Sir,

The current trend of abuse of power by our police and military would certainly qualify as serious international human rights violations. The most recent case has resulted in the death of an individual categorized only as a suspect.

The unwarranted shooting has denied Amani Koroduadua any chance of ever defending his innocence in a court of law.

Brutal actions include severe beatings and unjustified shootings, to name just a few. Our security forces continue to hand out these rough treatments copiously because of the existence of a corrupt (interim) administration system that has become an active obstacle to transparency and accountability.

Allegations of police and military abuse are rife and it is amongst the most serious and divisive human rights violations in Fiji. The problem is nationwide and its nature is, institutionalized.

These abuses have corroded the public trust for the police, military and the interim administration.

These authorities either deny all reports of brutality or quickly explain that the incident was abnormal, accidental or unavoidable and ironically, Fiji's administrative and criminal systems (that should deter abuses by holding offenders accountable) virtually guarantee the offenders impunity.

Recent decrees of immunity passed by Ratu Josefa Iloilo also contribute to the mechanism, which makes it possible for people who commit such human rights violations to escape punishment and repeat their offenses.

All (if any) systems to deal with military and police brutality have drastically failed.

Severe abuses persist because overwhelming barriers to accountability make it all too likely that officers who commit these violations will escape due punishment to continue their abusive conduct. These officers are routinely protected by the silence of their fellow officers and a corrupt and ineffective leadership.

Military and police officers are engaging in severe beatings, unjustified shootings and unnecessary rough physical treatment throughout the country while their superiors, the justice department and the interim government fail to act decisively to restrain or penalize them for such acts.

Any efforts to mend such acts brutality are coupled with unwillingness by senior officials to deal seriously with the offenders.

This trend has once again resulted in the death of another innocent (until proven guilty) individual and has exposed a long-standing negligence and tolerance of brutality by the police, military and the interim government.

The barriers to accountability must be removed if the number and severity of abuses committed by the police and military in this country is ever to recede. Flaws within the administrative and legal procedures must be eradicated to guarantee accountability. Human rights violations persist in Fiji mainly because our accountability systems are extremely defective.

Victims of brutality in Fiji have little chance of seeing the guilty punished or prosecuted. Seekers of justice or compensation face obstacles at every point, ranging from unconcealed intimidation to the reluctance of local prosecutors to take on brutality cases.

Reporting an abuse to authorities may eventually lead to an investigation, but it rarely results in appropriate punishment for the offenders.

Filing an abuse complaint with authorities can be intimidating and the excessive secrecy within these departments usually means that the complainant learns nothing about any disciplinary action that may have been taken against the accused officer.

In addition, most victims of abuse in Fiji now perceive that criminal prosecution is rarely an option except in highly publicized cases. As a result, resentment and frustration often worsen the original abusive treatment. Since it is an open secret that control procedures for police, military and other civil abuses do not function effectively in Fiji, many victims do not even bother to pursue a complaint at all.

Military and police brutality in Fiji could be attributed to a lack of effective public accountability and transparency, persistent failure to investigate and punish offenders, and obstacles to justice.

Meaningful information relating to the trends of abuse in Fiji is scarce. Information regarding government or police response to such incidents and their plans or actions to prevent such brutality is also nonexistent.

People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands
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Last update: August 27, 2001