Diplomat tossed by salad

By ANGELA GREGORY

A senior New Zealand diplomat was held by police at Kiribati's international airport because of a row over a bag of lettuces.

The deputy high commissioner to Kiribati, Dennis Porteous, was detained at Bonriki International Airport after giving an agricultural official who confiscated the fresh produce a dressing-down.

From the New Zealand High Commission in Tarawa yesterday, Mr Porteous referred the Weekend Herald to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington.

Spokesman Jonathan Schwass confirmed there had been an incident involving Mr Porteous and a Kiribati agriculture official at the airport in March.

Mr Schwass said there was an argument over a declared bag of food, which he understood was mainly lettuces, that also contained some medicine belonging to Mr Porteous' wife.

"The official wanted to confiscate the bag while the diplomat wanted to retrieve the medicine.

Mr Schwass said there appeared to be some confusion over whether Mr Porteous, who had "quite cheerfully" declared the produce, had filled in the necessary forms.

He said the police were called and Mr Porteous was detained at the airport for a short time.

Contrary to overseas reports of the incident, Mr Porteous was not handcuffed or thrown in jail, Mr Schwass said.

"The Kiribati Government later sent a very nice apology to the New Zealand High Commission for the incident and this was accepted," he said.

The diplomatic stand-off was yesterday mentioned in National MP Murray McCully's weekly online newsletter.

Mr McCully referred to snippets from a Fiji-based magazine, Islands Business, which had published a few paragraphs about the incident in the June edition's "Whispers" column.

The magazine claimed the "over-zealous customs officer" had been given his marching orders.

But Mr Schwass said after talking to Mr Porteous yesterday that he was only aware the official had been temporarily stood down.

He said the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Kiribati Government and the Kiwi diplomat all considered the matter closed.