Every Soldier Is His Own President - Fiji's Emergency Regulations

If Fiji's emergency regulations are accurately quoted by Radio New Zealand (and it is not without error) on its web site on 13 April 2009 then the following clause condemns the illegal military dictatorship by their own words - emphases added:

"The full clause reads:

Any police officer or member of the armed forces, if in his or her opinion such action is necessary for the public safety, after giving due warning, may use such force as he or she considers necessary, including the use of arms, to disperse the procession, meeting or assembly and to apprehend any person present thereat, and no police officer or member of the armed forces or any person acting in aid of such police officer or member using such force shall not be liable to criminal or civil proceedings for having by the use of such force caused harm or death to any person."

Looks and reads like a double negative to kuaka!

In other words, the emergency regulation states that any police officer, military person, or someone aiding and abetting them shall be liable for using force against persons engaged in public assembly. Sloppy drafting, Freudian slip, or just feeling guilty?

Interim attorney general for Fiji, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyu, says there is no need to enact the regulations, as there is no chaos and nothing happening in the streets.

Or could it be there is no legitimate legislature to enact the regulations? Oh, and no judicial branch left to rule whether the police or military are liable or have violated human or civil rights?

Mr Attorney-general you are living a lie.

Fiji's current slide into lawlessness reminds Kuaka of a haunting statement a resident of East Africa during the 1970s made to Kuaka with respect to the Idi Amin regime. Commenting upon the lawlessness that prevailed from the top down, he dryly noted: "Every soldier is his own president".