Activists visited the New Zealand Enbassy in Geneva this morning. Although initially told that for human rights they should see the UN (!), they finally delivered this declaration.
A dozen activists brought the following declaration to the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations at midday this Friday. The activists represented three Genevan groups active in defense of indigenous rights and anti-globalisation struggles and announced their intention to organise a demonstration in downtown Geneva in the coming days.
Geneva, Switzerland
Friday, 0ctober 26, 2007
To the Prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark
To Police minister Annette King,
To the press,
By this statement, the Association Action Mondiale Contre la Mondialisation and the undersigned persons wish to strongly condemn the massive, indiscriminate and unjustified political repression unleashed on the Maori people by the New Zealand government.
This week, hundreds of masked, heavily armed "anti-terrorist" commandos sealed off and searched whole Maori communities, particularly traumatising their children (one commando even searched a schoolbus, pointing guns at kids!). As the Maori say, they are not the terrorists but those that are being terrorised! Seventeen or more activists have been arrested on the pretext of searching for arms, but the massive searches have uncovered nothing significant and the persons arrested (some of whom we have known personally here at the United Nations) are indigenous and antiglobalisation activists, not terrorists!
Quite evidently, in New Zealand as elsewhere, the worst suspicions concerning the so-called "Anti-Terrorist" laws are confirmed. Worldwide, terrorists attacks prove to be just an excuse to massively reduce civil liberties, the better to silence the growing resistance to neoliberal austerity programs, constantly growing economic inequalities and catastrophic social and environmental policies.
New Zealand will lose all claim to being a society respectful of indigenous and civil rights more generally if it does not immediately abandon this scandalous witchhunt.
With the protesters in New Zealand we call for the immediate release of all the victims of police repression!
Action Populaire Contre la Mondialisation (APCM)
Defensoría Internacional de los Derechos de los Pueblos, DIDEPU
Espacio Afroamericano
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1 comment:
That is very troubling.
I think a broad coalition should be organized, to defend democratic rights.
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