Former Vice President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi said Interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama and the military leaders must be promised immunity from prosecution otherwise they will not negotiate a solution to the country's problems.

Stuff NZ reported that Ratu Joni said in a speech at the Annual Pacific Lecture held by New Zealand's Pacific Cooperation Foundation in Wellington that the military, which was involved in four coups, see themselves as the guarantors of stability and order and they cannot be denied involvement in national affairs but protocols need to be developed.

Ratu Joni said the size of the military and its budget also needed to be considered and the starting point must be the question of immunity.

He said it was an issue which divided those who opposed the coup, but it was a matter of real politics since without it the military would not engage, let alone negotiate.

Ratu Joni added that the nature of immunity can be discussed because certain military officers must be held accountable for serious human rights abuses.

He accepted the arguments that the approach may encourage future coups, but it is a risk that Fiji should be prepared to take.