[Photo: SUPPLIED]

A man who was widely recognised as the voice of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces during the 2000 civil uprising, says if Fiji is to move forward, “the country must confront its history honestly, acknowledge the suffering experienced across communities, and commit to building trust through transparency and national unity.”

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) and Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Filipo Tarakinikini, said this when he appeared before the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission this week.

Tarakinikini shared his reflections in relation to the 1987 military coup executed by then RFMF Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka and the 2000 political crisis that shook the nation led by businessman George Speight.

The hearing, held in Suva, was presided over by FTRC Chairperson Joaquim da Fonseca and Commissioner Ana Laqeretabua.

Also present at the hearing was Tarakinikini’s wife, Amele Tabuya-Tarakinikini – who described the personal toll that the aftermath of the 2000 crisis took on their family.

She shared about the allegations made against her husband, the uncertainty and displacement that followed, and the emotional and financial strain that weighed heavily on their marriage, children, and extended family.

She briefly recalled years marked by fear, social isolation, stigma, and hardship and shared how their children carried the emotional burden of those years, including the discovery that one daughter’s learning difficulties were linked to trauma experienced during that period.

Amid the hardships, she described how faith, trusted friendships, counselling support, and a shared commitment to family helped them

endure the years of uncertainty.

“We made the decision to stay together and keep moving forward,” 

Lt Colonel (Retired) Filipo Tarakinikini was born in Delailasakau, Naitasiri, and began his military career in the late 1970s and was commissioned as an officer in 1981.

Over the next two decades, he served in senior operational and staff roles within the RFMF, including Aide-de-Camp, Adjutant, Senior Plans Officer, and Battalion Commander with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

His military training included studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom and the Senior Command and Staff College in Camberley, reflecting his advancement through the officer corps.

Following his departure from the military in 2002, Mr Tarakinikini embarked on a distinguished career with the United Nations Department for Safety and Security, serving in senior advisory roles in Israel, Nepal, and across the Middle East and North Africa, including missions in Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. In 2018, he returned to the UN HQ in New York and served as Chief Middle East and North Africa with UNDSS (Department of Safety and Security) until taking early retirement in December 2022.

In 2023, he returned to public service as Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

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