A top military officer and high ranking Fijian chief from Lau is under the protection of Tonga's king today after being brought to Tonga in a top secret rescue mission believed to be conducted by the Tongan navy last week.

Lieutenant-Colonel Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, a former Royal Fiji Military Force (RFMF) Army Chief-of-Staff, said in a statement on YouTube on Satuday May 14 that when he was rescued by the Tongan navy he asked for protection from a Fijian regime that he described as "a hateful dictatorship" .

The son of the late Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara, Lt. Col. Mara commanded the third infantry Regiment of the Republic of Fiji Forces at the time of the December 2006 military coup.

It is not clear whether Lt. Co. Mara was rescued from land or from sea, and the nature of the distress call has not been explained by the Tongan authorities.

In a cryptic item posted on the Tonga Ministry of Communication and Information website on May 13 the authorities stated that the VOEA Savea had responded to a distress signal from south of Ono-i-Lau and "rescued a passenger" and brought him to Nuku'alofa and ". . . arrangements have been made for his accommodation by the Royal Household Office in deference to his rank . . ." The rescued individual was not identified and there were no details about the situation of the rescue.

The duty officer at the Tonga Navy Headquarter at Touliki yesterday was clearly aware that the Patrol Boat VOEA Savea had gone out on a rescue mission, but said, "they came back, there was nobody on board".

At the Tonga Police Headquarter, Officer Faletau said yesterday that they had heard about the rescue mission and had been ringing the navy to find out about it but they had not been told what happened or whether anybody was rescued.

Fear of retribution

However, the rescued individual revealed himself on YouTube on Saturday May 14, as Lt-Col. Tevita Uluilakeba Mara - "When I was rescued by the Tongan Navy, I asked to be brought to Nuku'alofa where under the sure protection of King George's government I shall be able to tell the truth, without fear of retribution, about the tragic oppression which stifles my beloved land . . ." he stated.

"Friends and contacts in the army, as well as the police, warned me of a plan hatched by Khaiyum to utilise the provisions of the Public Emergency Act and Crimes Decree 2010 in order to incarcerate [Brigadier] Pita Driti and I for at least a year on trumped up charges of sedition and attempted mutiny without the opportunity to defend ourselves in open court.

"Considering the state of corruption of the judicial system and the extent to which it is controlled entirely by the political frivolities of the Attorney-General, I was obliged to take these warnings seriously.

"For inexplicable reasons, Commodore Bainimarama, weakened by ill health, morally and intellectually bankrupt, is no more than Aiyaz Khayum's [sic] hand puppet. The advice which we, as senior officers had offered the commander in an attempt to soften the regime's approach to public dissent were seen by Khayum [sic] as a direct threat to his person and his megalomania is inspired entirely by the self importance of a lonely and inadequate man.

"Endowed with no leadership qualities and incapable of understanding the simplest principles of decency and respect even in a society that is grounded on such virtues, he is the sole architect of the cruelties which have sadly become common in our daily life.

"When I was rescued by the Tongan Navy, I asked to be brought to Nuku'alofa where under the sure protection of King George's government I shall be able to tell the truth, without fear of retribution, about the tragic oppression which stifles my beloved land.

"When this hateful dictatorship has been eradicated, all of us who once served it shall answer to the Fijian people for the part we played and I will gladly submit to their verdict,"

 Lt-Col. Mara stated.

Cdre Bainimarama

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Ratu Mara has been declared a fugitive under the Extradition Act by interim Fiji Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama.

The FijiLive website reported that at a press conference, Cdre Bainimarama confirmed an illegal extraction of Lt Col Mara, who faces sedition charges, by the Royal Tongan Navy Patrol Boat Savea took place one nautical mile northwest of Cape Washington in Kadavu.