In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the media has been very understanding on the subject of terrorism. For example: “3 News understands a paramilitary group calling itself the “freedom fighters” had been conducting training in the use of firearms and other weapons.” Oddly enough, Te Mana Motuhake o Tühoe invited “freedom fighters” to attend a commemoration of a struggle for Maori land rights at the end of this year:
Tuhoe: Te Ahikaa roa a Mihi ki te Kapua 2007/2008
[August 28, 2007]E nga mana, e nga reo, nei ra te karanga o Te mana Motuhake o Tühoe ki te whakanui i te tekau tau o te nohonga o Waikaremoana. Kua tekau tau te roa kua rongo ai a Waiwherowhero i nga reo o ana mokopuna. Kua tekau tau te roa i mura ai nga ahi ki te taha o nga wai kaukau o nga tipuna. no reira, anei ra te karanga. Nau mai, Hoki mai!
It has been ten years since the Waikaremoana land occupation. It has been ten years since the fires burnt on the shores of Waikaremoana. Ten years since the grandchildren of Waikaremoana made a stand against the continual alienation of their lands, forests and of course the lake. Te Mana Motuhake o Tühoe invite the freedom fighters who were part of the occupation to return, and also any comrade or organisation who want to celebrate and plan for our future campaign. Come and share victories, kai and korero with Tuhoe this New Years eve.
Venue: Waikaremoana, Te Waiwherowhero pa. (next to the campgrounds)
Date: 31/12/07 – 03/01/08
Contact and info: manamotuhake(at)gmail.com
A Maori politician, Te Ururoa Flavell condemned the raids for their colonial overtones:
“The Maori families living in my electorate feel unduly harassed by the number of search warrants imposed, the charges laid, and the intimidation they believe they have experienced this morning” said Te Ururoa Flavell. “It was soul-destroying to hear one koroua describe his first thoughts were that it reminded him of the context of raupatu” said Te Ururoa Flavell. “This is not surprising, given it appears the road block was at the site of the confiscation line – which marks the point up to which land was taken from Tühoe in the 1860s”.
While tabloid radio mocks the notion of “love and solidarity” on a blog “labelling itself as “Revolutionary Anti Colonialism and Anti Capitalism” [and] pledging love and solidarity to all those arrested in police raids on Maori and environmental activists allegedly involved in para-military training camps. It says treating indigenous people “with long standing and valid historical grievances” as terrorists is “bullshit”. The site has links to others that talk of freedom fighters in the Tuhoe – Bay of Plenty area.”
But as William Taft observed 100 years ago (The New York Times, May 31, 1907) regarding US rule of the “sullen peoples” of the Philippines, “we cannot expect gratitude from the Filipinos… who are jealous of us”. Further, the native press was at that time similarly ungrateful: “…the native newspapers avail themselves of the freedom of the press, and abuse the privilege by every kind of unfair statement to stir up native prejudice against the Government, and so against the Americans… Our reward must be in the pleasure of pushing the cause of civilization and in increasing the opportunity for progress to those less fortunate than ourselves in their environment, and not in their gratitude.”
And who isn’t hungry for the benefits of Civilization?
