NCJ Number
215227
Journal
Crime, Law and Social Change Volume: 44 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 79-109
Date Published
2005
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This article reviews and appraises the main events of the violent coup in Fiji in 2000 led by George Speight, which collapsed after a brief overthrow of the multiracial Government of Mahendra Chaudhary.
Abstract
The coup had some degree of success in its forcible takeover of Parliament and a relatively unchallenged move to establish a civilian government. When invited, some of the officials of the former governing group accepted positions in the new rebel government; however, because neither the Fijian Army nor the police force or any other major institution in the country publicly supported the attempted takeover, the coup eventually failed. George Speight and a number of his leading coup followers were charged with treason. The trials produced convictions and a sentence of life in prison for George Speight and significantly lesser sentences for those who chose to take positions in his short-lived rebel government. The author believes that the trials firmly established the rule of law in Fiji and the professionalism of its criminal justice system, such that a deterrent effect against future coups was achieved; however, this coup, along with the legacy of the 3 coups in Fiji between 1987 and 2000 has been the permanent departure of over 100,000 Indo-Fijians out of a total population of only 800,000. Those who left were largely the professional, educated, and affluent Fijians. Indigenous Fijians once again constitute a majority of the population. The price of this racial shift has been the commercial and economic deterioration of the country, which is likely to last for decades. 57 notes