Rebel Leader Indicted on Treason Charges

George Speight, the rebel leader whose raid on Parliament plunged Fiji into two months of crisis, smiled and listened to cheers from hundreds of supporters as he was driven to court in Suva, the capital, to face charges. Speight was not required to enter a plea during the hearing at the Suva Magistrate’s Court. The charges against him included treason, conspiracy to commit treason and being an accessory after the fact to treason. Speight led an armed group into Parliament on May 19 and took lawmakers hostage. He claimed that ethnic Indians, a large minority in Fiji, posed a threat to indigenous Fijian culture. The Parliament siege lasted eight weeks, ending only after the military discarded Fiji’s multiracial constitution, ousted the government and agreed to an amnesty for the rebels. The amnesty, however, was granted on the condition that the rebels turn in their weapons. Speight could face the death penalty if convicted.