Fiji with any viable future and that people should strive for self sufficiency instead of looking to government for handouts. He's also bringing desperately needed infrastructure to places that have been neglected, like Rotuma, and seems to be constantly looking for ways to do things more efficiently. I think the fact that he's now being welcomed even in places traditionally opposed to the 2006 coup shows that he's gradually winning over ordinary people. In fact, he's proving to be a pretty skillful politician himself in a way that no-one really expected. Whatever the critics say about him, you can't force people to applaud you or apologise publicly for not having been with your program. Even in the absence of an opinion poll or vote, It's obvious that he's pretty popular and whether or not this is just traditional "big man" politics at work, Frank's prestige and that of the FMF is arguably at an all time high. The main problem area seems to be a sluggish economy and the risk that people will lose confidence in the regime's ability to keep things afloat. But all in all, this has not been a brutal dictatorship as dictatorships go and many people are grateful for the regime's tough stance on law and order. If the military is seen as the natural guarantor of individual safety and welfare, then it stands to reason that it'll be seen in the same way in the national psyche after 2014. Public trust is the key.

May 17, 2010 10:07:00 AM

Easy peasy said...

Why did we get into the mess we did as a country? Racism. Why was the last coup necessary? Racism. What is the way forward? Abolish racism. Which is the one institution in Fiji that can guarantee racial equality? The FMF. What should its role be after 2014? The ultimate guarantor of equality and racial harmony.

May 17, 2010 10:16:00 AM

sara'ssista said...

here's an idea , abolish the fijian military...to unhelpful or vindictive for you...and the behaviour of this military regime is key....but not' from now on' as commented , from well before this coup and the last and the last...they have shown that will wait in the wings an step whenever they feel it necessary, so there will be no respect whatsoever for any institutions by them...

May 17, 2010 3:58:00 PM

General Leweni said...

The Draft Charter was a document that promoted the illegal overthrow of a Government and Constitution by a coup, describing all the evils of a ‘coup culture’ and then suggesting that the way out of this is by giving the perpetrators of the coups - the military - a say in government. The RFMF consumes more than $100m a year of our very hard earned taxes (note that our educational system has a budget of about $80m). It has made itself unaccountable to anyone in the administration for its finances. The only security it provides is the assurance that it will perpetrate a coup if it disagrees with the government of the day. Sometimes we are told that it has an income from its peacekeeping operations but we do not know how much and the suspicion is that it is a very poor return on our investment. The revelations over the extraordinary leave payments to the military only became public thanks to our media, helped by the blogs. It should be obvious to everyone by now that the only way in which we will end the ‘cycle of coups’ is to dismantle the military. This large body of skill, talent and expertise would be much better employed in the private sector and a programme of rapid re education is needed to do this. The rump of the military should be recycled as an efficient Coast Guard and fisheries protection service. We should keep the band.

May 17, 2010 8:59:00 PM

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May 17, 2010 10:17:00 PM

Constant in coup said...

It might be illuminating to review an example from history and to quote eminent archaeologist and historian, Francis Pryor on the subject of Emperor Constantine the Great - he who converted the Roman Empire to Christianity: ‘Constantine the Great lived up to his name, but the manner in which he achieved this - by simple military might - would ultimately prove one of the major flaws of the Western Roman Empire. The process by which a new Emperor was chosen had long been a problem, but Constantine’s example opened the gates to anyone who could muster sufficient military muscle. No longer did powerful or successful military leaders have any reason to curb their ambition - and the result was the instability of the State.’ (Extract from Britain AD by Francis Pryor, Harper Perennial, 2004) In fact the only way to break the ‘coup culture’ is to get rid of the main perpetrators - the army.

May 17, 2010 10:34:00 PM

Baleta na cava? said...

Croz, can you tell us why so many posts have been removed recently? There are so many rejections in Na Sala Cava 1,2 and 3 that I wonder what on earth has been going on. Are you under cyber attack? Is it threats of violence and abuse? Just leaving a bald statement that something has been removed could give your opponents reason to suggest that perfectly reasonable comments have been censored for political reasons.

May 18, 2010 10:29:00 AM

 Croz said ...

@ Baleta na cava ... I appreciate your concern. Blogspot does not give me the option of saying why I delete a comment. I have to add a new comment,and this I sometimes do. I could vet comments before they are posted but prefer to rely on readers' good sense. If they do not follow the rules written above the box where they comment, I will delete them. I'm now addding two new rules: comments must be relevant and helpful to further discussion. No comment is ever deleted for the political opinion expressed if it abides by the rules.