CANBERRA (Pacnews) — Former Fiji Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes has revealed that he and his family were to be kidnapped and held for ransom in the troubled island nation apparently at the behest of military chief Frank Bainimarama who went on to topple the Fijian government in last year’s coup.
Hughes and former Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Shane Castles were honored at a dinner here hosted by Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty to recognize their work in South Pacific nations, which ultimately resulted in both men being ousted from their positions.
After three and half years in Fiji, Hughes was sacked by the military following the Dec. 5 coup which saw Commodore Bainimarama install himself as prime minister.
Castles was on annual leave in Australia late last year when the government of Manasseh Sogavare declared him an “undesirable immigrant” effectively blocking his return to the Solomon Islands.
Keelty praised both men as role models.
He also revealed for the first time that during the Honiara riots in April 2006, Castles risked his own life by driving, while under attack from mobs, to government house to get a writ signed by the governor-general for a state of emergency to be enforced.
“I think we’ve got two commissioners here who have really showed enormous personal commitment and courage to the people of another nation,” Keelty said.
Hughes, who has spoken generally of threats made against him and his family in the final days of his term in Fiji, revealed more details which led him to believe he, his wife Vicki and their 17-year-old twin boys were to be kidnapped and held for ransom.
“It was pretty intense. The threat was leveled at me initially and you get that as commissioner and...I wasn’t overly concerned about it but it spread to my family and so the family was uplifted (out of the country) very quickly and the (Australian Federal Police) were terrific, they moved in very fast,” he said.
Hughes said action was to be taken to force the democratically elected government of then-Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to meet the demands of Bainimarama, which included the sacking of the police commissioner.
Hughes, who is now working with the Australian Federal Police in Canberra, continuing his 30-year stint with the service, has applied for an international peacekeeping position with the United Nations in New York.
Castles, who has been with the police for 32 years including time in Canberra managing its international deployments, has taken early retirement.
Hughes said their experiences, as difficult as they were, should not dissuade other Australian police officers from serving in the Pacific. Both men said while the end was disappointing, their assignments have been challenging and rewarding.