Anarchia

The Police have just announced they’ve applied to the Solicitor General to lay charges under the Terrorism Supression Act. Bastards.

There will be a protest in Auckland this Saturday at the Labour Party Conference, at the Bruce Mason Theatre on the North Shore. More details to follow!

Updates

6:22pm - The Wellington High Court has transferred the bail applications of the four Wellington prisoners (who are now all in Auckland prisons) to the Auckland High Court [ Press release from Michael Bott, lawyer for a Wellington prisoner ]. Tame Iti will have a bail application heard on November 7th in the Rotorua High Court.

Two of the Wellington prisoners are due to appear in the Wellington District Court on Tuesday for a depositions hearing on an unrelated charge. It is unclear as to whether this will go ahead.

Tuesday, 11:38am - The two Wellington prisoners were not returned from Auckland for their hearing on unrelated charges this morning - one of the two charges they (and others) were facing was dropped, and they will be back in court to set a date for the remaining charge on November 19th at 10am.

A solidarity demonstration was held in Mexicali, Mexico. A group of anarchists flew a Tino Rangatiratanga flag and handed out flyers. [ Report + Photo ]

Just finished this feature for Aotearoa Indymedia:

Across the world, people demand freedom for political prisoners!

The Global Day Of Action in solidarity with those arrestes, harassed and questioned on and since October 15th has seen over 2000 people take to the streets across Aotearoa, while overseas, solidarity protests took place in many other parts of the world.

Auckland saw around 1000 people take to the streets of the central city, then march to the Remand Prison in Newmarket where many of the prisoners are being held. The protest was addresses by Rongomai Bailey, recently released on bail, amongst others. [ Report + Photos ] [ Photos + Video ]

Hamilton saw around 300 people protest in solidarity with the arrestees. [ Report + Photos + Video ]

Palmerston North saw around 100 people gather, with a speech from a local activist who was questioned by police. [ Report ] [ Report + Photos ]

In Wellington 450 people marched from Midland Park, past the Central Police Station where they were entertained by street theatre. The march ended in Civic Square for a rally with speakers, musicians, and Food Not Bombs. [ Report ] [ Report + Photos + Audio ]

Christchurch had 300 people marching, with street theatre and haka performed by local Tuhoe. The protest finished with a picnic. [ Report + Photos ]

Overseas, 4 people were arrested (and later released) at a solidarity demo outside the NZ Embassy in Den Haag, Holland [ Report + Photos ]. A dozen people visited the NZ Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, to voice their protest [ Report ]. Approximately 70 people gathered in Melbourne, Australia to show their solidarity and support for those imprisoned [ Report + Photos ]. About 15 people gathered outside the NZ High Commission in London. [ Report ] A group demonstrated outside the NZ Consulate in Athens. [ Report + Photos ]

If you attended a demonstration (especially one without a report), please write up a report (and post any photos/video you may have) here at Aotearoa Indymedia.

Stand In Solidarity!

The global day of action is not the end. Keep showing your support for the prisoners, their whanau and friends! For more events, check out the Civil Rights Defence events calendar.

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! If you can help with processing these letters, please email the crew on the same address. For more information, see http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz.
• Auckland: “Waha Nui” fundraiser for whanau of prisoners, Sunday 28 Oct at 6pm @ Te Karanga Gallery, 208 Karangahape Rd; films, music, korero, koha entry.
• Wellington: Prisoners support and campaign organising meetings every Tuesday, 6pm, at 128 Abel Smith St. A range of solidarity events are coming up. [ Upcoming events ].
• Christchurch: A benefit gig has been organised for Thursday 1st November at the Wunder Bar in Lyttelton. [ Poster ]
• Dunedin: Picnic on Sunday Oct 28th to discuss the Terrorism Supression Act, Tuhoe history and Parihaka. 12 noon - 2:30pm, Otago Museum Reserve. [ Press releases 1 | 2 ]

Updates

Saturday - A 32 year old woman was granted bail in the Auckland District Court yesterday. The woman, a dancer, has name supression. Another of the accused, Aotearoa Indymedia activist Omar Hamed, is scheduled for a bail hearing on Monday 29th, but it is understood this may be postponed.

Sunday - A new Te Kotahi o Tuhoe website has been published to replace two previous Tuhoe websites shut down by the police when they removed the server hosting them, as well as Tino Rangatiratanga forum site AoCafe. This attack on Maori freedom of speech and association has been remarkably absent from mainstream media coverage of the dawn raids of Monday 15 Oct.

About 80 people attended a picnic in Dunedin to hand in their incendiary avocados in protest against the erosion of basic freedoms, such as freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

Monday - One of the arrestees, Marama Mayrick, has been granted bail! She has also had name suppression lifted.

At 12:15 on Thursday, hundreds of people gathered to march in support of 4 of the Urewera 17 prisoners, including Tame Iti, who were appearing in the Rotorua District Court.“Flags, drums, banners and a passionate flow of over 700 kaumatua, pakeke, rangatahi and tamariki marched peacefully against the police anti-terror raids which began 15 October.” - TangataWhenua.com

Also on Thursday afternoon, the home of 72 year old socialist Jimmy O’Dea, in Bastion Point, was raided by 8 carloads of Police [ Report ]. Jimmy has been a political activist for decades, and was one of the organisers of the union green ban on Bastion Point in the 1970s. Police deny this action was connected to the ‘Operation 8′ dawn raids but supporters are skeptical. [ Blogs 1 | 2 ]

In Sydney, around 50 people protested outside the New Zealand Consulate-General, with speakers from the local Aboriginal community, anarchists, Maori and socialists. [ Photos ]

On Tuesday independent film-maker Rongomai Bailey was released on bail and his name suppression lifted. On Thursday, another of the Urewera 17 prisoners was publicly named. 19 year old Omar Hamed, an active Indymedia volunteer, faces 3 charges of illegal posession under the Arms Act.

Two of the Wellington prisoners have now been moved to a remand prison in Auckland, where Jamie Lockett was beaten, requiring treatment in hospital. The remaining two Wellington prisoners are still to be moved. The courts decisions to move prisoners from their home areas to remand prisons in Auckland has upset family and friends, who will have to travel long distances to visit and support the prisoners indefinitely, if bail continues to be denied.

Stand in solidarity! Global Day Of Action - Saturday 27th Oct, 12 noon

Organise an event in your centre for the Global Day Of Action now, and post the details here at Aotearoa Indymedia.

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! If you can help with processing these letters, please email the crew on the same address. For more information, see http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz.
• Auckland: Demonstration Saturday Oct 27th at 12 noon meeting in Aotea Square. [ Poster ] “Waha Nui” fundraiser for whanau of prisoners, Sunday 28 Oct at 6pm @ Te Karanga Gallery, 208 Karangahape Rd; films, music, korero, koha entry.
• Hamilton: Protest Oct Sat 27th, meet 12 noon @ Garden Place.
• Whanganui: Rally and march Saturday October 27th at 12 noon. Meet at the River Traders Market on Moutoa Quay (behind Taupo Quay).
• Palmerston North: Protest Saturday Oct 27, 1pm @ Corner of the Square and Church st.
• Wellington: Protest Sat 27th, meet 12 noon @ Midland Park. Bring noisemakers and rage [ Poster ] [ Press Release ]. Fundraising gig, Sat 27 Oct, 9pm, Happy, Tory St, featuring Upper Hutt Posse, Mr Sterile Assembly and more. A range of solidarity events are happening over the coming days. [ Upcoming events ].
• Christchurch: A solidarity rally and march will be held in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday Oct 27th, followed by a picnic with live music [ Posters: 1 | 2 ]. A benefit gig has been organised for Thursday 1st November at the Wunder Bar in Lyttelton. [ Poster ]
• Dunedin: Picnic on Sunday Oct 28th to discuss the Terrorism Supression Act, Tuhoe history and Parihaka. 12 noon - 2:30pm, Otago Museum Reserve. [ Press releases 1 | 2 ]
• Melbourne, Australia: A solidarity demonstration will be held Saturday 27th in Federation Square, 12noon.
• Newcastle, Australia: Sat Oct 27th, 12 noon, Civic Park, Newcastle - write letters to the prisoners, find out more and organise for the future.
• London, England: Solidarity protest Saturday 27th, 12 noon @ NZ High Comission, 80 Haymarket, SW1Y, Westminster.
• San Francisco, AZ, USA: The Black Mesa Water Coalition and Native Movement Collective have organised a solidarity protest/fundraiser on Oct 27th, 7pm-12pm at 113 S. San Francisco Flagstaff, AZ.

Donations can be made to the defence fund. See the Civil Rights Defence Committee website for details.

Updates

A letter from prison by Tame Iti has been made available by TangataWhenua.com. An English translation will be forthcoming. [ Letter ]

4:26pm Tuesday - Bail has just been granted in the Auckland District Court for Rongomai Pero Pero Bailey, one of the Auckland arrestees. His lawyer successfully argued that the evidence presented by the Police did not justify the arms charges he faced.

In other news:

A solidarity demonstration with the arrestees was held Monday lunchtime in Montreal, Canada. [ Report + Photos ]

Wednesday 24th - Friends of the Wellington prisoners have released a statement with some background on those arrested. [ Background From Friends Of Wellington “Terror” Arrestees ]

4:54pm - Tame Iti was refused bail this morning in the Rotorua District Court. He will re-appear tomorrow in the same court, where the Police will apply to have his case moved to Auckland.

5:16pm - Scoop has an article about the treatment of the 4 Wellington prisoners and the difficulties their lawyers have been facing. [ “Terror” Accused To Be Transferred Before Appeal ]

And check Aotearoa Indymedia for details of solidarity events in the Global Day Of Action, this Saturday 27th at 12noon. If there’s nothing in your centre, organise something now!

Stand in solidarity! Global Day Of Action - Saturday 27th Oct, 12 noon

Organise an event in your centre for the Global Day Of Action now, and post the details at Aotearoa Indymedia.

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! If you can help with processing these letters, please email the crew on the same address. For more information, see http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz.
• Auckland: Demonstration Saturday Oct 27th at 12 noon meeting in Aotea Square. [ Poster ] “Waha Nui” fundraiser for whanau of prisoners, Sunday 28 Oct at 6pm @ Te Karanga Gallery, 208 Karangahape Rd; films, music, korero, koha entry.
• Hamilton: Protest Oct Sat 27th, meet 12 noon @ Garden Place.
• Rotorua: Hikoi Thursday 25th Oct, meet 9am Apumoana Marae (by Blue Lake), hikoi to Rotorua District Court for bail hearings.
• Whanganui: Rally and march Saturday October 27th at 12 noon. Meet at the River Traders Market on Moutoa Quay (behind Taupo Quay).
• Palmerston North: Protest Saturday Oct 27, 1pm @ Corner of the Square and Church st.
• Wellington: Protest Sat 27th, meet 12 noon @ Midland Park. Bring noisemakers and rage [ Poster ]. Fundraising gig, Sat 27 Oct, 9pm, Happy, Tory St, featuring Upper Hutt Posse, Mr Sterile Assembly and more. Prisoner support meetings are being held at 128 Abel Smith St, 6pm, each Tuesday. A range of solidarity events are happening over the coming days. [ Upcoming events ].
• Christchurch: A solidarity rally and march will be held in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday Oct 27th, followed by a picnic with live music [ Posters: 1 & 2 ] [ Press Release ]. A meeting to plan solidarity work will be held Thursday 25th, 6pm at the Otautahi Social Centre, 206 Barbadoes St. A benefit gig has been organised for Thursday 1st November at the Wunder Bar in Lytellton.
• Dunedin: Picnic on Sunday Oct 28th to discuss the Terrorism Supression Act, Tuhoe history and Parihaka. 12 noon - 2:30pm, Otago Museum Reserve.
• Sydney, Australia: Public meeting & demonstration on Thursday October 25th, 5:30pm outside NZ Consulate-General, 55 Hunter St, Sydney
• Melbourne, Australia: A solidarity demonstration will be held Saturday 27th in Federation Square, 12noon.
• London, England: Solidarity protest Saturday 27th, 12 noon @ NZ High Comission, 80 Haymarket, SW1Y, Westminster.

Donations can be made to the defence fund. See the Civil Rights Defence Committee website for details.

The latest Indymedia feature I just finished:

Raise your voice before you lose your soul - protests across Aotearoa

A support website for the arrestees has been created with information on support groups, background details, how to write to prisoners and more, at http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz/.

Solidarity actions continue to be held across Aotearoa and around the world for those arrested, raided, searched and questioned during and since the Monday October 15th raids.

Auckland saw 400 people march from Aotea Square to the Auckland Central Police Station, where the New Zealand flag was ripped down. Chants included “Tame Iti out, Rickards in!”

In Christchurch, 300 people marched from Cathedral Square to the Christchurch Central Police Station, with chants of “Ka whawhai tonu matou - Ake Ake Ake!” reverberating through the streets in one of the largest protests in the city for years. [ Video ]

Around 60 people assembled outside the Labour Party offices in Dunedin to show their solidarity with those arrested.

Protests have also been held overseas, where 30 people demonstrated in Berlin, Germany, outside the New Zealand Embassy [ Report + Photos ]. A solidarity banner was also displayed on the island of Santorini, Greece [ Photos ].Stand in solidarity! Global Day Of Action - Saturday 27th Oct, 12 noon

Organise an event in your centre for the Global Day Of Action now, and post the details here at Aotearoa Indymedia.

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! For more information, see http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz.
• Auckland: Demonstration Saturday Oct 27th at 12 noon meeting in Aotea Square.
• Whanganui: Rally and march Saturday October 27th at 12 noon. Meet at the River Traders Market on Moutoa Quay (behind Taupo Quay).
• Wellington: Prisoner support meetings are being held at 128 Abel Smith St, 6pm, each Tuesday. A range of solidarity events are happening over the coming days. [ Upcoming events ].
• Christchurch: A solidarity rally and march will be held in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday Oct 27th. A meeting to plan solidarity work will be held Thursday 25th at 6pm at the Otautahi Social Centre, 206 Barbadoes St.
• Sydney, Australia: Public meeting & demonstration on Thursday October 25th, 5:30pm outside NZ Consulate-General, 55 Hunter St, Sydney
• Melbourne, Australia: A solidarity demonstration will be held Saturday 27th in Federation Square, 12noon.

Donations can be made to the defence fund. See the Civil Rights Defence Committee website for details.

Friday morning saw around 100 friends and family of the prisoners gathered outside Auckland District Court to show their support and solidarity with the five prisoners due for a bail hearing [ Photos ]. Name supression on at least 1 prisoner was lifted, but interim supression has been granted until an appeal by their lawyer can be heard. 3 others had name supression extended, for now at least. The 5th can be named as Rawiri Iti, who is a nephew of Tame Iti. All remain in custody.

Approximately 150 supporters gathered at the Wellington District Court in solidarity with 4 prisoners due for a bail hearing there. The court was closed, meaning supporters were not allowed to attend. All four Wellington arrestees have been denied bail, and are being moved to Auckland to face their future hearings up there.

In Whakatane, up to 1500 people marched in protest against the Police blockade of Ruatoki and Taneatua on Monday and their treatment of the people of Tuhoe country.

Stand in solidarity!

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! You can also write directly to the Wellington prisoners. [ Wgtn prisoner contact info ].
• Auckland: Demonstration Saturday at 12 noon meeting in Aotea Square. Saturday evening there is a fundraising film screening. [ Film Screening Info ]
• Lower Kaimai: A weekend has been organised to discuss and organise in solidarity with the arrestees [ Callout ].
• Wellington: A range of solidarity events have been organised in the coming days. [ List of upcoming solidarity events ].
• Christchurch: A solidarity rally and march will be held in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday. [ Poster ]
• Dunedin: A rally against police intimidation of political activists will be held at 12 noon, Saturday 20th outside the Albany St Labour Party office
• Sydney, Australia: Public meeting & demonstration on Thursday October 25th, 5:30pm outside NZ Consulate-General, 55 Hunter St, Sydney
• Melbourne, Australia: A solidarity demonstration will be held Saturday 27th in Federation Square, 12noon.

At this stage, donations can be made to a defence fund organised by Global Peace & Justice Auckland. Identify the donation as being for the defence fund. 38-9000-0099726-00 GLOBAL PEACE & JUSTICE AKLD.

National Day Of Action - Saturday 27th Oct, 12 noon

The Auckland defence committee has called out for a national day of action in solidarity with the arrestees for Saturday 27th October at 12 noon. Organise an event in your centre now, and post the details here at Aotearoa Indymedia.

The following message comes from one of the Wellington prisoners:

“Thanks so much for all the love and support and solidarity we’ve received from people in Aotearoa and the world! Conditions have improved: I finally received vegetarian meals and we can now ring our lawyers. We also got visitors, books, magazines, newspapers, and mail today which makes all this a bit more bearable. (I’m reading the Graphic History of the I.W.W and some Bell Hooks) The Solidarity has been really amazing with support from around the world, protests in Australia (I saw a photo of the Melbourne rally in the papers and Sina Brown-Davies gets quoted saying “We must remember that the ones who are terrorists are those who came to Australia and Aotearoa and committed genocide”) and Aotearoa. If we dont reply to letters or emails, then it is probably because we dont have pen, papers or envelopes which are tricky to get hold of at the moment.”

Updates

5:48pm Friday - News just to hand - All four Wellington arrestees have been denied bail, and are being moved to Auckland to face their future hearings up there.

6:14pm - Of the 5 arrestees in the Auckland District Court today, 4 had name supression extended, for now at least. The 5th can be named as Rawiri Iti, who is a nephew of Tame Iti. All remain in custody.

Five arrestees appeared in the Rotorua and Wellington District Courts today, after yesterday evening’s revoking of Jamie Lockett’s bail in the Auckland High Court.

In Rotorua, Tame Iti was denied bail and will reappear on October 24th. In Wellington, four arrestees were expected to have a hearing on whether or not their cases would be moved to Auckland, but no decision was reached. All four will reappear on Friday for a bail hearing.

Around 4-5 people in Auckland have been questioned by police on Tuesday and Wednesday, although none have been arrested. It is extremely important that anyone called in for questioning has a lawyer present, and makes no comment whatsoever. There is no such thing as a harmless conversation when it comes to police questioning.

Solidarity events held across Aotearoa / NZ and Australia

Melbourne, Australia - 30 people gathered outside the NZ Consulate Tuesday morning to voice their opposition to the arrests. [ Report: 1 and 2 (with photos) ]

Christchurch - Around 80 people gathered in Cathedral Square Tuesday evening to send a message of support and solidarity to the arrestees, their families and friends and the people of Tuhoe. [ Flyer ] [ 3 Short Videos ]

Sydney, Australia - Wednesday morning saw 30 people protest outside the NZ Consulate-General. [ Report ]

Rotorua - Around 50 delegates attending an indigenous people’s health conference, from the Pacific Basin and North America, marched from the town centre to the District Court for Tame Iti’s bail hearing in the afternoon.

Wellington - 200 people attended a demonstration was held today outside the District Court before four arrestees appeared inside. Some people wore stickers stating “terrorist sympathiser”. [ Report ] [ Photos: 1 | 2 ] [ Video ]

Stand in solidarity!

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else! You can also write directly to the Wellington prisoners. [ Wgtn prisoner contact info ].
• Auckland: A solidarity group has been formed, and will meet next on Thursday at 6pm at the Unite Offices on Queen St.
• Whakatane: A hikoi will be held Friday 19th, meeting 9am at the carpark behind the Strand (near the Warehouse) and going to the Whakatane Police station. [ Callout ]
• Lower Kaimai: A weekend has been organised to discuss and organise in solidarity with the arrestees [ Callout ].
• Wellington: Solidarity demonstration outside Wellington District Court, Friday 19, 10am. [ More upcoming solidarity events].
• Christchurch: A solidarity demonstration will be held in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday.
• Dunedin: A rally against police intimidation of political activists will be held at 12 noon, Saturday 20th outside the Albany St Labour Party office
• Sydney, Australia: Public meeting & demonstration on Thursday October 25th, 5:30pm outside NZ Consulate-General, 55 Hunter St, Sydney
• Melbourne, Australia: A solidarity demonstration will be held Saturday 27th in Federation Square, 12noon.

At this stage, donations can be made to a defence fund organised by Global Peace & Justice Auckland. Identify the donation as being for the defence fund. 38-9000-0099726-00 GLOBAL PEACE & JUSTICE AKLD.

Links: AIMC Feature 1 | AIMC Feature 2 | Remember Security Culture!

Updates

7:51pm - One News reported during their broadcast that Police were currently searching two more houses in Tuhoe country.

Thursday - It now appears that an 18th person was arrested somewhere in the Bay Of Plenty. They were scheduled to appear in the Rotorua District Court Thursday morning. More details as they come to hand.

AoCafe, a popular Tino Rangatiratanga website, has been down since these raids. A comment on AIMC states that “the server which hosts the Manamotuhake and AoCafe websites has been confiscated as part of the raids.”

Two houses in in Palmerston North, one in Lower Hutt, one in Wellington, and one at Lake Waikaremoana were searched yesterday.

It appears that 1 arrestee was released on bail in Palmerston North under restrictive bail conditions Wednesday morning. He will appear in the Auckland District Court on November 1st.

In the Wellington District Court yesterday, Michael Bott, lawyer for one of the Wellington arrestees, stated that he had been unable to contact his client in Rimutaka Prison

2:05pm - A Wellington arrestee who is being held in Rimutaka sent his love and thanked everyone for their support. Knowing about the worldwide support they’ve been getting has made a real difference for those inside.

Like Maia, I’m limited by what I can say thanks to supression orders and exhaustion, but I’m sending my love and support to my friends and others who were arrested today.

The State has no problem searching a children’s schoolbus at gunpoint. What kind of scum could do such a thing? The people of Tuhoe have suffered at the hand of the State for far too long, this is just the latest in a long line of indignations they have been subjected to.

All my solidarity goes out to those arrested. Wherever you are, go to the following events, and if there isn’t one where you live, organised one!

• Everywhere: Any letters emailed to lettersforprisoners[at]riseup[dot]net will printed out and distributed to arrestees. Obviously don’t write anything that could negatively impact on you or anyone else!
• Auckland: A solidarity group has been formed, and will meet next on Thursday. Details to come.
• Lower Kaimai: A weekend has been organised to discuss and organise in solidarity with the arrestees [ Callout ].
• Wellington: A meeting to “constructively discuss a reaction” will be held on Tuesday at 7:30pm at 128 Abel Smith St and a solidarity demonstration will be held at Wellington District Court at 2pm Wednesday.
• Christchurch: A solidarity protest will be held in Cathedral Square on Tuesday at 5pm. There will also be another demonstration in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday.
• Melbourne, Australia: Demonstration in support of the arrestees Tuesday, 11am at the Consulate-General of New Zealand, Suite 2, North Level 3 350 Collins Street.

UPDATES

Tuesday 16th

12:10pm - Jamie Beattie Lockett, who faces three charges under the arms act, was released on bail after a hearing in the Auckland District Court today.

12:43pm - Word is that people in Auckland are now being called in by Police for questioning. Our love and solidarity to all, and we strongly urge you to make no comment.

12:55pm - Supporters delivered reading material and money to the four Wellington arrestees last night and this morning.

3:12pm - A report back from the Melbourne Solidarity Demo said there were around 30 people and lots of media.

A feature I just wrote for Aotearoa Indymedia (and hopefully soon Global Indymedia). Love and solidarity to all the arrestees:

17 activists arrested, denied bail. 300+ Police raid houses across the country

In a wave of massive state repression, 300+ Police, in many cases armed, raided houses around the country today making 17 arrests. Search warrants were carried out in Auckland, Whakatane, Ruatoki, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch. Police are also seeking up to 60 people for questioning. The arrestees came from the Tino Rangatiratanga, peace and environmental movements.

Prominent Tino Rangatiratanga activist Tame Iti was among the first arrested at his home at 4am Monday morning. At 6am raids were carried out at A Space Inside anarchist social centre in Auckland [ Search Warrant ] and the 128 activist Community Centre in Wellington [ Video of police raid ]. In Tuhoe Country, the town of Ruatoki was blockaded by armed police for several hours, with no cars allowed in and many searched.

14 of the arrestees appeared in court hearings in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua and Wellington this afternoon and were all refused bail. All but two recieved name supression.

Stand In Solidarity!

• Auckland: A solidarity group has been formed, and will meet next on Thursday. Details to come.
• Wellington: A meeting to “constructively discuss a reaction” will be held on Tuesday at 7:30pm at 128 Abel Smith St and a solidarity demonstration will be held at Wellington District Court at 2pm Wednesday.
• Christchurch: A solidarity protest will be held in Cathedral Square on Tuesday at 5pm. There will also be another demonstration in Cathedral Square at 12noon on Saturday.
• Melbourne, Australia: Demonstration in support of the arrestees Tuesday, 11am at the Consulate-General of New Zealand, Suite 2, North Level 3 350 Collins Street.

Links: Video interview with Annette Sykes, lawyer for Tame Iti | TV3 News video

The four Wellington arrestees (2 women and 2 men) have recieved a total of 20 charges. On Wednesday they will be back in court as the prosecution attempts to move their trial to Auckland, while they will have an opportunity to apply for bail hearing on Friday.

5 arrestees (1 woman and 4 men) in Auckland will remain in custody until Friday while a 6th, Jamie Beattie Lockett, who faces 3 charges under the Firearms Act, will have a bail hearing Tuesday morning.

An arrestee in the Hamilton District Court, charged with 6 charges, will appear in the Auckland District Court on Friday.

In Rotorua, Tame Iti, facing 8 charges, will have a bail application heard Tuesday at 3pm. A woman in the Rotorua District Court, facing 5 charges, has been remanded in custody for 2 weeks, although will be allowed to apply for bail during that time.

The Police will make a decision in the coming days/weeks as to whether they will apply to the Solicitor General to allow charges to be laid under the 2002 Terrorism Supression Act. If they do get permission, it would be the first time charges have been laid under the act. There may still be more arrests and more charges as well.

Early this morning there were simultaneous raids across the North Island, in Auckland, Whakatane, Wellington, Ruatoki, and Hamilton. Later in the morning, Police came to at least four houses in Christchurch. Seventeen people have been arrested so far, and reports are that up to 60 are being sought for questioning.

The raids were under the Suppression Of Terrorism Act and the Firearms Act. They have been targetted at people involved in the Tino Rangatiratanga, Peace and Environmental movements.

TV3 footage of the raid on 128, the Wellington activist community centre, can be viewed at www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/2303.html. The search warrant enacted on A Space Inside, an Auckland activist social centre, can be viewed at img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0710/c98ad99d9861928dc3ce.jpeg

Check out Aotearoa Indymedia - http://www.indymedia.org.nz for more details as they come to hand.

Support the arrestees!

Auckland - There will be a meeting today (Monday) at 5:30pm at the Unite offices on Queen St to plan a response.

Christchurch - There will be a meeting today (Monday) at 6:30pm at the Otautahi Social Centre (206 Barbadoes St) to discuss what has happened and plan for solidarity with the arrestees.

There has been a rally in support called for tomorrow (Tuesday) in Cathedral Square at 5pm.

Melbourne - There will be a demonstration in support of the arrestees tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Consulate-General of New Zealand, Suite 2, North Level 3 350 Collins Street at 11am.
Updates

1:43pm - The people arrested in Wellington will apparently appear in court at 2:15pm, and word is that cops will be opposing bail. It is not yet known what charges have been laid. Tame Iti will face arms charges in the Rotorua District Court this afternoon.

3:13pm - The four Wellington arrestees are still waiting to be heard in court, but we have recieved information that they are being charged with possession of firearms and ammunition at some point in the past.

3:52pm - It is now being reported that there have been around 20 arrests, including 10 in Auckland, 4 in Wellington and 2 in Rotorua.

4:19pm - From the corporate media: The operation “will probably be going on for a couple of days yet,” Jane Archibald, a police spokeswoman based in Wellington. It is also being reported that over 300 police officers were involved nationwide.

5:08pm - Just recieved word that the four Wellington arrestees have been denied bail, and will be back in court on Wednesday. No word yet on the arrestees in the other centres.

5:26pm - All four Wellington arrestees have recieved name suppression.

6:34pm - Reports are that 17 people were arrested in total today. In Auckland, there were apparently only 6 arrests (not 10 as reported earlier), 5 of whom have name supression.