Wellington:
New Zealand has said it cannot take any action against the TV anchor who made racist remarks on air against both Sheila Dikshit and Indians. (
Racial slur on Sheila: New Zealand apologises)
On Thursday, the Indian government summoned the New Zealand envoy to Delhi and told him anchor Paul Henry's remarks were "totally unacceptable." India also said that New Zealand should take some action against Henry. (
Govt of India statement)
Today, New Zealand's Foreign Minister said that's not possible. "Henry's remarks were gratuitous and insulting...a regrettable abuse of freedom of speech...but it was independent of the government. Any action against Mr Henry is entirely a matter for the company, or for the Broadcasting Standards Authority," the minister, Murray McCully, said in a statement.
McCully backed an apology High Commissioner Rupert Holborow issued yesterday after being summoned to India's foreign ministry, adding, "The actions of Mr Henry in this case can only be described as gratuitous and insulting."
In his apology, Holborow said Henry's comments were "culturally insensitive, inappropriate and vulgar" and did not represent the view of the New Zealand people. (
Read full statement)
Henry ridiculed the name of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and added "it's so appropriate because she's Indian", prompting condemnation of the "racist" and "unacceptable" comments from Indian officials.
Henry originally made his remarks about Dikshit last Friday but they passed largely unnoticed until TVNZ included the footage in its website's highlights section. Since then, it has been viewed more than 300,000 times on youtube.com.
Henry is already serving a two-week suspension over comments on Monday questioning whether Governor General Anand Satyanand, who was born in Auckland to Indo-Fijian parents, was a proper New Zealander. (
Read: Racial slur against Indian-origin official in New Zealand)