SUVA (Pacnews) — International Police have been asked to arrest Fiji’s controversial army officer, Lt. Col. Filipo Tarakinikini, for desertion.
The former army spokesman who worked under the United Nations refused to return to Fiji to answer allegations over his involvement in the May 2000 coup.
The American embassy in Suva will also be asked to revoke his visa.
Tarakinikini’s contract with the U.N. Peacekeeping Office in New York has ended and his attempts to resign from the army have been rejected by the army commander.
The Office of the President has issued a statement saying that as commander-in-chief, President Josefa Iloilo stands by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s earlier decision to demand his return home. The president took the decision after receiving a resignation letter from Tarakinikini, which he claimed became effective on March 21.
Iloilo met with Bainimarama last Friday and discussed all the issues raised by Tarakinikini. In a statement, the president announced that there will be no interference with what the army has put in place regarding Tarakinikini and that he does not wish to intervene at any time with legal proceedings relating to Tarakinikini’s case unless so advised by the commander of the army.
The government will now formalize discussions with the president before alerting Interpol and the American Embassy on Tarakinikini’s official status as a deserter.
