20 Jul 2023

Fiji military chief dismisses suggestions of a coup

6:14 pm on 20 July 2023
Fiji Military

Fiji Military Photo: Facebook.com / Republic of Fiji Military Forces

The commander of Fiji's military forces says there will be no coup.

FBC reports Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai has rejected speculation circulating on social media that a coup was looming.

This relates to unofficial leaked documents being circulated online, alleging the Fijian coalition government of misinterpreting the 2013 Constitution and calling for the military to intervene.

Claims that the opposition FijiFirst authored one of the leaked documents have been rejected by the opposition leader, but the party is yet to comment on a second document which surfaced on Monday.

Kalouniwai told FBC the military will continue to abide by the law, and will also respect the decision of the people who voted for the government.

The military chief said the country's coup culture needs to be forgotten and the military will need to work together to move Fiji forward.

He said the constitutional process needs to be followed at all times and this is something they will continue to

advocate.

"It's something that concerns everybody, everybody has a responsibility for this country, not only the RFMF (Republic of Fiji Military Forces), every independent institution of this country, all ministries," Kalouniwai said.

"This is something that we will hold on to, and something we need to aspire to as we continue to move forward and try to help the government and the people of this country in regards to security and wellbeing," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, while speaking at a recent Rewa Provincial Council meeting, said there is no political instability as the coalition government works on achieving its budgetary targets.

Police chief of operations ACP Livai Driu has told fijivillage.com's Staight Talk there was an open investigation into the "unsigned documents" circulating online.

"I would like to assure the members of the public to stay safe and be calm," Driu said.

"Our security enviroinment at the moment is stable and our criminal front is controllable. We need to stay calm. I want to assure the the public that under our watch we will ensure those who are implicated into this [unsigned documents] will be taken to task if they are caught."

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