THE Tui Nabobuco, Ratu Sakiusa Navakaroko, was sworn at and had a gun pointed
to his head when five
rebels forcefully took his vehicle on Monday night. And the military believe
that these are the same rebels who
were involved in the cold blooded murder of soldier Joela Dranicevuga Weleilakeba
and police Corporal Raj
Kumar on Tuesday.
The Tui Nabobuco's son and namesake said he picked up his father at Tacirua
and left for Nabobuco at about
9.30pm. They met the rebels between Serea and Naivucini at about 11pm. Ratu
Sakiusa said the rebels moved
to the side as the vehicle approached them before stopping it.
"I was just about to pass the Waibasaga carrier when a gun was pointed
at my head and an order came out for
me to come out of the van," Ratu Sakiusa said. "I refused and they
fired warning shots and at the same time
shouted out orders for me and my father to get out." Ratu Sakiusa said
he was worried about his father given
his advanced age. "They made us sit on the road and the worse thing was
that they kept swearing at us."
Of the five men, four were masked. Ratu Sakiusa said the rebels first took
over a seven tonne truck which was
carrying cattle from Nadroga to Suva. They were stopping the truck when the
Waibasaga carrier, carrying
women who were returning from a funeral, arrived at the scene. The rebels stopped
the carrier and ordered the
driver to move out, but he refused and told them he was ready to die but would
not give his carrier.
"They fired warning shots and the ladies went out of the carrier crying
and were forced to board the truck."
Ratu Sakiusa said the experience was frightening and also deplored the unlawful
activities of the rebels in the
Monasavu area. Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini yesterday
confirmed they had
received reports from chiefs in the Monasavu about the rebels unruly behaviour.
"They are saying that they're fighting for indigenous rights but they
have no respect for the total Fijian custom
and tradition," Lt Col Tarakinikini said. He warned the rebels to stop
terrorising the people in Naitasiri.
Fiji's Daily Post
MONASAVU will today be handed over to the Fiji Electricity Authority. Representatives
of the 12 landowning
units (mataqali) at Monasavu yesterday unanimously agreed to hand the dam back
to the Fiji Electricity
Authority.
FEA spokesman, Ratu Peni Volavola said the gesture by the landowners at their
meeting held at the Pacific
Harbour Centra Hotel had a positive bearing on the talks. Monasavu Landowners
Association lawyer, Sireli Fa
said he was very happy with the way talks progressed and was optimistic of an
amicable solution today.
"There are only a few legal obstacles that we need to clear before an
agreement is reached," said Mr Fa. He
described yesterday's meeting as good because it involved all parties involved
in the Monasavu issue.
According to him this had been the cause of earlier delays. A mataqali representative
said the issue was not new
and should have been solved much earlier. He said the $35 million compensation
claim was insignificant
compared to the loss incurred by the FEA when landowners took over the dam.
Another representative said the
case should not reach the courts. He however stressed that all parties must
abide by the agreement that will be
reached today.
The claims by the Monasavu Landowners Association is centred on the 40, 000
acre catchment area. The late
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau who was Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Fijian Affairs
and chairman of the
Native Land Trust Board when talks over the Monasavu issue began, suggested
the sum of $8 million.
Payment did not apply to the entire catchment area, but only to the 2, 000
acres permanently used by the FEA
for such installations as the lake, power house, tunnels, switch-yard and roads.
The land was bought from the landowners at $400 an acre. The landowners also
receive royalty from the use
of water to generate power. The Interim Government had said the Monasavu landowners
had a very strong case
and a solution was needed urgently. It has also set up a Land Tribunal to look
into land claims and had also set
aside funds for compensation.
Fiji's Daily Post
THE Fiji Military Forces will move in to secure Monasavu, said army spokesperson
Lieutenant Colonel Filipo
Tarakinikini.
He said Monasavu will be "cleaned up" like they did with rebel supporters
in Kalabu and Vanua Levu. "To begin
with, the army is increasing its presence in the area and they're erecting roadblocks
to Monasavu."
Lt Col Tarakinikini said the decision to do this was due in part to the landowners'
refusal to handover Monasavu
despite traditional approaches. "The rebels held the whole country to ransom
by cutting the supply of electricity
and forcing the Fiji Electricity Authority Board to pay $1.9 million every week
for the operation of its diesel
engines in Viti Levu," he said. "From the beginning it was done in
support of the rebels in Parliament and then the
compensation claims crept in again."
He said negotiations were progressing when a Rewasau villager died when the
military stormed Kalabu Fijian
School and arrested 369 rebels. Lt Col Tarakinikini said that while they would
still negotiate with landowners,
"they should know that their must be a solution to the problem. "We're
going to slowly increase the pressure on
them," he said.
He said no one was above the law and the rebels should know that time was running
out on them. "They have
created fear and instability in the area and its time they put a stop to it."
Fiji's Daily Post
CORPORAL Raj Kumar and Private Joela Dranicevuga Weleilakeba died from gun
shot wounds to their
chests, post mortem reports revealed yesterday.
A police source said Corporal Kumar died specifically of gunshots to his chest
and abdomen, while Private
Weleilakeba died of shots to his chest. The police source said Corporal Kumar
did not die from gunshots to
his head as earlier reported.
The other three soldiers injured in the Tuesday ambush, who are currently hospitalised,
are all in stable
condition. The head of the trauma team dealing with the injured soldiers' cases,
Dr Praveen Kumar said the
three were recovering and were in a good state.
"One has been moved to the military hospital and he is quite well. He
had blunt injuries with no gun shots. The
second one is in the Intensive Care Unit and had undergone an operation. But
now, he is recovering and the
third one had gun shots to his arm.
He has been operated on and is being moved to the general ward." Meanwhile,
the funeral of Corporal Kumar
is to be held on next Monday and the condolence gathering for Private Weleilakeba
begins on Friday.
Fiji's Daily Post
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