DATE=9/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=FIJI - COURT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-266090
BYLINE=PHIL MERCER
DATELINE=SUVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Fiji, coup leader George Speight could walk
free when he appears in court on Monday to hear a
magistrate's ruling on whether his immunity deal still
stands. His lawyers have argued his arrest and
subsequent indictment on treason charges are an abuse
of the legal process. As Phil Mercer reports from
Suva, the man who ousted the democratically elected
government at gunpoint on May 19th, could be hours away
from freedom.
TEXT: George Speight's future lies in the hands of
one man, Chief Magistrate Sailesi Temo. He is
expected to give his final decision on the status of
the amnesty granted to the rebels in return for the
release of the hostages.
Defense lawyers have argued there is no reason why the
immunity deal should be scrapped and they say George
Speight and his 16 co-defendants should be freed.
The prosecution sees it differently. It said the
peace accord agreed to by the army governors and the
rebels was signed under duress and is therefore not
valid.
The rebels are being held on a prison island three
kilometers from the capital with navy boats patrolling
the shark-infested waters.
Adi Kurini Vuikaba (Andee Kureenee Vooeee-Cambah) was
the Deputy Prime Minister in the deposed coalition
government of Mahendra Chaudhry. She says the rebels
must face trial! And says more than eight-thousand
people have lost their jobs in the economic chaos that
their coup has inflicted on her country. She claims
that despite the ending of the hostage crisis and a
promise of a return to constitutional rule within two
years, Fiji is still suffering and will continue to do
so until the Chaudhry government is reinstated. That
is highly unlikely to happen despite Mr. Chaudhry's
worldwide tour of Australia, Europe and the United
States where he has been seeking outside help.
Legal sources in Fiji believe there is a 50-50 chance
George Speight and his co-accused will escape the
treason charges. If they do, Fiji can expect more
condemnation from overseas. The Commonwealth, an
alliance of Britain and its former colonies, has
already suspended Fiji from its key decision making
bodies, punishment for the fall of democracy. The
organization meets later this month to consider what
to do next.
If George Speight and his supporters do walk free from
court on Monday, Fiji would face expulsion from the
Commonwealth and the prospect of tough sanctions from
the rest of the international community. (Signed)
NEB/PM/PLM
03-Sep-2000 05:27 AM EDT (03-Sep-2000 0927 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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