Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:
Warning! The video is very graphic:
How someone could possibly try to justify that kind of depravity I will never know.
That's no excuse for systematically beating people until they're permanently disabled... Epeli Qaraniqio, one of the men in the video, lost one of his legs because of the beating, a beating that looks likely to have been undertaken by Fijian police officers.
The abuse is bad enough, but trying to justify it in the way Bainimarama has makes him equally responsible. It's his lack of proper oversight that will be allowing such disgusting crimes to occur, and he should also be held to account.
In the mean time Bainimarama wins this week's Asshole Award. Let's hope there's an independent and full inquiry into the matter and some international pressure to remove the dictator.
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says he will support his men if they were involved in the repeated beating an escaped prisoner.
His comments come after a recent video showed two people getting badly beaten up by a group of men, believed to involve security staff.
Warning! The video is very graphic:
How someone could possibly try to justify that kind of depravity I will never know.
Bainimarama told Fijivillage.com security personnel worked hard to protect the citizens of Fiji from hardened criminals.
That's no excuse for systematically beating people until they're permanently disabled... Epeli Qaraniqio, one of the men in the video, lost one of his legs because of the beating, a beating that looks likely to have been undertaken by Fijian police officers.
He told the website the matter would be investigated but said he would support the men.
"At the end of the day, I will stick by my men, by the police officers or anyone else that might be named in this investigation.
"We cannot discard them just because they've done their duty in looking after the security of this nation and making sure we sleep peacefully at night," Fijivillage reported him saying.
The abuse is bad enough, but trying to justify it in the way Bainimarama has makes him equally responsible. It's his lack of proper oversight that will be allowing such disgusting crimes to occur, and he should also be held to account.
In the mean time Bainimarama wins this week's Asshole Award. Let's hope there's an independent and full inquiry into the matter and some international pressure to remove the dictator.
