Immunity will not be extended until the first sitting of the new Parliament following the next general elections because of a typing error in the Constitution Amendment Bill.
Deputy Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica says concerns that everyone would be protected until 2027 are nonsense.
Kamikamica made this clear during the Fijian Media Association Town Hall Forum on the Constitution Amendment Bill at FNU Nasinu.
He stresses that there was a mistake in the draft which is still a Bill which will be amended.
Education Minister and SODELPA Leader Aseri Radrodro emphasised that the immunity clause should be removed as this is one of the reasons why the party is rejecting the Bill in the current form.
He says late former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase initiated the affirmative action with iTaukei. and they see the 2013 Constitution as a weapon that was used to eliminate that affirmative action.
Government MP and Leader of the National Federation Party Professor Biman Prasad also stresses that they do not support any kind of immunity in any constitution.
He says there are people in this country who have supported coups and got away with them.
He says there should never be immunity for coup makers, those who enable coups, or those who form part of a coup government.
Fiji Labour Party Leader and former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry also says the immunity clause should be completely out of the constitution.
When questioned that Professor Prasad was perhaps referring to him as someone who supported the 2006 coup, Chaudhry says his entry into the Bainimarama Government as Finance Minister was at the request of the President.
However, when pushed by fijivillage News Director Vijay Narayan and MaiTV Director Stanley Simpson that a coup is a coup and questioned if it should be justified, Chaudhry says Bainimarama took over the government because Qarase was pushing for the Reconciliation Bill, releasing the coup makers from prison and paying them while they were in prison, but Qarase did not listen.
It was also highlighted that the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai had stated that they do not agree with the extension of the immunity to the new Parliament.
Unity Fiji Leader Savenaca Narube says they have always been against immunity as it sends the wrong signal to everybody in Fiji and reinforces the coup culture.
He says legal implications of removing immunity need to be examined but argues that there may be other ways to address the concerns without including immunity in the Constitution.
Opposition MP Premila Kumar says the Supreme Court’s opinion was to retain the 2013 Constitution, including Chapter 10, while opening the door to a process of constitutional change.
She says removing the 2013 Constitution would also remove Chapter 10, and it would be inconsistent to introduce a new Constitution with immunity provisions under Chapter 14.
Kumar says the Supreme Court’s decision must be read in its entirety and it is not fair to retain parts of the decision while disregarding others.
She says immunity should not be included in the 2026 Constitution if the Government is proceeding in line with the Supreme Court’s decision.
One Nation President Roko Tupou Draunidalo says the Supreme Court’s opinion to Cabinet is not a judgement or ruling and says it cannot bind Parliament or rewrite the Constitution.
She supports retaining the 2013 Constitution, including its immunity provisions, arguing that immunity was intended to enable a peaceful transfer of power from revolutionary governments through elections rather than continued conflict.
Kamikamica has stressed that the Court’s opinion is legally binding.
He says the Supreme Court has reasoned that if the immunity clause is removed, the Government, the two former Prime Ministers, the military, judges, civil servants and even Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry could face lawsuits because Chaudhry was part of the first Cabinet after the 2006 coup, potentially creating instability.
The consultation on the Constitution Amendment Bill concludes this week, with a report expected to be tabled in Parliament next week and voting following the third reading.
