Paul Henry, the television presenter from New Zealand who was accused of racial slur against Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, has resigned. Henry’s resignation came four days after India summoned the high commissioner of New Zealand and asked for demonstrative action against the individual. “These remarks are totally unacceptable to India and should be condemned by all right thinking people and nations. It is hoped that the government of New Zealand would take immediate demonstrative action against the said individual to send out a clear signal that such behaviour is totally unacceptable,” the ministry of external affairs had said in a statement.
Paul Henry, already under suspension over a race row involving New Zealand’s Indian-origin governor-general Anand Satyanand, said it was “no longer practical” in the current environment for him to do his job. “I have apologised twice, and have meant every word. I again apologise to all those who were genuinely hurt by what I said.” Henry was suspended without pay a few days back after an interview with Prime Minister John Key, in which he questioned whether Mr Satyanand, who has Fijian-Indian heritage, was really a New Zealander. He came under fire again after deliberately mispronouncing Ms Dikshit’s name, despite being told to pronounce it correctly.
In a statement, TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said: “... I offer my sincere apology on behalf of myself and TVNZ, to all those who have been offended by Paul’s inappropriate on-air comments. I will be apologising in person to the governor-general. I also apologise to the Indian community, both here and in India .... What is clear as an outcome of this episode is that any suggestion of racism, whether intended or not, is unacceptable. We are quite clear about that.”
In Australia, the authorities were continuing the probe into the racist emails in which Victorian police officers joked about the electrocution of an Indian train passenger and suggested that it could be “a way to fix the Indian student problem”. However, it was not clear how many officers were involved in the circulation of the email as the scandal also centred around sharing of pornographic material. An email sent to the Australian high commission here for clarification went unreplied.
On Saturday, Victoria police chief commissioner Simon Overland had said that of the two police officers involved, one had resigned while under investigation and the second officer was facing disciplinary action. “The investigation into the matter is continuing,” Overland had said. However, on Sunday, an Australian Associated Press report said that more police officers were sacked for taking part in the circulation of the unsavoury material, which included “pornographic and racist emails”. It said: “So far, four officers have been sacked, one demoted, and another five fined up to $3000 (about `1.3 lakh) and placed on 12-month good behaviour bonds for taking part in the circulation of the unsavoury material.” Nine officers will front the disciplinary panel on Oct. 12 and Oct. 15, with six to be heard the following week. Two officers quit rather than face the secret hearings, the report added. India summoned Australia’s high commissioner, Peter Varghese, and conveyed that such an entrenched bias among sections of law enforcers towards the Indian community is a matter of serious concern.
“Such behaviour and attitudes had no place in any society. It was hoped that the Australian authorities would take necessary and effective measures to address concerns regarding the safety of all people of Indian origin in Australia,” an MEA statement had said.