Former Fiji army chief says military too large

Updated June 26, 2009 07:44:28

Around 600 Fijian military and police will take part in a passing out parade later today, but some analysts believe that with a population of about 900,000 that Fiji does not need a large military force. 460 military and 120 police graduates will be on parade and will add to Fiji's already sizeable military.

Among the critics is former Fijian Colonel, Jone Baledrokadroka, who is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra. Colonel Baledrokadroka put down the insurrection at Queen Elisabeth baracks in 2000 and was also in charge of Fiji's UN peackeeping missions.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka, former head of Fiji's land forces and Fiji's UN peackeeping missions; Alain Le Roy, head of UN peacekeeping missions

BALEDROKADROKA: Well firstly I would like to say that the country can ill afford at the moment a huge intake of soldiers, given the economic plight. The country is going bankrupt. The last three years they have busted the military budget, there is no accountability. There is a huge budget blowout since this regime has been in power. It's a huge drain on the national coffers basic equipment.

COUTTS: And how many of them do you think will be Indo-Fijians, because one of thesis that this interim government has is that they needed this coup to readdress the ethnic crisis in the country and to redress that and make it more equitable, he, Colonel Bainimarama presides over probably one of the most racist institutions in the country and that's the military. So do you know what the figures are and the balance between Indo-Fijians and Fijians are in this passing out?

BALEDROKADROKA: Well this is the point, I think if you the rhetoric or the coming out of this regime, especially Bainimarama is that it's all for stamping out racists. If you look at today's passing out, I guarantee that there will be over 90 per cent of these soldiers and policemen will be indigenous Fijians. So he led probably the most racist organisation in Fiji at the moment to say that it's all done in the name of stamping out racism, this coup that he carried out in 2006, is all lies and the man is living on lies in the last three years or so.

COUTTS: Six hundred graduates and four-sixty in the military and 120 police. Is this large or has this been done before in Fiji?

BALEDROKADROKA: Well, the last time I can remember is back in 1998, when Sitiveni Rabuka carried out a coup. There was just massive recruitment as this. As far as I am concerned, huge recruits are all just part parcel of a dictatorships quest for holding onto power. At this time Fiji is suffering economically, this Fiji recruitment will take the military's push of the budget well over at least 10 per cent of government expenditure I think.

COUTTS: And what else can we read into this? Do you think this is a further militarisation of the country, and something that is going to be in place for a long time to come, and hence the need for such a large graduation?

BALEDROKADROKA: Well, they have justified this as needing to boost up the numbers in peacekeeping. I mean this is what I've been saying all along. International pressure needs to be put on the Fijian military. We do not need a huge force such as this involved in peacekeeping. It has an undemocratic country now which is taking part in peacekeeping operations overseas. This is one of the ways of putting pressure on the military by banning them from peacekeeping because the justification is just not there.

COUTTS: Well, on that note of peacekeeping, and Fiji's role in it - in late May the head of the UN peacekeeping Alain Le Roy, held his regular press briefing in New York and broached the subject of Fiji's peacekeepers. The first voice you will hear here is a reporter asking Mr Le Roy the question.

REPORTER: Finally on the question of Fijians. I understand that you have been it has been said under Koffi Annan that if democracy were not restored in Fiji essentially, the understanding was that the Fijians would not keep benefiting from the UN peacekeeping and receiving payments? Now it has been changed to that there will be no new Fijian peacekeepers. What's the connection between the lack of democracy in the TTC and the type of statements Koffi Annan made in and the follow through.

LE ROY: First about the Fijian, yes we all know that there is some Fijian's in Iraq, the guard protecting Iraq . So what we have said is that it will be very difficult to replace, so far we examine the case by case and we are not at all augmenting the number of Fijians in our peacekeeping operations.

REPORTER: Are you trying to find a replacement in Iraq?

LE ROY: Yes, we are trying, but so far there is no pledges.

COUTTS: UN peacekeeper, Alain Le Roy and I am speaking with Colonel Baledrokadroka. Colonel, what do you make of those comments?

BALEDROKADROKA: Well, it's got a very weak response that the UN is actually making. What is needed exactly is the presence of peacekeepers. They are saying the mission is in the future. They should be looking at missions at the moment, troops on the ground in peace keeping missions in Iraq at the moment. If they want to send a real strong message to sort of tinpot dictators like Bainimarama and his military, they should actually look at suspending UN missions who are now on the ground at the moment where Fiji partaking.