Hikoi carries protest voice to Capital

[Kiwi]

Hikoi carries protest voice to Capital

The Tuhoe hikoi has marched through Wellington, with protesters thronging outside Parliament, the Ministry of Maori Affairs and the Police Commissioner's office.

While tensions were high during the day there were no obvious signs of violence other than the occasional argument between police and protesters.

Many protesters carried the Maori sovereignty flag, some wore bandanas over their faces, while others held signs slogans such as "Rule of Aotearoa No State Terrorism".

Demonstrators shouted angrily about what they called an invasion of their lands.

Many are dissatisfied with the response of Labour's Maori caucus and are demanding an apology from the Government for the police "anti-terror" raids.

However, among them was a solitary middle-aged woman bearing a placard calling for people to support the police.

Her presence raised eyebrows amongst the protesters, but they appeared happy to let her make her point.

Some 200 supporters performed a haka to greet the hikoi at Parliament grounds before the group made a detour to protest outside the Ministry of Maori Affairs building on Lambton Quay, forcing police to halt and re-direct traffic.


They told onlookers Tuhoe were oppressed and drew parallels in their treatment at the hands of police to racism in South Africa and recent government intervention in Australia's Northern Territory following claims of sexual abuse there.

The marchers then returned to Parliament where they were greeted by a number of MPs from the Maori Party and the Green Party.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples criticised the way police went about their investigations into alleged weapons training camps in the Ureweras.

He said children and elders were left shocked and scared when armed police conducted searches in the remote Ruatoki area.

"Nobody should be traumatised the way Ruatoki and the people of the village were traumatised," he said.

Green Party MP Keith Locke also said he sympathised with the Tuhoe people and questioned why Maori liaison officers were not used by police to help bridge cultural gaps during their investigations.

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia addressed the crowd in te reo, but judging by the hostile reaction he failed to win it over.

Protesters then marched up Molesworth St to Police Commissioner Howard Broad's office where they were met by a four-deep police cordon armed with batons.

Protesters performed a haka and let off fireworks outside the office, chanting "Howard is a racist coward", dispersing after about half an hour.

Inspector Peter Cowan said there were no arrests during the protest.

"The only issue was delays to traffic, especially on State Highway 1 as hikoi vehicles travelled into the city, and then in the Lambton Quay and Molesworth St areas," he said.

Meanwhile, Tuhoe spokesman Tamati Kruger said there had been a range of reaction to the masks worn by some hikoi members.

He said the masks were aimed at making members of the public understand what residents of Ruatoki went through during the police raids.

"You ask people, would you be angry if someone in a mask turned up at your place, woke you up, pointed guns at your children and your wife. Would you be entitled to be a little bit angry?"

He said wearing masks was part of the "theatre of education" but didn't always work.

"People just feel further intimidated and less sympathetic and that's a risk one takes," Mr Kruger said.

Mr Kruger said the Terrorism Suppression Act was wrong, and that legislation claiming to protect people would actually erode civil rights.

- With NZPA

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