Tuesday 21st April 2020
This morning at 12.30am Police arrested NFP President Pio Tikoduadua at his home at Delasui village in Tailevu.
The Police are upset about a video on Mr Tikoduadua’s Facebook page. In that video he sets out allegations of Police brutality at the village of Naqia, also in Tailevu. As a result of this a young man – alleged to have been thrown off a bridge - is now in hospital with serious injuries.
This incident has received wide publicity. The Police are not denying it. They are saying only that they will investigate it.
In today’s Fiji Times witnesses have described in detail what happened and the fear this incident caused them.
The Police know there is a problem. Mr Tikoduadua is a Member of Parliament. He has called on Police to rein in their bad behaviour. The only response from the Police is to arrest him. We call on police to immediately release him.
Mr Tikoduadua is well known. Everyone knows where to find him. He is not going to run away. If the Police want to question him why do they have to swoop on his home after midnight to arrest him?
This is a time when the people of Fiji should be able to look confidently to the Police for support and protection. Instead, the Police are having to investigate allegations of their own brutality – and now they are spending their energy arresting members of the opposition.
Both the alleged assault and Mr Tikoduadua’s arrest point to a culture of weak leadership where every problem is answered by bullying. We have seen this many times in the last few weeks.
We are now in the biggest health and economic crisis Fiji has faced since Independence. Right now everyone must focus on their health and well-being. But the people will not forget how their leaders performed during this crisis. It is why the next time the voters get the chance, this government will be thrown out in big numbers.
Authorised by : -
Professor Biman Prasad
Leader