Stakeholders and non-governmental organizations have raised concerns that the immunity clauses in the 2013 Constitution may facilitate future coups and advocate for their removal. In the Fiji National Security and Defence Review Report (NSDR), they argue that these provisions encourage a culture of coups, which poses a significant threat to Fiji.
The report, presented to the public by Independent Review Lead James Sanday and the NSDR Editorial Board Chairperson Satish Chand, alongside Shailendra Singh and Ana Rokomokoti, emphasizes that the leadership of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces recognizes the diminished and fragile trust within the community and the contributing factors.
It states, “Trust in the security forces, which was based on their commitment to serve the people and protect their rights, has been eroded with each coup.” Furthermore, the 2013 Constitution has failed to rebuild this trust by expanding the RFMF’s role through Section 131 (2), which grants the military a guardian role. However, confidence in the military’s ability to fulfill this role has been severely impacted by past human rights violations, according to the report.
The document also points to an incident where armed soldiers and police entered Bau Island to detain the chief and his herald during a traditional ceremony, illustrating the security forces’ overreach that continues to fuel concerns about the RFMF, rooted in its involvement in the coups of 1987, 2000, and 2006.
Civil service stakeholders and civil society organizations have shared their own accounts of abuses perpetrated by the security forces, recounting the violations of their human and civil rights during and after the coups. They identified the risk of future military interference in politics as a persistent and latent threat that reinforces their mistrust.