Wednesday November 1st, 2006
ARMY SHOULD
LEAVE LAW TO THE LAWMAKERS, SAYS
FWRM
THE FIJI Womens Rights Movement says
the Fiji Military Forces has no role in civic governance. The Movement has come out strongly
against the recent threatening statements and actions by Commander Frank
Bainimarama and his officers.
Just because we are a young democracy does
not mean that the military has a larger role to play in holding the state
accountable. That is the job of
citizens, voters and civil society groups as laid out in our Constitution,
said FWRM Executive Director Virisila Buadromo.
Only citizens and civil society can question our leaders about the
legality of proposed Bills and policies.
The Military, which has guns and ammunition, cannot and must not
challenge the Government in this way.
The Movement says the Fiji Military
must step back and let our constitutional and democratic processes work. We
must put our faith and trust in our Constitution and in the democratic values
and principles that we as a nation have embraced.
You cannot uphold the rule of law by
breaking the rule of law. Law provides an overriding set of principles which
govern us. This is enshrined in
both national and agreed international law, Buadromo said.
As part of the international community,
Fiji has the responsibility to uphold
and respect the rule of law this applies to both the Government and the
Military. Straying from these
fundamentals will lead to chaos, as we experienced in 1987 and
2000.
Buadromo said that by making public judgements about government
Bills, the Military is weakening the judiciary.
The Courts are the only institution qualified to judge the
legality of policy and legislation.
By stepping in and saying some Bills are illegal, the Military is
weakening the institution of the Court and the rule of law, said Buadromo.
The Military is simply not qualified to make these judgements on
points of law and it is highly
inappropriate.
[Ends]
For more information,
contact: The Director (Mobile 924
9906)
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