Bomb squad searches Suva hotel [1]
Monday, February 4, 2008 - 16:43. Updated on Wednesday, July 22, 2015 - 11:22.
By Pesi Fonua
A bomb scare forced the evacuation of the Holiday Inn, on Suva's Victoria Parade today for over two hours, during the first visit to the South Pacific by the head of Transparency International, Ms Huguette Labelle.
The police bomb squad were called to investigage after the receptionist received an anonymous phone call at noon, saying that there was a bomb in the building - and to "evacuate everyone". The manager said that no other details were given by the caller, and it is not known why the threat was made.
Guests were evacuated shortly after noon and did not return to the hotel until around 2:45 pm after the bomb squad had searched the buildings and found nothing.
Staying at the Holiday Inn are delegates to the first sub-regional meeting of the Asia Pacific Chapter of Transparency International, with delegates from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.
The chairperson of the world wide anti-corruption organization, Transparency International, Ms Labelle will speak at the University of the South Pacific tonight.
Yesterday, she appeared on Fiji television in a wide ranging half-hour interview that discussed Transparency International's anti-corruption role, with references to Fiji and the region.