Solomons Foreign Minister dismisses misbehaviour claims

Updated October 14, 2008 12:15:03

The Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister has categorically denied claims that Prime Minister Derek Sikua and members of his delegation had been drunk and misbehaved while at the UN General Assembly recently. William Haomae says there's also no truth whatsoever in reports by Honiara's Island Sun newspaper that Dr Sikua had snubbed Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the UN.

Sam Seke
Speaker:Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, William Haomae; Chief of Staff of Honiara's Island Sun newspaper, Richard Toke.

HAOMAE: Those claims are absolutely false. I was with the prime minister and I was a member of this delegation to the United Nations General Assembly debates.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister, Dr Derek Sikua, actually forewarned the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, that because of other commitments, he might not be present when the prime minister of Australia delivers the Australian statement and I think the prime minister of Australia understood that.

The commitment was that the Prime Minister, Dr Sikua, went to attend the Pacific Island Forum Island Member Leaders Meeting of the Fiji Mission at the UN. The meeting was called by the Prime Minister of Fiji, Mr Bainimarama, to discuss the Fiji situation. The fact the prime minister delegated the responsibility to the Chairman of the Forum's Relations Committee, Honorable Laurie Chan who stand in for the Solomon Islands, to extend the prime minister's apology to Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. So it was not a snub. The prime minister actually made the apology first on Wednesday. The statement of the Australian Government was delivered on Thursday.

SEKE: But was Prime Minister Derek Sikua, and may be other leaders of the Pacific Island countries required to be present for Kevin Rudd's speech at the UN General Assembly?

HAOMAE: They are not necessarily required, but as a matter of courtesy to all Pacific Island countries, including Australia and New Zealand, it is good to be present when they are delivering their statements at the United Nations.

SEKE: Reports coming out from Honiara say also that the prime minister and members of his delegation did not show up because they had to much to drink. What do you say to that?

HAOMAE: That is absolutely rubbish. We were at the meeting at the Fiji mission in New York, discussing the Fiji issue when the Prime Minister of Australia was delivering the Australian statement, so nobody was drinking at that time. And after that, the prime minister went to the meeting of the Marshall Islands and then subsequent to that another engagement with the Tongan mission. Nobody in the Solomon Islands delegation was drunk at that time and there is no single grain of truth in that.

SEKE: Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, William Haomae.

Meanwhile, Chief Of Staff of the Island Sun newspaper Richard Toke says they're not retracting their story and are not worried about any defamation case.

TOKE: We've got our facts from our credible source, so we are standing by our story. We are not going to retract.

SEKE: One of the senior government officials to the recent UN General Assembly with the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, or Jerry Manele, he said he's taking you to court for defamation. Are you worried?

TOKE: No, I am not worried. We're standing by our stories and at no part in our story or the editorial did we mention his name, although someone would be able to link the official to the story. But at no part in that story did we mention his name.