No proof of bribes for tsunami evacuation, says minister

Wellington (dpa) - An inquiry found no evidence that Indonesian tsunami victims had bribed their way onto New Zealand Air Force evacuation flights in January out of stricken Banda Aceh, Foreign Minister Phil Goff said Friday.
He said New Zealand diplomats in Jakarta had investigated the claims, made in the United States magazine Newsweek, that some people had paid Indonesian soldiers, who were organizing the evacuation of refugees, for seats on the New Zealand aircraft flying to Jakarta.

Goff told Radio New Zealand they could not find any evidence to support the allegations, and said the magazine had ignored requests to supply further information to support its story.

dpa db ff