Page 26 - Islands Business March 2024

Diplomacy

Continued from page 23 Punishing the RFMF?
Mohammed agrees with the concern about the implications
He notes that various denominations of Protestantism see of Fiji’s compromised neutrality.
the creation of Israel in 1948 as the fulfillment of a Biblical “I think what’s on everybody’s mind is whether we’re going
prophecy in which the Jewish people — “God’s chosen” — to continue peacekeeping or suddenly, somebody is going to
return to the Holy Land. “Support for Israel is, therefore, a say, ‘enough of Fiji, they have compromised their neutrality,
deeply held spiritual belief, one that sits alongside Pacific their impartiality, and as such, we are withdrawing consent
Islands’ other considerations of interests and opportunities and we want them to go back,’” he says.
when forming their foreign policies.” Fiji’s Home Affairs Minister, Pio Tikoduadua has been
In September, Papua New Guinea moved its embassy dismissive of such concerns, saying Fiji’s position on Israel at
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Prime Minister James Marape the ICJ did not diminish the capability of its peacekeepers
was quoted as saying at the time: “For us to call ourselves because Fiji had “very professional people serving in
Christian, paying respect to God will not be complete without peacekeeping roles”.
recognising that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the Mohammed, with an almost 40-year military career and
people and the nation of Israel.” having held the rank of Deputy Commander and once a
significant figure on Fiji’s military council, asks whether Fiji’s
Political vs humanitarian position on Israel is a strategic manoeuvre by the government
The commentators draw the distinction between the matter to reign in the military.
of political recognition/State identity and the humanitarian “Do they really want Fijian peacekeepers out there? Or
issues at stake. are they going to indirectly punish the RFMF [Republic of
Says Mohammed: “This is not about recognising the State of Fiji Military Forces]?” he said in an interview with Islands
Israel. This is about a conflict where people wanted to protect Business.
the unprotected. All they were saying is, ‘let’s’ support a He floats this theory on the basis that Fiji’s position on
ceasefire so [that] women, children, elderly ... could get out Israel came from two men acutely aware of what is at
[and] food supplies, medical supplies could get in ...’ and it stake for the Fijian military - Prime Minister Rabuka and
wasn’t [going to be] an indefinite ceasefire, which we (Fiji) Tarakinikini, both seasoned army officers with extensive
agreed to later.” experience in matters of the Middle East.
Fiji eventually did vote for the ceasefire when it came “We all know that in recent times, the RFMF has been vocal
before the UN General Assembly again in December, following (in national affairs). And they have stood firm on their role
a major outcry against its position at home. under Article 131 (of Fiji’s 2013 Constitution which states that
The key concern going forward is the impact on the future it is the military’s overall responsibility to ensure at all times
of Fiji’s decades-long peacekeeping involvement in the Middle the security, defence and well-being of Fiji and all Fijians).
East. “And they have pressured the government into positions,
Fijian-born political sociologist, Professor Steven Ratuva, is so much so, the government has had difficulty. And they
Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and (government) say, ‘the RFMF are stepping out of position.
Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Now, how do we control the RFMF? How do we cut them into
the University of Canterbury. place? One, we can basically give them everything and keep
“The security of Fijian soldiers overseas will be threatened, them quiet, or two, we take away the very thing that put
as well as Fijian citizens themselves,” says Ratuva. them in the limelight. How do we do that? We take a position,
“There are already groups campaigning underground for a knowing very well that the host countries will withdraw their
tourist boycott of Fiji. I’ve personally received angry emails consent, and the Fijians will be asked to leave’.
about ‘your bloody dumb country.’” “Fiji will no longer have peacekeepers. No peacekeeping
Nair says when 45 peacekeeping Fijian soldiers were engagements, the numbers of the RFMF will have to be
taken hostage by the al Qaeda-linked Syrian rebel group reduced. So, all they will do is be confined to domestic roles.
al-Nusra Front in the Golan Heights in 2014, when all else “People are questioning this,” says Mohammed. “Military
(including the UN) had failed to secure their release, Fiji’s strategists are raising this issue because the government
only bargaining power was the value of its peacekeeping knows they can’t openly tell the Fijian public that we are
neutrality. withdrawing from peacekeeping. There’ll be an outcry
“No international power stepped up to help Fiji in its because every second household in Fiji has some member who
most traumatic time in international relations in its entire has served in peacekeeping.
history. Fiji had to fall back on itself, to use its own humble “So, strategically, we (government) take a position. It may
credentials. I successfully used our peace-keeping credentials not be perceived that way. But the outcome is happening in
in the Middle East and over many decades, including the that direction.”
shedding of Fijian blood, to ensure peace in the Middle East,
to free our captured soldiers.”

26 Islands Business, March 2024