Our Police round off RAMSI mission
Inspector Imeri Simpson and Sergeant Sekove Saumaitoga are the last two Fijian Police officers serving under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to return home. To date 119 officers have served under RAMSI with Inspector Simpson and Sergeant Saumaitoga being the last to serve following a 1 year and 7 months term of deployment.
The Commissioner of Police BrigadierGeneral Sitiveni Qiliho acknowledged the dedication and sacrifice shown by the two officers and paid tribute to their families.
“Please relay my gratitude to your families because in the life of serving in overseas missions their support is crucial in enabling us to focus on our work as the distance and time apart is very difficult to deal with,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said. “As a nation we should be proud that we have been able to make a difference in the lives of our Melanesian brothers and sisters,” he said.
Meanwhile Inspector Simpson said the main highlight in serving in the Solomon Islands was the ability to help women through community policing. “There are so many similarities as Melanesians and being able to impart knowledge especially about women has been empowering both for me and the women I encountered,” Inspector Simpson said. “Now that I have entered into retirement it’s a great feeling to know that in my career as a police officer, I have been able to make a difference here at home and with our Pacific Island brothers and sisters,” she said.
As for Sergeant Saumaitoga, he says serving in the Solomon Islands has been a rewarding experience.
“It was a great one year and seven months because we not only gained memories and a lot of friends with the other serving officers and the community,” Sergeant Saumaitoga said.
“We were proud of the fact that they hold Fijians with high regards based on the standing relationship between Fiji and the Solomon Islands and we were able to easily conduct our work as officers who previously served under RAMSI had been able to gain and keep the community’s trust,” he said.
Fiji has a proud history of serving in the Solomon Islands dating back to 1999 when 10 officers were first deployed under the Multinational Police Peace Monitoring Group.
In 2003 Fijian Police officers were deployed with the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, RAMSI to restore peace and rebuild the country.
The official withdrawal of Fijian officers under RAMSI was on the 30th of June 2017.