James Ah Koy - Opposition To Reconciliation Commission

Opposition To Reconciliation Commission

On 28 June 2005, Ah Koy declared his total opposition to the government's controversial proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission, with the power (subject to presidential approval) to compensate victims and parton perpetrators of the 2000 coup. He labelled the legislation as a "diabolically conceived bill with its origins in hell." Ah Koy's opposition flew in the face of its endorsement by the Kadavu Provincial Council. He acknowledged that his defiance of the council's stand might cost him his seat in the Senate, but said that he would not shrink from standing for truth as he saw it. "This Bill is anti-Bible and every Christian should vote against it if they are true to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Israel," he said. He charged that the government's real motive in promoting the bill was to save the skins of some of its members who were being pursued by the police. He criticized Ratu Nawalowalo and the Provincial Council for supporting the bill without consulting the tribes and villages of the province.

Ah Koy renewed his attack on the bill on 26 August. Speaking in the Senate, he said that he and his family had been subjected to threats after the coup, in the wake of false accusations that he had organized and financed the coup. They were the victims of the people who had planned the coup - who were still at large, he alleged, adding that George Speight was just a pawn in the hands of those who planned the operation. The legislation was nothing more than serving one's own neck, he claimed. He reiterated his support for Military Commander Frank Bainimarama's campaign against the bill.