Vol. 72/No. 44      November 10, 2008

An earlier attempt by police to charge the activists under the 2002 Terrorism Suppression Act was dropped in the face of nationwide protests. The current charges under the Arms Act are what remain of the frame-up.

Speaking outside the court in Maori, Tame Iti, a leader of the Tuhoe tribe and central target of the frame-up, condemned the decision. “I have done nothing wrong,” he said. “Tuhoe is not in the wrong. The sin lies with the Crown, the government, and the law. They came into Tuhoe land. They were deluded. They came to belittle … my people.”

The ruling follows a month of court hearings in which the prosecution put forward 343 charges against 18 defendants. The judge freed one of the accused and threw out 39 of the charges for lack of evidence.

The charges arise from nationwide police raids on Oct. 15, 2007. Those arrested were initially branded as “terrorists” and accused of training in military-style camps in the Urewera mountain range, where Maori of the Tuhoe tribe are based.

During the raids, heavily armed police set up roadblocks at the entrance to the Maori settlement of Ruatoki, harassing occupants of vehicles going in and out and rampaging through homes.

The raids followed 18 months of police spying estimated to have cost NZ$8 million ($4.7 million). The cops used warrants obtained under the 2002 Terrorism Suppression Act.

Police efforts to lay terror charges under this act, the first-ever attempt to use the law, were squashed after nationwide protests spearheaded by Tuhoe.

“Drop the charges!” was the demand of several hundred protesters who marched here and in Wellington August 30 to back the accused. Pickets have been held outside court hearings. Residents of Ruatoki organized a four-day commemoration beginning October 15 to mark the one-year anniversary of the police lockdown of their valley.  
 
 
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