Queensland Premier favours apology to Haneef

Melbourne, Dec 29 (PTI) Australian government should
"take responsibility" and apologise to the "innocent" Indian
doctor Mohammad Haneef, whose detention in connection with a
failed UK terror plot was declared wrongful by an independent
inquiry, the Premier of Queensland state said Monday.

Anna Bligh, the Premier of Queensland, where Haneef was
working before being arrested last year, said it was the duty
of the Kevin Rudd government to say sorry as "governments take
responsibility for government activity," the APP agency said.

Bligh said the Rudd government should apologise, even
though Haneef went through the ordeal under the previous John
Howard government.

"Obviously that's a matter for the federal government,
but I think when people are treated unfairly it's the
reasonable thing to do," Bligh said.

"It would appear this is an innocent man who has been
treated wrongly and when a wrong has been done I don't think
there is any harm in making an apology for that," she was
quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Haneef said that he was hoping an independent
inquiry into his case will prevent anyone else from suffering
a similar fate and that his case would be the last such case.

"I hope the Australian Government as well as the police
look through the report and make sure that no one suffers
these kinds of things in the future," an ABC report quoted him
as saying.

Haneef, who had earlier stated that an apology would be
"very handy" said it would provide a "healing touch".

"I'm really not concerned about it. Indigenous people of
Australia have waited more than 200 years now to hear an
apology," he said.

"But look, it would be a healing touch, and it would be
very nice to hear that," he added. PTI NC
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