Leader of Attempted Coup Tours Capital

The leader of gunmen holding hostage Fiji’s prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, left Parliament grounds early today to inspect damage in the capital, Suva. George Speight departed the complex, which he stormed Friday with about 10 armed men, leaving behind Chaudhry among about 15 people still held hostage. Speight says he launched his raid on Parliament to wrest power from Chaudhry, Fiji’s first prime minister of Indian origin, and return it to indigenous Fijians. Speight got into a police car with one police officer and an armed member of his own group. “Speight toured the city for about 45 minutes,” Fiji Radio said.