Word expected today on Gason

Press, 19 July 1989, Page 1

Word expected today on Gason

By

SUZANNE KEEN

The Government hopes to hear this morning whether the Christchurch man shot and wounded in Mogadishu, Somalia, will be alllowed to travel to Kenya for further medical attention. Mr Vince Gason, who has been under house arrest in Somalia for about five months, was hit by a stray bullet while travelling to his hotel last Friday and underwent surgery that evening. The Ministry of External Relations and Trade consulate affairs director, Mr Graeme Ammundsen, said the British consul in Somalia was to speak to the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry last evening on behalf of New Zealand. Although he could not predict an outcome of the discussions, Mr Ammundsen said the Somalis were being friendly and he

thought they had an understanding of the situation. An aircraft used by the Medical Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is on stand-by to fly Mr Gason out of Mogadishu if he is given permission to leave. He has been detained in Somalia for his involvement in a failed Somali-Australia fishing venture which ran foul of the Somali authorities. Friday’s shooting occurred amid civil unrest in Mogadishu, where more than 1500 deaths have been reported. Mr Ammundsen said he understood through discussions with the British consul that a curfew had been imposed in Mogadishu because of the unrest. Mr Gason’s wife, Ann, said last evening she was still concerned about his condition and believed it was "pretty vital” he be flown out of the country.