26 Mar 2012

Bainimarama dismisses calls for definition of military's constitutional role

2:09 pm on 26 March 2012

Fiji regime leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama has dismissed calls for the Fiji constitution to address the role of the country's military.

The interim government says all Fiji people will have a voice in consultations on the new constitution which are due to get underway in July and there have been calls for the military's constitutional role to be discussed.

Commodore Bainimarama was asked by Auckland-based Radio Tarana what he thought of such calls.

"The call that's coming from people to define the military's role are people that do not like what the military has done over the last ten years in trying to bring about some respectability and the democracy that we have. The call of Fiji's military is to first and foremost protect and serve the people of Fiji."

Commodore Frank Bainimarama says that since 1987 the military has had to change the way it does business and its role is no longer specifically reserved for peacekeeping duties.