NEW ZEALAND: Investigating Fiji extradition request
Updated
New Zealand's foreign minister says they are investigating an extradition application from Fiji's interim government. Winston Peters says Fiji wants Alice Tabete, the president of the netball team sent home from New Zealand for questioning. Despite Ms Tabate's family ties with the Fiji military she was granted a visa to travel to NZ for the netball tourament .
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Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speakers: Winston Peters, New Zealand Foreign Minister.
PETERS: Well we've had requests for exemptions to the ban and they've come from various sporting groups and others who seek to transit the country who are on the banned list, and those applications are looked at to see whether they should be any reason for departure from the ban, and if there is then that may be an exemption, and if they're not well the ban remains.
COUTTS: Have there been any requests for political asylum?
PETERS: Not to the best of my knowledge. Are you talking about Fiji?
COUTTS: Yes I am.
PETERS: Well not that some that would have reached my desk because that's a decision of course, it's an immigration matter in the first instance. As are all matters it's foreign affairs to set the policy, but these are immigration matters in terms of visas and waivers and what have you, that's how they operate in both our countries have the same process.
COUTTS: I was wondering in reference to Alice Tabete, who's the President of the Fiji Netball team that's in Fiji, that she's been granted or the ban has been lifted for her and it was just a thought going round that maybe perhaps she's been given political asylum because she is wanted for questioning by the Fiji interim government?
PETERS: Well that's a matter that's under consideration by both immigration and New Zealand police at this point in time.
COUTTS: But there's no asylum being granted to her in the interim?
PETERS: No, that's a matter that's under investigation in New Zealand as a result of a request from Fiji?
COUTTS: I'm sorry I'm not quite sure what's under examination?
PETERS: Well there's a request from Fiji that she be sent back home.
COUTTS: Alright so is New Zealand denying that and on what grounds?
PETERS: No New Zealand is looking at the facts of the situation and the case itself before making a decision.
COUTTS: So she's been given safe haven in the interim?
PETERS: Well she's here and I wouldn't call it safe haven, it's a matter of the authorities determining what are the circumstances which would justify a grant of the Fiji government's request?
COUTTS: To have her extradited back to Fiji?
PETERS: Yes.
COUTTS: So what would be the circumstances that Fiji would support her application to stay and deny the extradition order that's been requested by Fiji?
PETERS: Well I don't want to speak about a specific case and thereby jeopardise the process, but if I was to answer you in a hypothetical way, if it was for example a person here from Fiji who was known to have committed a fairly serious crime back in Fiji then the criteria under which we would judge the matter would be the upholding of the rule of law both in Fiji and the wider region. And you could then know that we'd send the person back. But I'm giving a different set of circumstances because I don't want to jeopardise this particular circumstance.
COUTTS: And so do you don't know whether there have been applications today for political asylum from Fiji or Fiji citizen?
PETERS: Well my answer to that is not to my knowledge but it maybe that an application has been made and it's being handled lower down at this point in time before it comes to a matter for consideration both by my office and the cabinet.
