Ambassadorships left

vacant in Washington

There are usually two Pacific island ambassa dors stationed in Washington but for most of Washington’s winter both positions were vacant: the ambassador from Fiji was promoted and the one from Papua-New Guinea withdrew following well-publicised drunk driving charges.

Promoted was Fiji’s Ambas sador Ratu Joe F. Radrodro, who has become permanent Secretary of Home affairs in Suva.

Charged was Papua-New Guinea’s Kiatro Abisinto who at about midnight one night in February was driving a car that collided with four other autos, and sent three people to the hospital.

The promotion was not re ported in the papers, but a prominent story in the Washington Post was head lined: Envoy’s Car Slams Into 4 Vehicles Papuan Ambassador Can’t Be Prosecuted According to the Post “State Department officials said that a preliminary review indicated that alcohol was a factor in the accident. In a police report on the incident, a box was marked indicating that the ambassador “had been drinking” and was “obviously drunk” police said.”

The person who was hurt the most in the accident turned out to be a young newsman for ABC Radio, which paid full attention to the story. He is 25-year-old Stephen E. Hagen, who was taken to Georgetown University Hospital with head injuries and was said to be in critical condition, he was still in a hospital a month after the accident; we were told that he walked only with assistance and had trouble with short-term memory. Hospitalized briefly

were Hagan’s friend, Martha Clement, and the Ambassador.

The accident was such a spectacular one that the Post did something it rarely does it sent an artist to the scene to draw a diagram of the car’s path. The Ambassador, driving alone, was on one of Washing ton’s principal streets, Wiscon sin Avenue. He hit the car in which Hagan and Clement were sitting, bounced across the wide avenue to hit two (un occupied) parked cars, collided with another car at a cross street, then veered across the roadway again before being stopped by a brick wall.

“He sure did a lot of dam age” a witness who happened to be a lawyer, told the Post, “It just smashed in the whole back (of Hagen’s car) ... the rear of the car was up against the front seat They (the victims)

had to be pried out with crow bars.”

Diplomats with serious motor vehicle violations, such as this one, can not be prosecuted by the police, but the State Depart ment immediately cancelled Abisinito’s driver’s license. The Post called for his recall, and a couple of days later his govern ment did just that. The P-NG Ambassador was carrying some $300,000 in liability insurance at the time of the accident; in recent years this has been man datory for diplomats in Washington.

Longas Soloman, a member of the Embassy staff, took over as Charge d’Affaires after the Ambassador left Washington.

Meanwhile, Fiji’s ambassador went home as a by-product of the impending elections. It worked like this. Narsi Raniga

(PIM February) was selected to contest the South Central (Suva) National Indian seat in Parliament for the ruling Alliance Party, as part of Ratu Mara’s efforts to assemble an attractive, and younger ticket.

In order to run, Raniga gave up his post as the Secretary of Fiji’s Public Service Commission, which was filled by Peter Howard, who had been Perma nent Secretary of the Home Office, and Howard, in turn, was replaced by Radrodro.

There has been no Fiji ambassador in Washington for several months, but one is expected to be named shortly after the election; meanwhile the Charge d’Affaires is Abdul H. Yusuf, who before coming to Washington, managed Fiji’s sugar business. David S.

North, Washington.

Kiatro Abisinto.

Narsi Raniga.