Former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry is calling for transparency regarding the 2000 coup in Fiji, which saw his government ousted violently. After George Speight, the orchestrator of the coup, was released from prison after serving 24 years, Chaudhry’s demand for the truth is met with skepticism. Many believe the complete truth surrounding the 2000 coup will never come to light, a sentiment that extends to the coups of 1987 and 2006 as well.
There are concerns that vested interests will continue to suppress the truth, preventing a full disclosure of events. The victims of the violence instigated by Speight’s group primarily seek to avoid a recurrence of the political unrest that devastated their nation in the past.