lighting a fuse

Well they have sentenced two of the Urewera four to jail and supposedly Tame Iti and Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara will spend two and a half years inside. The police terror raids on Tuhoe, the dropped charges, unadmissable evidence and dismal evidence presented, the lies and evasions all lead us to this, so called 'justice' for these men. Unfortunately this will get worse for the system now that the judge has determined this sentence. I suppose if the judge had discharged the four, then the feelings and heat within the community may have dissipaited but that is not what has happened. Instead we will see a focussing of energy, including heat and light and ironically this is the opposite of what the 'powers that be' wanted. They wanted a short, sharp lesson, they wanted a 'quick hit', they wanted to show the US that they were on to it, they wanted to show uppity tangata whenua what happens if you don't toe the line, they wanted to sow dissent and division within the activist community, they wanted to divide. As usual 'they' have fucked up. 

I cannot tolerate these men spending one single day behind bars - this is a gross injustice that must be opposed.


Good updates from Tim at Tumeke

operation 8 trailer

Ana has a great post on the terror raids and a new film called Operation 8 that will be essential viewing.

Operation 8 involved 18 months of invasive surveillance of Maori sovereignty and peace activists accused of attending terrorist training camps in the Urewera ranges -- homeland of the Tuhoe people. Operation 8 asks why and how the raids took place. How did the War on Terror become a global witch-hunt of political dissenters reaching even to the South Pacific?

Operation 8 - WORLD PREMIERE at the World Cinema Showcase on Sunday 17 April 2.45pm at the Paramount in Wellington.



As I have already said - we must shine light on these terror raids - the truth must out.

Hat tip - Whenua, Fenua, Enua Vanua