Suva, Fij

MUCH speculation has been made regarding the rescue of Ratu Tevita Mara by the Tongan Navy. I prefer to leave the speculations aside and focus on the facts at hand.

1) To accuse the Tongan Navy of breaching Fiji's Sovereignty has not been firmly substantiated by the Fiji Government. No concrete evidence has been furnished to the public till to date to provide the breach except for a few villagers from Kadavu whose statements have not been fully tested out. The Latin maxim "He who alleges must adduce evidence to prove the allegation". Bainimarama made a televised statement claiming that Tonga had breached Fijian Sovereignty. Where is the concrete proof? Remember breaching a country's sovereignty involves international law. It requires concrete and abundant proof. Perhaps this is good reason why one should not speculate.

While we in the Pacific appreciate dialogue and amicable solution, asserting claims without proof is neither useful or constructive to anyone.

2) In the process of following rescue protocol, details of the person's status must be ascertained, accommodation and medical attention must be afforded. These are primary parts of the rescue package. The paper-work and communication can then follow. Because of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara's peculiar situation with the Fiji government, communication must ensue through diplomatic channels. Before this could be initiated, the Fijian Prime Minister hastily accused Tonga of extracting Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara within Fiji waters. He continued to make statements in the media. You will note that the Fijian Minister for Foreign affairs was not nowhere seen or heard, after all, the issue of foreign relations is well within his his portfolio. The fact that the Fijian Prime Minister was more vocal then the Foreign Affairs minister raised suspicion as to whether this was genuinely an issue of sovereignty or a personal vendetta to silence someone who was a former supporter and one who knows too much about the military regime.

3) Mareko Vuli again accuses the Tongan Prime Minister of attacking the Fijian Judiciary, the same judiciary that Lord Tu'ivakano may expects to protect Tongans in Fiji. Lets cast our minds back to post-2006 when the military became a law unto themselves, when Fijians were sent to the camp on conjured up allegations, when some were brutally beaten, where death resulted in some cases, when journalists were gagged from speaking up, when draconian laws were enforced, the question is . . . where was judiciary? . . . where was the judiciary that was suppose to punish the wrong-doers and compensate the innocent? . . . how many military personnel were imprisoned for human rights violations? . . . Currently we have former coup-maker (Sitiveni Rabuka) who is still roaming freely while the other (George Speight) is serving time behind bars. So tell me where was the judiciary when all these were happening? I don't think Tongans in Fiji need to worry too much on whether they can approach the judiciary for protection. What is more important is whether the local Fijians themselves can approach the judiciary for protection. Remember the victims of post-20006 are still crying for justice. Till today there has not been any apology to these victims, instead, more and more decrees have been introduced to curb further dissent.

My plea is for people not make accusations without formal concrete proof. Your speculations serves nobody any good. Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara's peculiar situation should be left to the two governments to sort out. We may share common threads in our culture, history and blood relations, however in this modern day the rule of law must be allowed to prevail. Accusations must be proven, diplomatic channels must be exhausted and above all, the rights of a person must be respected whether chief or commoner, relative or no relative of His Majesty, fugitive or not.

I hope that further discourse on this subject be inclusive of facts, well reasoned opinions and academic reasoning where appropriate rather than flaunting hollow opinions in public domain.

Respectfully

Fredetheon Kava

frekava2009 [at] gmail [dot] com