Rakiraki sedition convictions

Dorsami Naidu, Nadi

We have gone through a judicial process resulting in convictions and custodial sentences for 14 of the 15 accused in the recent Ra sedition case.

These accused if the newspaper reports of the court proceedings are anything to go by are average citizens and elderly who rightly or wrongly had strong religious convictions but actions were naive and they were caught up in a scenario not of their making. This scenario can be compared to the 1988-89 ‘Guns of Lautoka' case which was a direct result of the 1987 coup.

There were 21 accused in that case and they were also average elderly citizens mostly farmers and who felt strongly about what had happened and when offered a chance to make a difference they jumped at the opportunity though they did not know how to use a AK47, rocket launcher or grenade nor had they ever used one though they were found in possession of the same.

I represented several of the accused in the ‘Guns of Lautoka' saga with certain colleagues of mine like the late Mr Anu Patel, Mr Anand Singh and Mr AK Narayan and the presiding judge was Justice Doctor L.M. Jayaratne of Sri Lanka, a fearless judge of the Fiji Supreme Court at Lautoka (now the Lautoka High Court).

There was no evidence of treason against the accused but eighteen (18) of them pleaded guilty to the charge of being in possession of unlicensed firearms and in mitigation we impressed on the judge that the accused were simple ordinary people caught up in a situation not of their making.

The judge after considering the summary of facts and having regard to the forceful mitigation presented by defence counsels gave all the accused non-custodial sentences.

This was a great result as it showed that there was some understanding of the reasons for the actions of the accused.

They like the present accused were mere pawns in this political game of chess. Some who in our country's history have initiated treasonous or seditious acts with success resulting in constitutional immunity while others who are non-consequential foot soldiers whose actions are a spinoff from such scenarios face the full brunt of the law.

It is time for reconciliation, compassion and understanding and not retribution and vengeance. The people of this country have come a long way on the path of one nation and one people.

The judicial system has carried out its function but I urge the Commission on the Prerogative of Mercy constituted under Section 119 of the Constitution to convene and recommend to the President to grant a pardon to all those 14 presently serving a custodial sentence. This country and its people have been through a lot since May 1987 and it is probably time to have own forgiveness and reconciliation commission similar to the South African one to determine the causes of our upheavals and move forward.