George Speight

Template:Short description George Speight (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> born 1957), also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 35 other MP's hostage from 19 May 2000 to 13 July 2000. He was convicted of treason in February 2002 and served a sentence of life imprisonment until receiving a presidential pardon on 18 September 2024.

Speight is the son of politician Sam Speight,<ref name=Guardian2000a/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the brother of politician Samisoni Tikoinasau and the uncle of rugby players Henry and Sam Speight.<ref name="Moloney">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Speight was born in Naivicula, Fiji,<ref name=Guardian2000c>Template:Cite web</ref> and educated at Suva Grammar School.<ref name=SOV>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp before studying marketing in Australia and business at Andrews University in the United States.<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp<ref name="Eb">Template:Britannica</ref> After graduating he worked in Australia as a bank clerk for Metway Bank,<ref name=MM2000/> and was involved in the Wattle Group pyramid scheme.<ref name=NZHWallA>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=MM2000>Template:Cite web</ref> After returning to Fiji in 1996 he worked as an insurance broker for Heaths Insurance Group.<ref name=ABC2000a>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998 he was appointed chair of the state-owned Fiji Pine and Fiji Hardwood Corporation by the Rabuka government, in which his father was serving as a Minister.<ref name="Eb"/><ref name=NZHWallA/> He was sacked by Heaths in April 1999 following financial irregularities,<ref name=ABC2000a/> and from his state appointments by the Labour coalition government in August 1999.<ref name=News24a>Template:Cite web</ref> It later emerged that he had been paid consultancy fees by American timber company Trans Resource Management, to advocate for them to be granted the right to harvest Fiji's mahogany.<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp<ref name=News24a/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In early 2000, just days before the coup, he pleaded not guilty to exchange rate charges and extortion.<ref name=NZHWallA/><ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp

Fiji coup of 2000

Template:Main On 19 May 2000 a group of armed men led by Speight stormed the Fijian Parliament and took the government hostage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Guardian2000a>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=LATimes1>Template:Cite web</ref> Speight claimed to have seized power on behalf of ethnic Fijians, and purported to have revoked the 1997 constitution and appointed himself interim president and opposition MP Timoci Silatolu as interim Prime Minister.<ref name=LATimes1/><ref name=Guardian2000b>Template:Cite web</ref> The coup led to rioting and mob-violence in the Fijian capital Suva,<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp<ref name=Guardian2000a/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and ten days later to the overthrow of President Kamisese Mara by military commander Frank Bainimarama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bainimarama appointed an all-indigenous Fijian interim government on 3 July, which was rejected by Speight, leading to widespread violence across Fiji.<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 9 July, following prolonged negotiations, Speight signed the Muanikau Accord with the military,<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp agreeing to release the hostages in exchange for an amnesty for himself. All his key demands had been met.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The last hostages were released on 13 July.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following the return of hostages and weapons, Speight and his followers moved to Kalabu Fijian School on the outskirts of Suva,<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp where they continued to lobby over the makeup of the interim government and demand control of key portfolios.<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When the government rejected his demands, his spokesman Joe Nata threatened civil war.<ref name=SOV/>Template:Rp

Arrest and trial

On 26 July Speight and three others were arrested at a military checkpoint following threats to President Josefa Iloilo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The military then stormed his headquarters, killing one person and arresting 369 supporters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 11 August 2000 he was charged with treason and imprisoned pending trial.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 2001 Fijian general election, while still awaiting trial, Speight was elected to Parliament in the Tailevu North Fijian communal seat as a candidate for the Conservative Alliance-Matanitu Vanua.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2001 he was dismissed from Parliament for non-attendance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 18 February 2002 Speight pleaded guilty to treason and was sentenced to death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment the same day by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.<ref name=BBCSentence>Template:Cite web</ref> Initially imprisoned on Nukulau island, in 2006 he was transferred to the Naboro Maximum Security Prison after Nukulau's closure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In response to calls for his parole in 2020, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that there would be no special treatment for him.<ref name="fbc">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>

On 18 September 2024 Speight was granted a presidential pardon. He was released from prison the next day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>