Former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry has dismissed George Speight’s claim that the 2000 coup was driven by dissatisfaction with the Labour-led coalition government’s policies, saying the government enjoyed overwhelming public support and had delivered strong economic and social reforms before it was overthrown.
Mr Speight, appearing before the Constitutional Review Commission on Thursday, said the events that unfolded during the coalition government’s first year in office led to his actions.
“It’s the things that happened within the 365-day rule of the coalition government after 1999 that I was not happy with, especially the Bills that were tabled,” Mr Speight told the commission.
Responding yesterday, Mr Chaudhry said Mr Speight’s explanation had no factual basis.
“There is no substance in George Speight’s claim that the 2000 coup was in response to his grievances with the actions of the Mahendra Chaudhry-led coalition government,” he said.
“It is clear that his opinion was not shared by the majority of Fiji citizens.”
Mr Chaudhry cited a Tebbutt-Times poll conducted in December 1999, which showed his approval rating at 62 per cent and a disapproval rating of 15 per cent.
He said a Fiji Times editorial at the time described the result as “a remarkable performance … and a ringing endorsement by the public of Mr Chaudhry’s performance as prime minister”, adding that it was the highest rating ever recorded in a Tebbutt-Times poll.
Mr Chaudhry said that in just one year in office, the coalition government had introduced a series of socio-economic reforms, including removing VAT from a range of staple food items, while achieving a record 9.6 per cent economic growth rate and strong business and investor confidence.
He argued that the campaign against his government in the lead-up to the coup was fuelled by racial politics rather than public dissatisfaction.
“It is well-recorded that the anti-Chaudhry agitation whipped up over the next few months that led to the 2000 coup came from ethno-nationalist propaganda and deliberate disinformation spread by the opposition and others, some of whom were driven by greed.
“Race was used as a weapon to whip up emotions and discredit the government.”
Mr Chaudhry said this was why the Fiji Labour Party urged the Constitution Review Commission to consider constitutional and legislative safeguards to prevent the exploitation of ethnicity for political gain.
