Pacific Scoop news desk
One of the key military officers who helped stage Fiji's 2006 coup and was earlier this month charged with sedition in an alleged attempted mutiny case has made a passionate video plea calling for an end to the military dictatorship.
Lieutenant-Colonel Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, a former Army Chief-of-Staff who commanded the Third Infantry Regiment of the Republic of Fiji Forces at the time of the coup in December 2006 and for the past four years, had his statement posted on the Truthforfiji channel on YouTube.
He has reportedly "escaped" from Fiji to Tonga where he vowed to "tell the truth without fear of retribution".
Colonel Mara blamed "political frivolities" of the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, for what he claimed was a plot against him and Land Force Commander Brigadier-General Pita Driti. 
The video statement was posted on May 14 - the same date of the first coup in Fiji in 1987 and the arrival of the first shipload of 497 indentured labourers from India on board the Leonidas in 1879.
Colonel Mara said in his statement calling for "regime change":
"Friends and contacts in the army, as well as the police, warned me of a plan hatched by Khaiyum to utilise the provisions of the Public Emergency Act and Crimes Decree 2010 in order to incarcerate [Brigadier] Pita Driti and I for at least a year on trumped up charges of sedition and attempted mutiny without the opportunity to defend ourselves in open court.
"Considering the state of corruption of the judicial system and the extent to which it is controlled entirely by the political frivolities of the Attorney-General, I was obliged to take these warnings seriously.
"For inexplicable reasons, Commodore Bainimarama, weakened by ill health, morally and intellectually bankrupt, is no more than Aiyaz Khayum's [sic] hand puppet. The advice which we, as senior officers had offered the commander in an attempt to soften the regime's approach to public dissent were seen by Khayum [sic] as a direct threat to his person and his megalomania is inspired entirely by the self importance of a lonely and inadequate man.
"Endowed with no leadership qualities and incapable of understanding the simplest principles of decency and respect even in a society that is grounded on such virtues, he is the sole architect of the cruelties which have sadly become common in our daily life.
"When I was rescued by the Tongan Navy, I asked to be brought to Nuku'alofa where under the sure protection of King George's government I shall be able to tell the truth, without fear of retribution, about the tragic oppression which stifles my beloved land.
"When this hateful dictatorship has been eradicated, all of us who once served it shall answer to the Fijian people for the part we played and I will gladly submit to their verdict."
Key officer
Ratu Tevita Kapaiwai Lutunauga Uluilakeba Mara is a Fijian career soldier, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He is also the youngest son of the late President and founding prime minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who was ousted by the George Speight attempted coup in 2000.
On 3 February 2001, Colonel Mara was named Army Chief-of-Staff succeeding Colonel Meli Saubulinayau, a close relative of his.
This position is the fourth highest in the Fijian Military, behind that of the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff RFMF Brigadier-General Mohamed Aziz and the Land Force Commander Brigadier-General Pita Driti.
Mara held the position for several months, before he was appointed commanding officer of the Third Infantry Regiment, a key position in the Fiji Army as he controls the infantry division.
In December 2006, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces took control of Fiji in a bloodless coup. The army claimed it planned to remove corruption and corrupt politicians and to return to barracks within a year. Lieutenant-Colonel Mara was in charge of the 3 FIR on that day and for the next 4 years.
He witnessed from the inside how power had allegedly "corrupted the key players in the regime" and how now they had "forgotten their original objectives as they desperately cling to power".
Left Fiji
Colonel Mara supporters said he had left Fiji so that he could speak freely about the need to for regime change in Fiji.
Driti and Mara appeared in court in Suva on May 4 for allegedly breaching the Crimes Decree.
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation News said Mara was charged with one count of sedition under the Crimes Decree. Brigadier Driti was charged with attempted mutiny and sedition.
Mara was released on bail with no bond posted and was represented by Suva lawyer Devanesh Sharma.
He was due to appear in court again on May 30.
Since October, Mara and Driti have been on on leave.
Two months ago, the Land Force Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga denied that there were any splits among senior military officers.
Colonel Mara's statement on YouTube
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