Opposition Member of Parliament, Viliame Naupoto says Minister for Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua’s incomprehensible defence of Fiji’s position on Israel’s occupation of and actions in Gaza harms the country’s reputation as a peacekeeping nation.
In a statement, the former Commander of the Fiji Military Forces said that Fiji’s reputation as a peacekeeping nation is built on RFMF’s professionalism and experience.
“Our international reputation as a peacekeeping nation is equally premised on our ability to stay neutral in regions where Fijian peacekeepers are deployed. Only by being neutral will we be seen as credible by the parties to the conflict.”
“The Minister should know better. International peacekeeping deployments can only proceed with the concurrence of the state parties in the conflict. For example, both Syria and Israel have to agree to Fiji’s deployment in Golan. Both Lebanon and Israel had to agree to Fiji’s deployment when RFMF was deployed in Lebanon.”
Naupoto said just about everyone else other than the minister knows that the current Fijian PM’s explicit support to one party to the conflict at the ICJ and that to by overstepping international law, has diminished and compromised Fiji’s peacekeeping reputation and high standing not only in the Middle East but worldwide and especially in the Global South.
“Ministers should learn to speak when they have a point to make. Even more importantly, they should learn to refrain from speaking when there is nothing substantive to say,” Naupoto added.
