Indian origin governor general accepts apology

AUCKLAND - New Zealand’s Indian-origin Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand has accepted the apology from a TV channel after an on-air racial slur on him.

Satyanand Thursday met TVNZ chairman Sir John Anderson and chief executive Rick Ellis. Programme host Paul Henry passed the racist remark Oct 4.

An official said the governor general had accepted the apology and that he now considered the matter closed.

Satyanand is New Zealand’s first governor-general of Indian and Pacific ancestry. He had a lengthy career as a lawyer, judge and ombudsman before being appointed to the job in August 2006.

He was born and raised in Auckland. His parents were born in Fiji and migrated to New Zealand while his grandparents were born in India and had migrated to Fiji.

The TVNZ website reported that the apology was presented and accepted at a meeting at the Government House here.

Host Henry was forced to resign after asking Prime Minister John Key whether Satyanand was “even a New Zealander”. The host made fun of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s name, triggering protests in India.