To New Zealand,where activists have defaced an exhibit on the Treaty of Waitangi at the national museum,Te Papa,in the latest display of tension around the place of Maori after the election of a right-wing government.
Police arrested a number of people following a coordinated protest at the Wellington waterfront museum today.
The target was the museum’s displays explaining the Treaty of Waitangi,New Zealand’s foundational document.
One man abseiled inside the building,using an angle grinder and spray paint to damage the display.
Others held signs saying “tell the truth” in both English and te reo,the Maori language,while another used a megaphone to critique the display.
“It says that Maori ceded sovereignty to the Crown. That is a lie,” the man said.
“We are here to tell Te Papa to tell the truth ... you’re not just here to display these two documents,you need to be adding context,you need to be helping people to understand.”
Last week thousands marched around the country against the new government in protests organised by the Maori Party.
Many Maori are fearful of measures agreed by the new government that would strip away the Treaty of Waitangi from the centre of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between Maori and the British Crown as the basis for co-existence between the Indigenous and colonising populations.
However,translation issues between the English and te reo versions created disagreements that continue to this day,including whether sovereignty was ceded by Maori.
New Zealand’s October election led to a three-party coalition of the centre-right National party,free-market libertarians ACT and populists New Zealand First. All three campaigned for a rollback of Maori governance of public entities introduced by the Labour-led government.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon said he didn’t think the Te Papa attack was linked to his government’s new approach to the treaty.
Te Papa spokeswoman Kate Camp said while a wooden display panel was damaged in the vandalism,museum collection items were not.
AAP