president. The courtroom in downtown Suva, Fiji's capital, was packed with observers and several hundred more gathered outside, watched over by police and soldiers. The city, which has seen three racially motivated coups since 1987, otherwise remained quiet. "As far as I'm concerned 2000 is history ... we won't tolerate any instability, any public disorder or any violence on the streets of Suva, that will be dealt with," Fiji police commissioner Andrew Hughes told reporters outside the court. Seniloli, who had faced a maximum sentence of eight years, was driven away in the same prison truck used to escort coup leader George Speight after he was convicted of treason. Speight, a failed businessman, is serving life on a prison island off Suva for the coup that he claimed was launched to reclaim power for indigenous Fijians from the government of Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian leader. Speight and a handful of gunmen stormed parliament on May 19, 2000, taking the unpopular Chaudhry and most of his multiracial government hostage. The hostage drama dragged on for 56 days and succeeded in toppling the Chaudhry's government because martial law was declared in a bid to end the crisis. Chaudhry was replaced by interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who later won free elections and remains Fiji's leader. --SP 1402 Local Time 1102 GMT
