Treason trial for Fiji coup leader

Fiji's coup legacy: political instability and ethnic tensions

The man who led last year's violent coup in Fiji is to stand trial for treason, which carries a possible death sentence.

Hearings against failed businessman George Speight and 12 alleged accomplices have been set to begin on 31 August.

Coup leader George Speight could face execution

Nationalist rebels led by Mr Speight seized parliament on 19 May last year and took ethnic-Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his government hostage for 56 days in a racially motivated uprising.

Earlier on Wednesday the Fiji Government was given the legal go-ahead to hold a general election, which will coincide with the treason trial, to choose a government to replace the one ousted in the uprising.

Deal

Legal teams representing the government, Mr Speight and his co-defendants struck a surprise deal that they would bypass a pre-trial hearing of evidence which was already underway.

All 13 could face the death sentence, although capital punishment has not been carried out in Fiji since 1970.

The pre-trial hearing was expected to hear evidence from more than 250 witnesses and to last up to four months.

But Mr Speight's lawyers are said to be eager to begin the trial proper in order to challenge the withdrawal of an amnesty which was originally granted to Mr Speight and his supporters in exchange for the release of their hostages.

The amnesty was withdrawn after the rebels broke one of the deal's conditions that they return all their arms.

Mr Speight's first appearance in court will be in the middle of Fiji's general election, the legality of which has been challenged by a local lobby group.

Instability

Earlier on Wednesday High Court Justice John Scott rejected calls that the election plan should be scrapped.

Ethnic Indian PM Chaudhry was ousted in the uprising

Since the bloody coup in May 2000, the political situation in the Pacific nation remains fragile, with racial fears entrenched and tribal power struggles unresolved.

Justice Scott agreed that a delay in elections "would create a wholly unacceptable risk to the peace and welfare of the nation".

Democracy returns

The government said last week that it would go ahead with elections - set for 25 August to 1 September - regardless.

The legality of the move had been challenged by the Citizen's Constitutional Forum, which asked the High Court to scrap the election plan and replace the military-backed interim government with Mr Chaudhry's administration.

The result of the general election could overturn the results of Mr Speight's coup which succeeded in scrapping the country's multi-ethnic constitution and installing a new government made up entirely of ethnic-Fijian politicians.

The country's Indian population was brought to Fiji by British colonists more than 100 years ago. It makes up 44% of Fiji's 800,000 population and has come to dominate key industries.

Mr Speight has argued that the coup was driven by "not so much a hate of the Indians, but (by) a fear of our host culture and everything unique about ourselves being eroded to the extent that it could be lost".