Drop the Charges! Global Day of Action
Media Release: Drop the Charges! Global Day of Action
From: October 15th Solidarity Auckland
Date: Friday 29th August
August 30th will see a Global Day of
Action in support of Tino
Rangatiratanga and Te Mana
Motuhake o Tuhoe and those arrested in the
State Terror
Raids on 15 October 2007. Demonstrations and protests are
being planned around the world. In Wellington, there
will be a rally
and march starting at 12 noon at 128
Abel Smith Street. In Auckland,
there is a protest
starting at 12 noon in Aotea Square. There are also
demonstrations and actions being planned around the
globe including
Australia, the US, Mexico and
Germany.
The day of action immediately precedes the start
of the deposition
hearing in Auckland on 1 September.
The charges against the 20 people
are racially and
politically motivated charges aimed at people who
were
seen by police as supporting Tino Rangatiratanga and Te Mana
Motuhake o Tuhoe. The charges are what are left
following the failure
of the police to bring terrorism
charges. In effect, they are trying
to salvage some
credibility for their actions in raiding over 60 homes
and terrorizing the entire community of
Ruatoki.
October 15th Solidarity Auckland spokeswoman
Vanessa Cameron Lewis
asserts that "Tino Rangatiratanga
is good for all New Zealanders and
it is not ok to be
imprisoning activists who are standing up for
indigenous sovereign rights that, importantly, are
ratified by the
United Nations.
Ms Lewis continues
"It is of grave concern that our counter-terrorism
laws
contradict some of our human rights legislation and the
process
in the courts at present exemplifies
this."
ENDS