The most expensive
case in New Zealand history, and for what? Millions of dollars have been spent
on a vindictive and farcical prosecution, at the cost of untold stress, emotional
harm and upset for the people of Tuhoe. In February we called the treatment of the Urewera Four an
“anti-democratic outrage”, and stand by that today. The police case continued
for reasons of malice and political mischief – there were gains to be made in
creating a ‘terror’ threat. Tuhoe, yet again, have borne the burden for that.
A police officer
responsible for the case was quoted on National Radio this morning as saying he
‘wasn’t hung up’ on jury decisions. Well he might say this; in 2007 the police
tried to make out that they had busted up an imminent terrorist threat. As the
months and years went on plank after plank of their lurid War on Terror fantasy
fell away. All that is left now are a gaggle of firearms charges, and even many
of those were thrown out by the jury.
Commentator Morgan
Godfrey gets it
right:
The government and the
Police owe Tuhoe an apology. Ruatoki was attacked, and I deliberately use the
word attacked, as school buses were searched by armed police, kaumatua and kuia
were illegally detained, men and women were man handled and mistreated all for
a few firearm charges. Charges that are so remote from what the Police were
alleging. It’s a sorry affair.
Hone Harawira calls the decision “justice denied”, and reminds us of
vital context:
Yesterday should have been about the triumph of
justice, but it wasn’t. All we got a sad and sorry end to a tragic raid into
the heartland of the Tuhoe because after all the drama, the high expectation
and grainy videos, yesterday the jury could only return guilty verdicts on firearms
charges. That’s all we got after a four year campaign that cost the taxpayers
millions of dollars, divided the nation, and gave people genuine reason to fear
the police.
Because today, justice is still denied to the people
of Tuhoe.
Today the case may finally be over but not for the
people of Tuhoe. There has been no apology, no compensation, no change in
police operations and no new engagement policy initiated as a result of the
litany of errors we now know as Operation 8.
Today we remember those who have passed on since
2007. Today we remember the pain and suffering brought upon the people of Tuhoe
by the state … again.
Today I commit the energy and the support of the
MANA Movement to standing against those who would use the Terrorism Suppression
Act and the Search and Surveillance Bill to crush independent thinking, to
force us to fear what we say and to hide what we do and to stop us from
choosing freedom over oppression.
And today I salute Tame Iti and his comrades for
their dignity, for their courage, for their passion and for their love for this
land.
This trial was the latest in a long history of frame-ups
and politically-motivated prosecutions aimed
at damaging and disrupting the movement for Tino Rangatiratanga. Attacks in the
past have never succeeded in destroying that movement. This one won’t either.
Tuhoe deserve full compensation and an apology from
the government and the police for the outrages carried out in Ruatoki.
The struggle continues.
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