[Photo: CONSTITUTIONAL REVIW COMMISSION/ FACEBOOK]
The Constitutional Review Commission has been told that the Methodist Church and other indigenous institutions should never again support coups carried out in their name.
Joe Nata, a former journalist, says past coups were wrongly justified using indigenous and religious interests, and urged traditional and religious institutions not to support any future unlawful takeover of government.
“The Methodist church and indigenous institution should never again support a coup supposedly done in their name. All the coups that were supposedly done in their name were based on lies, on reasons of self-grandeur, opportunism, and, very generally. I say to the iTaukei, I say to the churches, nothing replaces an old-fashioned outlook.”
Nata says removing immunity for future coup makers would send a strong message that unlawful takeovers will not be tolerated.
The RFMF Commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai says the country cannot achieve genuine stability by protecting the past.
The submissions stress that ending Fiji’s coup culture will require accountability and the commitment of all institutions to uphold democracy.
