Runaway soldier allowed into NZ

File photo / Greg Bowker

Fiji's runaway Lieutenant Colonel Tevita Mara will be allowed into New Zealand, foreign Minister Murray McCully confirmed this morning.

Tevita Mara, who fled to Tonga three weeks ago to avoid sedition charges in Fiji, is currently in Australia to address pro-democracy groups.

Mr McCully told TV One's Q&A programme that Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials will meet with Tevita Mara when he comes here and it will be up to the officials to recommend whether Government ministers should meet him.

"We're not going to take him off the travel ban list completely, we are going to give him the exemption he requested and the opportunity to meet with various groups for two days," said the Foreign Minister.

The announcement came the day after the Fijian government issued a scathing press release which accused New Zealand, Australia and Tonga of working together to undermine the extradition process.

The statement was particularly strident in its criticism of McCully and his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd.

"As far as Fiji is concerned there is no Mara or Tonga-Fiji situation. It is a Rudd and McCully spreading their wings to save face situation."

- NEWSTALK ZB, AFP