Issue No: 956; 20 July 2001

Mercer writes:

August will be a momentous time in Fiji as George Speight, a charismatic former business graduate, faces a trial for treason at the High Court.

The country's most serious criminal case will start as its long-suffering people vote in an election to choose a new government to replace the one overthrown by Speight's gunmen.

The election and the trial of the coup leader and a dozen of his closest advisers is a chance for Fiji to finally shake off the demons of the past 15 months.

The economy has taken a battering. Many of the tourists are still staying away and
unemployment has risen along with a deep sense of gloom and frustration.

The world has seen Fiji as another banana republic in the Pacific.

What is the truth behind the coup?

A return to democracy beckons and there's a chance the trial of George Speight will reveal the truth about the coup and the reasons it was carried out.

There has long been speculation in Fiji that Speight's rebellion was orchestrated and financed by senior public and political figures, including wealthy Indian businessmen, anxious to avoid Mahendra Chaudhry's crusade to recover millions of dollars in unpaid tax.

The ousted prime minister, threatened with execution during his 56 days as a hostage, had made economic reform a priority and was thought to be closing in on the cheats.

George Speight has always insisted he lead his gang into Parliament on 19 May last year to challenge the commercial and political power built up by Fiji's ethnic Indians.

He said he wanted to return Fiji to the native Fijians, giving them a greater say in how the country should be governed.

Racist or actor?

Fiji's first Indian-lead administration was toppled. Many Indo-Fijians became victims of the racial unrest provoked by George Speight.

During my frequent conversations with him, the son of a former opposition MP seemed a reluctant racist. Yes, his rhetoric was offensive and inciteful but at times it appeared Speight was merely playing the part.

A trial could confirm suspicions that Speight was paid to hijack the government last year and had very little to do with the defence of indigenous rights.

The self-styled popular hero - "I will be," he said during the hostage stand-off, "whatever my people want me to be." - could be unmasked as a common criminal motivated by greed.

He was arrested a year ago and has been held on Nukulau Island, a remote prison near the capital.

Mahendra Chaudhry, the deposed prime minister, can see the tree-lined island from his home. It is a constant reminder of the past as Mr Chaudhry seeks to reclaim the political power brutally stripped from him last May.

Fiji's first ethnic-Indian leader still leads the influential Labour Party, which is expected to poll well next month.

Technically, George Speight and his 12 co-accused, who include his brother Jim and Ilisoni Ligiari, a former soldier in Britain's elite SAS special forces, now face a fight for their lives.

Treason is a capital offence in Fiji but there have been no executions since independence from Britain in 1970.