Issue No: 672; 11 April 2001

Today's Fiji Sun today published an interview with the military's outgoing Commander of the third Infantry regiment, Lt. Col. Viliame Seruvakula. When asked what was his first reaction when he heard of the terrorists entering the Parliament Complex, he stated:

"I was not surprised because I knew about it days before that or even weeks. We had passed on information to Government and I had spoken to members of the Labour Party who agreed that they had weakness in their Cabinet, which was unfortunate. I was not surprised at all and I knew it was coming and had my soldiers ready at seven o'clock in the morning passing information hoping that something would come earlier on for us to preempt the strike and surround the parliament to avoid the coup."

Seruvakula also stated: "I found out that the people in parliament were waiting for me and my soldiers to come down on Friday afternoon. And they said it was a delay and we would come in on Saturday morning. When it didn't happen, I heard them say that we have decided to stay up in the damp while they sort things out down there which was not true at all. There was no way I would not have to inform him of my decision. As far as I'm concerned from the word go he was a law breaker and I don't have to talk to him."

The revelations raise major questions on numerous issues. What did the miltiary do to pre-empt the strike? Who did the military pass the information to? Who were the Fiji Labour Party members who knew about the terrorists? Why did the military not surround the Parliament on 19 May? Why was the army commander out of the country on 19 May? Why was an offer made to the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs to take a trip out of Fiji around 19 May? What was the role of senior military officers in the terrorist uprising