Ali told the Post that he was quizzed about previous letters to the editor that he had written, asked for his e-mail address, and for some "very sensitive information about my family...where I was from and how long I'd been in New Zealand." Ali was born in Fiji and has lived in New Zealand since 1968.

In the course of the police interview, Ali said, the cop told him that they "investigated anyone who expressed an opinion against the government."

The police have refused to comment on the case, saying they're "working on a range of current inquiries." In response, Ali wrote to the paper, "Kaye Calder, the police spokesperson, is grossly incorrect. My interview by a detective was not helping an inquiry. Unfortunately, I was the inquiry." He added, "If anyone from this time onward is critical of the armed forces in New Zealand, what's next--unconstitutional military courts and detainments like the U.S.?"

The Green Party and the Council for Civil Liberties have released statements opposing this attack on Ali's right to publicly express his views. The Evening Post editorialized that "not since the extreme climate of repression during the 1951 waterfront dispute have New Zealanders had police knocking on the door simply because they expressed reasonable views that they were entitled to hold. Even if their views were unreasonable, they should be free to express them without interference or harassment."

In another move, police launched a huge armed operation centered around the participation of U.S. golfer Tiger Woods in a tournament here. The justification used for this was a cyanide-laced letter allegedly sent to the U. S. embassy in Wellington. The letter threatened the "New Zealand Golf Open and Israelis," according to the Dominion newspaper, published in Wellington. "Operation Links" involved 400 cops, amounting to 6 percent of the national police force, who patrolled the golf course, searched nearby railway lines, tunnels, and trains, and harassed local residents. A number of stories of individuals subjected to heavy-handed police actions appeared in local newspapers.

Meanwhile, Auckland's daily newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, has been branding New Zealand residents who are supporters of independence for Tamils in Sri Lanka as backers of terrorism. Two full pages of its January 12 edition were devoted to an "investigation" of fund-raising the paper claims has been organized in this country for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers). "Terrorist banker's secret NZ visit," was the title of one of these featured articles.

Quoting the statement of the president of the New Zealand Tamil Society, George Arulanantham, that "the community here supports the Tigers...but only by public marches and statements, not with funds," the Herald's editors called for such lawful political activity to be banned. The Tigers, they wrote, "are a terrorist group and any form of financial or organizational support for them from this country should be a criminal offense."

The government is expected to pass new "anti-terrorism" laws in the next months, which would outlaw fund-raising for named organizations deemed to be terrorist. The Herald stated that "one of the first groups to be affected, for reasons outlined in a Weekend Herald investigation, could be the Tamil community here."

Janet Edwards in Auckland contributed to this article.  
 
 
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