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Category: Civil Society

  • Broken Mirrors: A User’s Guide To Making The Men We’re Missing

    The solution to the ‘crisis of masculinity’ sweeping the Western world is not only staring us in the face, writes Glenn Scott, but it’s also occasionally tucking us in at night.

    A lot happened in 1975. The Vietnam war ended with the fall of Saigon. Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. Modern day Greece was established and Bruce Springsteen released Born To Run.

    Closer to home, Papua New Guinea gained its independence. We had the dismissal of the Whitlam Government. Shannon Noll was born. And Graham Kennedy was pulled off air for his ‘Faaaaaaaarrrrrrrkkkkk’ crow call, which he delivered on live television.

    By any standards, 1975 was a big year.

    It was also the year my father had a brain tumour removed. He was 33-years-old. I was 5. Traumatic events mark everyone connected in a variety of unique ways. I’m going to tell you about one such indelible mark I carry as a result of my father’s health crisis.

    To successfully remove the golf-ball sized tumour from my father’s brain, it was necessary to sever the auditory nerve on his left side. This resulted in the loss of hearing in his left ear and the loss of movement on the left side of his face.

    Certainly, these are sacrifices I think any of us would accept in exchange for our life, however, they’re not insignificant losses and come with their own consequences and challenges.

    My father not only lost half his hearing, but severing his auditory nerve also took away a significant portion of his sense of balance. For a passionate and genuinely talented sportsman (Dad played representative rugby league for Toowoomba and Brisbane under 21s), this was a particularly cruel twist.

    Over the years, I have been aware of Dad’s quiet frustration when the expectations of his capabilities don’t match his actual, recalibrated abilities. Particularly when reminded he is not the sportsman he once was.

    Dad will tell you, however, that losing hearing in his left ear has its hidden perks. He never has to listen to his family “carry on” in the car while he’s driving; with strategic seating choices he can always enjoy a relatively quiet time at social gatherings; and if he turns his left side towards you, your boring story is no longer a problem.

    This, in particular, has given our family no end of amusement over the years; watching Dad, across a crowded room, politely not listen to someone.

    Another possibly even more profound adjustment, was his loss of facial muscle control. This caused the left side of Dad’s face to take on a slight droop around his eye and mouth, with a general lack of tautness in his cheek and jowl.

    When Dad talks to you he speaks from the right side of his mouth and will angle this side towards you. What this means for his emoting is that whatever emotion Dad’s face is attempting to display, only the right side gets the memo: the left remains unmoved.

    Despite this, I can honestly say, I was never in any doubt as to whether my father was feeling positively or, ahem, negatively towards his son.

    This altered face of my father’s is the face I have been looking to for most of my life. This is the face I have looked to for approval. The face I have looked to for help and advice, for love and support. The face I have laughed with over ‘The Good Show’ and ‘Hancock’s Half-Hour’ and the face I have cowered from when he was angry or upset.

    This is the face I have watched, learned, loved and imitated since I was 5-years-old. This is the face of the man from whom I learned how to be a man.

    I’m sure most parents know those feelings of amazement and delight when you notice something of yourself reflected in your child. Whether it’s a funny turn of phrase, the cute way they stick their tongue out while concentrating or their deeply held belief that “The Bends” is Radiohead’s best record (totally justified). But there’s also the flip side to this joy; I clearly remember that initial amusement morphing to dread realisation the very first time I heard my three-year-old daughter casually throw a swear word into the mix. There’s nothing like a potty-mouthed toddler to impress the terrible parental burden of ceaseless imitation.

    Oscar Wilde considered imitation a form of flattery. I think, for any parent paying attention, it’s more a sweet horror. Our children are essentially imitation machines, built to learn quickly and efficiently by observing and doing. And they do. Constantly. Consistently. Relentlessly.

    They do this regardless of our awareness. They don’t discern between “conscious parent” mode and “caught off guard” or “what-the-fuck” mode. They take it all in. Hoover it all up. Process it. Internalise it. Embody it. Everything. Every moment. Every action. Every gesture. Every word. Everything.

    The sweet horror of creation.

    If asked, most of us would be able to list a decent number of attributes we know are clearly mirrored from our parents. And our siblings, partners and friends who know us well could add to that list. I was in my mid-30s when my partner Jo (now my wife) pointed out something I have been doing since I was young but, up until that moment, had never made the connection back to my father. In hindsight, it’s so obvious I find it hard to believe I missed it.

    For as long as I can remember I have had the unusual habit of sucking in and biting the inside of my right cheek when I am either concentrating, under stress, angry or upset. I have always been aware of it, but have never thought too much about it, or why I might do it.

    One day Jo said to me; “You know that thing you do when you’re upset? You’re doing your Dad. You’re making your Dad’s face.”

    Making my Dad’s face.

    “But Dad’s face is still on his left side, I tend to bite my right chee… oh, wow.”

    And there it is. When my father looks in my face, I’ve been mirroring his face back to him.

    That’s the impact we have as fathers.

    Our nature, our being, our very essence is being imprinted in the next generation. In every way, for good or for ill, our sons embody and carry our spirit forward. Fathers carry the responsibility of modelling the men their sons become. And sons carry the responsibility of becoming the men their fathers’ model.

    How then, do we have a conversation about the behaviour of our sons without mentioning the behaviour of our fathers? How do we talk about safeguarding society without talking about safeguarding fatherhood? How do we speak of preventative measures for violence without speaking about supportive measures for fathers?

    I am proud to say that I am the man my father modelled. And I know I don’t have any reason to be concerned about the influence of porn, or poor sporting role models, or celebrity influences on my boy because I am the major influence in his journey to manhood.

    Of that I am certain. And that journey is one modelled on love and kindness, strength and courage, honour and respect.

    Until every father is in the position to say the same, we will continue as a society to struggle with the fallout of this failure to create the men we need.

    The post Broken Mirrors: A User’s Guide To Making The Men We’re Missing appeared first on New Matilda.

    This post was originally published on New Matilda.

  • Decolonisation, the climate crisis, and improving media education in the Pacific

    Global Voices interviews veteran author, journalist and educator David Robie who discussed the state of Pacific media, journalism education, and the role of the press in addressing decolonisation and the climate crisis.

    INTERVIEW: By Mong Palatino in Manila

    Professor David Robie is among this year’s New Zealand Order of Merit awardees and was on the King’s Birthday Honours list earlier this month for his “services to journalism and Asia-Pacific media education.”

    His career in journalism has spanned five decades. He was the founding editor of the Pacific Journalism Review journal in 1994 and in 1996 he established the Pacific Media Watch, a media rights watchdog group.

    He was head of the journalism department at the University of Papua New Guinea from 1993–1997 and at the University of the South Pacific from 1998–2002. While teaching at Auckland University of Technology, he founded the Pacific Media Centre in 2007.

    He has authored 10 books on Asia-Pacific media and politics. He received the 1985 Media Peace Prize for his coverage of the Rainbow Warrior bombing — which he sailed on and wrote the book Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior — and the French and American nuclear testing.

    In 2015, he was given the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) Asian Communication Award in Dubai. Global Voices interviewed him about the challenges faced by journalists in the Pacific and his career. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    MONG PALATINO (MP): What are the main challenges faced by the media in the region?

    DAVID ROBIE (DR): Corruption, viability, and credibility — the corruption among politicians and influence on journalists, the viability of weak business models and small media enterprises, and weakening credibility. After many years of developing a reasonably independent Pacific media in many countries in the region with courageous and independent journalists in leadership roles, many media groups are becoming susceptible to growing geopolitical rivalry between powerful players in the region, particularly China, which is steadily increasing its influence on the region’s media — especially in Solomon Islands — not just in development aid.

    However, the United States, Australia and France are also stepping up their Pacific media and journalism training influences in the region as part of “Indo-Pacific” strategies that are really all about countering Chinese influence.

    Indonesia is also becoming an influence in the media in the region, for other reasons. Jakarta is in the middle of a massive “hearts and minds” strategy in the Pacific, mainly through the media and diplomacy, in an attempt to blunt the widespread “people’s” sentiment in support of West Papuan aspirations for self-determination and eventual independence.

    MP: What should be prioritised in improving journalism education in the region?

    DR: The university-based journalism schools, such as at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, are best placed to improve foundation journalism skills and education, and also to encourage life-long learning for journalists. More funding would be more beneficial channelled through the universities for more advanced courses, and not just through short-course industry training. I can say that because I have been through the mill both ways — 50 years as a journalist starting off in the “school of hard knocks” in many countries, including almost 30 years running journalism courses and pioneering several award-winning student journalist publications. However, it is important to retain media independence and not allow funding NGOs to dictate policies.

    MP: How can Pacific journalists best fulfill their role in highlighting Pacific stories, especially the impact of the climate crisis?

    DR: The best strategy is collaboration with international partners that have resources and expertise in climate crisis, such as the Earth Journalism Network to give a global stage for their issues and concerns. When I was still running the Pacific Media Centre, we had a high profile Pacific climate journalism Bearing Witness project where students made many successful multimedia reports and award-winning commentaries. An example is this one on YouTube: Banabans of Rabi: A Story of Survival

    MP: What should the international community focus on when reporting about the Pacific?

    DR: It is important for media to monitor the Indo-Pacific rivalries, but to also keep them in perspective — so-called ”security” is nowhere as important to Pacific countries as it is to its Western neighbours and China. It is important for the international community to keep an eye on the ball about what is important to the Pacific, which is ‘development’ and ‘climate crisis’ and why China has an edge in some countries at the moment.

    Australia and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand have dropped the ball in recent years, and are tying to regain lost ground, but concentrating too much on “security”. Listen to the Pacific voices.

    There should be more international reporting about the “hidden stories” of the Pacific such as the unresolved decolonisation issues — Kanaky New Caledonia, “French” Polynesia (Mā’ohi Nui), both from France; and West Papua from Indonesia. West Papua, in particular, is virtually ignored by Western media in spite of the ongoing serious human rights violations. This is unconscionable.

    Mong Palatino is regional editor of Global Voices for Southeast Asia. An activist and former two-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives, he has been blogging since 2004 at mongster’s nest. @mongster Republished with permission.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • How former Greens MP Keith Locke often became a voice for the Pacific

    OBITUARY: By Philip Cass of Kaniva Tonga

    A New Zealand politician and human rights activist with a strong connection to Tonga’s Democracy movement and other Pacific activism has been farewelled after dying last week aged 80.

    Keith Locke served as a former Green MP from 1999 to 2011.

    While in Parliament, he was a notable critic of New Zealand’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, and advocated for refugee rights.

    He was appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to human rights advocacy in 2021, received NZ Amnesty International’s Human Rights Defender award in 2012, and the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand’s Harmony Award in 2013.

    Locke was often a voice for the Pacific in the New Zealand Parliament.

    In 2000, he spoke out on the plight of overstayers who were facing deportation under the National Party government.

    As the Green Party’s then immigration spokesperson, he supported calls for a review of the overstayer legislation.

    Links to Pohiva
    “We are a Polynesian nation, and we increasingly celebrate the Samoan and Tongan part of our national identity,” Locke said at the time.

    “How can we claim as our own the Jonah Lomus and Beatrice Faumuinas while we are prepared to toss their relations out of the country at a moment’s notice?”

    Locke had links to Tonga through his relationship with Democracy campaigner and later Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva, who died in 2019.

    Tongan Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pōhiva
    The late Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva … defended by Keith Locke in 1996 when Pohiva and two colleagues had been jailed for comments in their pro-democracy newspaper Kele’a. Image: Kalino Lātū/Kaniva News

    Locke defended Pohiva in 1996 when he was a spokesperson for the Alliance Party. He said he was horrified that Pohiva and two colleagues had been jailed for comments in their pro-democracy newspaper Kele’a.

    He criticised the New Zealand government for keeping silent about what he described as a “gross abuse of human rights.”

    In 2004, Locke called on the New Zealand government to speak out about what he called the suppression of the press in Tonga.

    Locke, who was then the Greens foreign affairs spokesman, said several publications had been denied licences, including an offshoot of the New Zealand-produced Taimi ‘o Tonga newspaper.


    Tribute by Asia Pacific Report editor David Robie.

    ‘Speak out as Pacific neighbour’
    “We owe it to the Tongan people to support them in their hour of need.  We should speak out as a Pacific neighbour,” he said.

    In 2007, ‘Akilisi was again charged with sedition, along with four other pro-democracy MPs, for allegedly being responsible for the rioting that took place following a mass pro-democracy march in Nuku’alofa.

    Flags of the countries of some of the many causes Keith Locke supported
    Flags of the countries of some of the many causes Keith Locke supported at the memorial service in Mount Eden this week. Image: David Robie/APR

    “As the Greens’ foreign affairs spokesperson I went up to Tonga to support ‘Akilisi and his colleagues fight these trumped-up charges. I was shocked to find that the New Zealand government was going along with these sedition charges against five sitting MPs,” Locke said in an interview.

    “I was in Tonga not long before the 2010 elections with a cross-party group of New Zealand MPs. We were helping Tongan candidates understand the intricacies of a parliamentary system.

    “At the time I remember ‘Akilisi being worried that the block of nine ‘noble’ MPs could frustrate the desires of what were to be 17 directly-elected MPs. And so it turned out.

    “Despite winning 12 of the popularly-elected 17 seats in 2010, the pro-democracy MPs were outvoted 14 to 12 when the votes of the nine nobles MPs were put into the equation.

    “However, in the two subsequent elections (2014 and 2017) the Democrats predominated and ‘Akilisi took over as Prime Minister. I am not qualified to judge his record on domestic issues, except to say it couldn’t have been an easy job because of the fractious nature of Tongan politics.

    “And ‘Akilisi has been in poor health.

    Political tee-shirts and mementoes from Keith Locke's campaign issues
    Political tee-shirts and mementoes from Keith Locke’s campaign issues at the memorial service in Mount Eden this week. Image: Del Abcede/APR

    ‘Admirable stand’
    “As Prime Minister he took an admirable stand on some important international issues, such as climate change. At the Pacific Island Forum he criticised those countries which stayed silent on the plight of the West Papuans.”

    Locke said that Tonga may not yet be fully democratic, but that great progress had been made under Pohiva’s “humble and self-sacrificing leadership.”

    Keith Locke was also an outspoken advocate for democracy and independence causes in Fiji, Kanaky New Caledonia, Palestine, Philippines, Tahiti, Tibet, Timor-Leste and West Papua and in many other countries.

    His remembrance service was held with whānau and supporters at a packed Mount Eden War memorial Hall on Tuesday.

    Philip Cass is an editorial adviser for Kaniva Tonga. Republished as a collaboration between KT and Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Government Is All At Sea Wallowing Over Climate And Environmental Policy

    In a Guardian article 380 top climate scientists were asked what they felt about the future. They indicated they were terrified but determined to keep fighting.

    Seventy-seven per cent of the scientists believe global temperatures will reach at least 2.5C above preindustrial levels, a devastating degree of heating; almost half, 42%, think it will be more than 3C; only 6% think the 1.5C limit will be achieved.

    These scientists have enormous ability and dedication, yet like most news items in a distracted world its effect was probably transient, for it competed for attention with dangerous wars, international disagreements, increasing poverty and cost of living grievances in most countries with surges of ill health due to more infections and mental illness.

    One despairs that those carrying the democratic banner are failing to address this huge threat through their lack of knowledge and ability.

    By now your despair may have deepened, you may stop reading this article because you have already done all you can personally  to reduce your emissions when at the same time the government promotes and subsidises a future gas strategy and continuing coal mining. This mining causes 15 per cent of Australia’s domestic emissions from sending fossil fuels overseas.

    In addition, as a wealthy, developed nation we should be ashamed of the considerable damage to poorer nations from our exported gas which enhances climate change causing thousands of deaths – never mentioned by our governments.

     

    Our Health System of Biodiversity and Ecological Services 

    Climate change is wedded to an equally threatened partner, Australia’s natural environment which is degrading more rapidly than many other developed countries and little is being done to stop it. Additionally it is much more difficult to measure its degree of loss than the rising temperature of the earth and emissions in the atmosphere.

    The importance of biodiversity is explained to the Australian public by governments and most environmental organisations by using the loss of iconic species such as the Koala and Cockatoo without public or political understanding that they are but two of thousands, perhaps millions of species that work together to provide ecological services to us and for themselves.

    The continuing decline of the life support system of ecosystem services and biodiversity is a crisis needing urgent, collective action. At stake is food production and many other essential benefits for health and life itself.

    In the words of an article by a group of eminent environmental scientists:

    “We report three major and confronting environmental issues that have received little attention and require urgent action.

    First, we review the evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its life-forms—including humanity—is so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts.

    Second, we ask what political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action.

    Third, this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public. We especially draw attention to the lack of appreciation of the enormous challenges to creating a sustainable future. The added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of ecosystem services on which society depends.

    The science underlying these issues is strong, but awareness is weak. Without fully appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity of the solutions required, society will fail to achieve even modest sustainability goals.”

    The situation can be summarised; Australia consumes its natural resources at the rate of 4.5 Earths per year and there is little evidence that this will be reduced under present policies. To explain the crucial role of biodiversity in our survival I will explain two of many examples.

     

    Healthy Soil is a vital Life Support System

    Soil, our ecological life support system for food production, consists of bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes, mites, worms and insects. In fact two thirds of thousands and perhaps millions of species on the planet form the soil, maintain its ecological structure and services.

    Pollinators, birds some animals and insects are part of this ecological service to control pests and enhance productivity.

    Soil is alive and if listening systems are placed in the soil one can hear the constant cacophony of noise made by these creatures as they break down organic material to components which can be absorbed through the roots of growing plants.

    Clearly soil needs to retain its health by receiving organic matter to break down to service the food needs of plants but in much farming on our famously very poor, old and heavily weathered soils, fertiliser is given to maintain and increase crop yields.

    Then living soil deteriorates and is more easily blown or washed away by the increasing extreme storms of climate change, and most importantly by high temperatures which kill many of the soil’s species.

    Pesticides and herbicides also damage the structure of soil and together with nitrogen fertiliser they wash into rivers and groundwater to damage further ecosystems killing fish and many other species.

    Our choice is to continue with current practices and lose our life support system, food, or accept scientific alternatives and subsidise farmers for lost productivity.

    We must also be aware that nitrogen fertiliser releases nitrous oxide (N2O) which is also an extremely potent greenhouse gas further reducing humanity’s chance of controlling emissions.

    Each of us possesses an ecological system in our intestines, the bacteria and enzymes in our small intestine, which split apart ingested foods so the constituents can be absorbed into our body. The system is known as your microbiome.

    Some patients with inflammatory bowel diseases resistant to conventional treatment can be treated successfully with a “poo-transplant” – the patient takes an oral dose of faecal material from a healthy patient to modify their disordered intestinal ecosystem. Similarly some soils lack ecological life because of overcropping and can only be restored by soil transplant when healthy soil is spread over dead soil.

     

    Biodiversity and Ecosystems reduce Epidemics

    The Medical Journal The Lancet indicates we are now witnessing widespread increases in the emergence, spread and re-emergence of infectious diseases in wildlife, domestic animals, plants, and people. Covid was just the beginning.

    Currently the H5N1 strain of influenza is causing millions of deaths of birds, some in mammals and now in a human.

    An important cause is natural habitat being increasingly lost and fragmented and the intact fragments are decreasing in size.

    Changes in climate and natural habitat are shifting species distributions and rearranging the composition of ecological communities. An estimated 1 million species are at risk of extinction.

    We are living cheek by jowl with organisms dependent on the remaining biodiversity.

    How do we address these threats?

    In 1946 the US Communicable Disease Center (CDC) opened with the role of preventing malaria from spreading across the nation. Its role now is to conduct critical science and provide health information that protects the United States against expensive and dangerous health threats and responds when these arise. The US CDC is preparing two bird flu vaccines for human use.

    In 2023 an “Interim ACDC” was set up with $90m over two years.

    The CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia has said, “The budget for the ACDC needs to be in the hundreds, not tens of millions of dollars, and the legislation that creates it needs to ensure it can function effectively long into the future, including through periods when Executive Government does not prioritise public health,” or the environment, which is often!

    Since the beginning of 2022, 44 countries have experienced a 10-fold increase in the incidence of at least one of 13 infectious diseases compared with a pre-pandemic baseline.

    There is much to be done by the fledgling ACDC.

    In conclusion our government is wallowing at sea, lacking knowledge and even willingness to think laterally to bring essential reforms to aid our survival. The endpoint for our current economy, economic growth forever, driven by consumption and population growth, indicates the government is at sea on a Titanic.

    In the 1912 disaster the wealthy elite enjoyed the upper deck cabins, were first into the life boats and survived, but this time we will all go down together.

    That is unless government steers the ship with the IPAT Equation: I = P x A x T. The equation maintains that impacts on ecosystems (I) are the product of the population size (P), affluence (A), and technology (T) of the human population in question.

    The post The Government Is All At Sea Wallowing Over Climate And Environmental Policy appeared first on New Matilda.

    This post was originally published on New Matilda.

  • Former MP slams National’s stance on Samoa citizenship bill

    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

    A former National Party Member of Parliament says his late party looked “like dickheads” not supporting the first reading of a bill that would restore New Zealand citizenship to a group of Samoans and is hoping they will change tune.

    Anae Arthur Anae told RNZ Pacific it “was outright racism” that National did not back Green Party Member of Parliament Teanau Tuiono’s Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill.

    National was the only party to not support it, citing “legal complexity” as the issue.

    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti declined an interview with RNZ Pacific.

    In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because those born in Western Samoa were treated by New Zealand law as “natural-born British subjects”, they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948.

    Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the First Reading of his Member's Bill, the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, 10 April 2024.
    Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the First Reading of his Member’s Bill, the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill. Image: Johnny Blades/RNZ

    However, the National Party-led government under Robert Muldoon took that away with the Western Samoa Citizenship Act 1982, effectively overturning the Privy Council ruling.

    Tuiono’s bill aims to restore the right of citizenship to those who had it removed.

    25,000 submissions
    Public submissions have closed and the Governance and Administration Committee received almost 25,000 submissions.

    NZ First leader Winston Peters has told Pacific Media Network he intended to continue to back it, if he does, it will likely become law.

    Anae said if National continued to “slag it” during the process they would keep making themselves look stupid.

    “Not only in New Zealand but internationally and on the human rights issues. They have put themselves in a serious situation here and they really have to get this right.

    “I’m hoping and praying that they will see the light and say, ‘look, enough is enough, we’ve got to sort this thing out now’.”

    Anae said the world had grown out of the racism he knew as a child and it was time for New Zealand to follow suit.

    “Who would have ever imagined the day when the key positions in the UK of Prime Minister, Mayor of London, all senior positions across the Great Britain, would be held by the children of migrants.

    “Time has changed, we’ve got to wake up to it.”

    Hearings to begin
    Hearings will be held in-person and on Zoom in Wellington on Monday, Wednesday and  July 9.

    There will also be hearings held in South Auckland on July 1.

    Anae said about 10,000 of the submissions came from Samoa and there was a request for a hearing to be held there also.

    “Everybody in Parliament right now is under huge pressure with the budget discussions that have been going on, so I do have my sympathies understanding the situation.

    “But at the same time this thing is one of the most important thing in the lives of Samoan people and we want it to be treated that way.”

    He said almost all the public submissions would be in support of the bill. He said in Samoa, where he was three weeks ago, the support was unanimous.

    But he said Samoa’s government was being diplomatic.

    ‘Sitting on fence’
    “They do not want to upset New Zealand in any way by seeing to be siding with this and they’re sitting on the fence.”

    Tuiono said it was great to see the commitment from NZ First but because it was politics, he was reluctant to feel too confident his bill would be eventually turned into law.

    “There’s always things that will need to be ironed out so the role for us as members participating in the select committee is to find all of those bits and pieces and work across the Parliament with different political parties.”

    Tuiono said most of the discussion on the bill was around whether citizenship was extended to the descendants of the group and how many people would be entitled to it.

    “That seems to be where most of the questions seem to be coming from but this is what we should be doing as part of the select committee process, get some certainty on that from the officials.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Former Green MP and ‘conscience of the year’ Keith Locke dies, aged 80

    RNZ News

    Former Green MP Keith Locke, a passionate activist and anti-war critic once described as “conscience of the year”, has died in hospital, aged 80.

    Locke was in Parliament from 1999 to 2011, and was known as a human rights and nuclear-free advocate.

    His family said he had died peacefully in the early hours this morning after a long illness.

    “He will be greatly missed by his partner Michele, his family, friends and colleagues. He kept up his interest and support for the causes he was passionate about to the last.

    “He was a man of integrity, courage and kindness who lived his values in every part of his life. He touched many lives in the course of his work in politics and activism.”

    The son of activists Elsie and Jack Locke of Christchurch, Keith was politically aware from an early age, and was involved in the first anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid marches of the 1960s.

    After a Masters degree at the University of Alberta in Canada, he returned to New Zealand and left academia to edit a fortnightly newspaper for the Socialist Action League, a union he had joined as a meatworker then railway workshop employee.

    He joined NewLabour in 1989, which later became part of the Alliance party, and split off into the Greens when they broke apart from the Alliance in 1997, entering Parliament as their foreign affairs spokesperson in the subsequent election two years later.

    Notable critic of NZ in Afghanistan
    While in Parliament, he was a notable critic of New Zealand’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, and advocated for refugee rights including in the case of Ahmed Zaoui.

    He also long advocated for New Zealand to become a republic, putting forward a member’s bill which would have led to a referendum on the matter.

    Commentators dubbed him variously the ‘Backbencher of the Year’ in 2002 — an award he reprised from a different outlet in 2010 — as well as the ‘Politician of the Year’ in 2003, and ‘Conscience of the Year’ in 2004.

    He was appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to human rights advocacy in 2021, received NZ Amnesty International’s Human Rights Defender award in 2012, and the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand’s Harmony Award in 2013.

    In a statement today, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick said Locke was a dear friend and leading figure in the party’s history, who never wavered in holding government and those in positions of authority to account.

    “As a colleague and friend, Keith will be keenly missed by the Greens. He has been a shining light for the rights of people and planet. Keith Locke leaves a legacy that his family and all who knew him can be proud of. Moe mai ra e te rangatira,” they said.

    “From 1999 to 2011, he served our party with distinction and worked extremely hard to advance causes central to our kaupapa,” they said.

    Highlighting ‘human rights crises’
    “Not only did Keith work to defend civil liberties at home, but he was vigilant in highlighting human rights crises in other countries, including the Philippines, East Timor, West Papua and in Latin America.

    “We particularly acknowledge his strong and clear opposition to the Iraq War, and his commitment to an independent and principled foreign policy for Aotearoa.”

    They said his mahi as a fearless defender of civil liberties was exemplified in his efforts to challenge government overreach into citizens’ privacy.

    “Keith worked very hard to introduce reforms of our country’s security intelligence services. While there is much more to be done, the improvements in transparency that have occurred over the past two decades are in large part due to his advocacy and work. We will honour him by ensuring we carry on such work.”

    Former minister Peter Dunne said on social media he was “very saddened” to learn of Locke’s death.

    “Although we were on different ideological planets, we always got on and worked well together on a number of issues. Keith had my enduring respect for his integrity and honesty. Rest in peace, friend.”

    ‘Profoundly saddened’
    Auckland councillor Christine Fletcher said she was also sad to hear of the death of her “Mt Eden neighbour”.

    “We worked together on several political campaigns in the 1990s. Keith was a thoughtful, sincere and truly decent person. My condolences to Keith’s partner Michele, sister Maire Leadbeater and partner Graeme East.”

    Peace Action Wellington said Locke was a tireless activist for peace and justice — and the organisation was “profoundly saddened” by his death.

    “His voice and presence will be missed,” the organisation wrote on social media.

    “He was fearless. He spoke with the passion of someone who knows all too well the vast and dangerous reach of the state into people’s lives as someone who was under state surveillance from the time he was a child.

    “We acknowledge Keith’s amazing whānau who have a long whakapapa of peace and justice activism. He was a good soul who will be missed.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Queen Mary Uni to host tribunal on ‘environmental violence, profiteering’ in West Papua

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Centre for Climate Crime and Justice at Queen Mary University of London will host a Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on State and Environmental Violence in West Papua later this month.

    A panel of eight tribunal judges will hear evidence on June 27-29 from many international NGOs and local civil society organisations, as well as testimonies from individuals who have witnessed human rights violations and environmental destruction, said a statement from the centre.

    West Papua is home to the world’s third-largest rainforest, currently under threat from industrial development. Due to its global significance, the ongoing state repression and environmental degradation in the region have far-reaching impacts.

    This tribunal aims to bring global attention to the need to protect this crucial rainforest by exploring the deep connection between democracy, state violence, and environmental sustainability in West Papua, said the statement.

    “There are good reasons to host this important event in London. London-based companies are key beneficiaries of gas, mining and industrial agriculture in West Papua, and its huge gold and other metal reserves are traded in London,” said Professor David Whyte, director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Justice.

    “The tribunal will expose the close links between state violence, environmental degradation, and profiteering by transnational corporations and other institutions.”

    The prosecution will be led by Dutch Bar-registered lawyer Fadjar Schouten Korwa, who said: “With a ruling by the eminent Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on the crimes against the Indigenous Papuan people of West Papua and the failure of the state of Indonesia to protect them from human rights violations and impunity, we hope for a future without injustice for West Papua.”

    ‘Long history of destruction’
    A leading West Papuan lawyer, Gustaf Kawer, said: “The annexation of West Papua into the State of Indonesia is part of a long history of environmental destruction and state violence against Papua’s people and its natural resources.

    “Our hope is that after this trial examines the evidence and hears the statements of witnesses and experts, the international community and the UN will respond to the situation in West Papua and evaluate the Indonesian state so that there can be recovery for natural resources and the Papuan people.”

    The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on State and Environmental Violence in West Papua seeks to initiate a series of events and discussions throughout 2024 and 2025, aiming to engage the UN Human Rights Council and international civil society organisations.

    The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on West Papua will take place on Thursday, June 27 – Saturday, 29 June 2024, at Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Campus.

    The panel of judges comprises: Teresa Almeida Cravo (Portugal), Donna Andrews (South Africa), Daniel Feierstein (Argentina), Marina Forti (Italy), Larry Lohmann (UK), Nello Rossi (Italy), and Solomon Yeo (Solomon Islands).

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua – ‘same struggle’, David Robie talks Pacific to Earthwise

    Pacific Media Watch

    Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths of Plains FM96.9 radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region.

    Dr Robie has just been made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit (MNZM) and Earthwise ask him what this means to him. Why has he campaigned for so long for Pacific issues to receive media attention?

    Do Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia really feel like part of the Pacific world? What are the growing concerns about increasing militarisation in the Pacific and spreading Chinese influence?

    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024
    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024

    And why is decolonisation in Kanaky New Caledonia from France such a pressing issue? Dr Robie also draws parallels between the Kanak, Palestinian and West Papuan struggles.

    Dr Robie also talks about next month’s Pacific Media International Conference in Suva, Fiji, on 4-6 July 2024.

    Broadcast: Plains Radio FM96.9

    Interviewee: Dr David Robie, deputy chair of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and a semiretired professor of Pacific journalism. He founded the Pacific Media Centre.
    Interviewers: Lois and Martin Griffiths, Earthwise programme

    Date: 12 June 2024 (28min), broadcast June 17.

    Youtube: Café Pacific: https://www.youtube.com/@cafepacific2023

    https://plainsfm.org.nz/

    Café Pacific: https://davidrobie.nz/

    The Earthwise interview with David Robie.                         Video: Plains Radio FM96.9FM

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • History ‘replaying itself’ in Kanaky but growing Pacific solidarity, says Tau

    French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Kanaky New Caledonia last month in a largely failed bid to solve the French Pacific territory’s political deadlock, has called a snap election following the decisive victory of the rightwing bloc among French members of the European Parliament. Don Wiseman reports.

    By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

    A group of 32 civil society organisations is writing to the French President Emmanuel Macron calling on him to change his stance toward the indigenous people of New Caledonia.

    The group said it strongly supported the call by the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) and other pro-independence groups that only a non-violent response to the crisis will lead to a viable solution.

    And it said President Macron must heed the call for an Eminent Persons Group to ensure the current crisis is resolved peacefully and impartiality is restored to the decolonisation process.

    Don Wiseman spoke with Joey Tau, of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), one of the civil society bodies involved.

    Joey Tau: Don, I just want to thank you for this opportunity, but also it is to really highlight France’s and, in this case, the Macron administration’s inability of fulfilling the Nouméa Accord in our statements, in our numerous statements, and you would have seen statements from around the region — there have been numerous events or incidents that have led to where Kanaky New Caledonia is at in its present state, with the Kanaks themselves not happy with where they’re headed to, in terms of negotiating a pathway with Paris.

    You understand the referendums — three votes went ahead, or rather, the third vote went ahead, during a time when the world was going through a global pandemic. And the Kanaks had clearly, prior to the third referendum, called on Paris to halt, but yet France went ahead and imposed a third referendum.

    Thus, the Kanaks boycotted the third referendum. All of these have just led up to where the current tension is right now.

    The recent electoral proposal by France is a slap for Kanaks, who have been negotiating, trying to find a path. So in general, the concern that Pacific regional NGOs and civil societies not only in the Pacific, but at the national level in the Pacific, are concerned about France’s ongoing attempt to administer Kanaky New Caledonia [and] its inability to fulfill the Nouméa Accord.

    Don Wiseman: In terms of stopping the violence and opening the dialogue, the problem I suppose a lot of people in New Caledonia and the French government itself might argue is that Kanaks have been heavily involved in quite a lot of violence that’s gone down in the last few weeks. So how do you square that?

    JT: It has been growing, it has been a growing tension, Don, that this is not to ignore the growing military presence and the security personnel build up. You had roughly about 3000 military personnel or security personnel deployed in Nouméa on in Kanaky within two weeks, I think . . .

    DW: Yes, but businesses were being burned down, houses were being burned down.

    JT: Well as regional civil societies we condemn all forms of violence, and thus we have been calling for peaceful means of restoring peace talks, but this is not to ignore the fact that there is a growing military buildup. The ongoing military buildup needs to be also carefully looked at as it continues to instigate tension on the ground, limiting people, limiting the indigenous peoples movements.

    And it just brings you back to, you know, the similar riots that had [in the 1980s] before New Caledonia came to an accord, as per the Nouméa Accord. It’s history replaying itself. So like I said earlier on, it generally highlights France’s inability to hold peace talks for the pathway forward for Kanaky/New Caledonia.

    In this PR statement we’ve been calling on that we need neutral parties — we need a high eminence group of neutral people to facilitate the peace talks between Kanaks and France.

    DW: So this eminent persons to be drawn from who and where?

    JT: Well the UNC 24 committee meets [this] week. We are calling on the UN to initiate a high eminence persons but this is to facilitate these together with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Have independent Pacific leaders intervene and facilitate peace talks between both the Kanak pro=independence leaders and of course Macron and his administration.

    DW: So you will be looking for the Eminent Persons group perhaps to be centrally involved in drawing up a new accord to replace the Nouméa Accord?

    JT: Well, I think as per the Nouméa Accord the Kanaks have been trying to negotiate the next phase, post the referendum. And I think this has sparked the current situation. So the civil societies’ call very much supports concerns on the ground who are willing, who are asking for experts or neutral persons from the region and internationally to intervene.

    And this could help facilitate a path forward between both parties. Should it be an accord or should it be the next phase? But we also have to remember New Caledonia Kanaky is on the list of the Committee of 24 which is the UN committee that is listed for decolonisation.

    So how do we progress a territory? I guess the question for France is how do they progress the territory that is listed to be decolonised, post these recent events, post the referendum and it has to be now.

    DW: Joey, you are currently at the Pacific Arts Festival in Hawai’i. There’s a lot of the Pacific there. Have issues like New Caledonia come up?

    JT: The opening ceremony, which launches [the] two-week long festival saw a different turn to it, where we had flags representing Kanaky New Caledonia, West Papua, flying so high at this opening ceremony. You had the delegation of Guam, who, in their grand entrance brought the Kanaky flag with them — a sense of solidarity.

    And when Fiji took the podium, it acknowledged countries and Pacific peoples that are not there to celebrate, rightfully.

    Fiji had acknowledged West Papua, New Caledonia, among others, and you can see a sense of regional solidarity and this growing consciousness as to the wider Pacific family when it comes to arts, culture and our way of being.

    So yeah, the opening ceremony was interesting, but it will be interesting to see how the festival pans out and how issues of the territories that are still under colonial administration get featured or get acknowledged within the festival — be it fashion, arts, dance, music, it’s going to be a really interesting feeling.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Greedy lying racists’, ‘Kill the bill’, say thousands of NZ protesters over fast track draft

    Asia Pacific Report

    About 20,000 protesters marched through the heart of New Zealand’s largest city Auckland today demonstrating against the unpopular Fast Track Approvals Bill that critics fear will ruin the country’s environment, undermine the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi with indigenous Māori, and open the door to corruption.

    Holding placards declaring the coalition government is “on the fast track to hell”, “Greedy lying racists”, “Preserve our reserves”, “Kill the bill”, “Climate justice now”, “I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues”, and other slogans such as “Ministers’ corruption = Nature’s destruction”, the protesters stretched 2km from Aotea Square down Queen St to the harbourside Te Komititanga Square.

    One of the biggest banners, on a stunning green background, said “Toitu Te Tiriti: Toitu Te Taiao” — “Honour the treaty: Save the planet”.

    Speaker after speaker warned about the risks of the draft legislation placing unprecedented power in the hands of three cabinet ministers to fast track development proposals with limited review processes and political oversight.

    The bill states that its purpose “is to provide a streamlined decision-making process to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits”.

    A former Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman, who is currently Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director, said the the draft law would be damaging for the country’s environment. He called on the protesters to fight against it.

    “We must stop those who would destroy nature for profit,” he said.

    “The vast majority of New Zealanders — nine out of 10 people, when you survey them — say they do not want development that causes more destruction of nature.”

    Other protesters on he march against the “War on Nature” included Forest and Bird chief executive Nicola Toki and actress Robyn Malcolm.

    RNZ News reports that Norman said: “Expect resistance from the people of Aotearoa. There will be no seabed mining off the coast of Taranaki. There will be no new coal mines in pristine native forest.

    “We will stop them — just like we stopped the oil exploration companies. We disrupted them until they gave up.”

    The government would be on the wrong side of history if it ignored protesters, Norman said.

    The "Stop the Fast Track Bill" protest in Auckland
    The “Stop the Fast Track Bill” protest in Auckland today. Image: David Robie/APR

    Public service job cuts ‘deeply distressing’
    In Wellington, reports RNZ News, thousands of people congregated in the city to protest government cuts to public service jobs.

    Protesters met at the Pukeahu National War Memorial for speeches before walking down to the waterfront.

    Public Service Association spokesperson Fleur Fitzsimons told the crowd that everyone at the rally was sending a message of resistance, opposition and protest to the government.

    She accused the coalition government of having an agenda against the public service, and said the union was seeing the destructive impact of government policies first hand.

    “It is causing grief, anguish, stress, emotional collapse,” she said.

    “It is deeply distressing to the workers who are losing their jobs. They are not only distressed for themselves, and their families, but they are deeply worried about what will happen to the important work they are doing on behalf of us all.”

    A protester holds a "Fast track dead end" placard
    A protester holds a “Fast track dead end” placard in Auckland’s Commercial Bay today. Image: David Robie/APR
    Protester Ruth reminds the NZ government "We are the people"
    Protester Ruth reminds the NZ government “We are the people”. Image: David Robie/APR
    The "villains" at today's protest
    The “villains” at today’s protest . . . Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (from left), Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. Image: David Robie/APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kanaky in flames: Five takeaways from the New Caledonia independence riots

    ANALYSIS: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report

    Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates.

    Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during the so-called “les événements” in New Caledonia, the last time the “French” Pacific territory was engulfed in a political upheaval such as experienced this week.

    His memory and legacy as poet, cultural icon and peaceful political agitator live on with the impressive Tjibaou Cultural Centre on the outskirts of the capital Nouméa as a benchmark for how far New Caledonia had progressed in the last 35 years.

    However, the wave of pro-independence protests that descended into urban rioting this week invoked more than Tjibaou’s memory. Many of the martyrs — such as schoolteacher turned security minister Eloï Machoro, murdered by French snipers during the upheaval of the 1980s — have been remembered and honoured for their exploits over the last few days with countless memes being shared on social media.

    Among many memorable quotes by Tjibaou, this one comes to mind:

    “White people consider that the Kanaks are part of the fauna, of the local fauna, of the primitive fauna. It’s a bit like rats, ants or mosquitoes,” he once said.

    “Non-recognition and absence of cultural dialogue can only lead to suicide or revolt.”

    And that is exactly what has come to pass this week in spite of all the warnings in recent years and months. A revolt.

    Among the warnings were one by me in December 2021 after a failed third and “final” independence referendum. I wrote at the time about the French betrayal:

    “After three decades of frustratingly slow progress but with a measure of quiet optimism over the decolonisation process unfolding under the Nouméa Accord, Kanaky New Caledonia is again poised on the edge of a precipice.”

    As Paris once again reacts with a heavy-handed security crackdown, it appears to have not learned from history. It will never stifle the desire for independence by colonised peoples.

    New Caledonia was annexed as a colony in 1853 and was a penal colony for convicts and political prisoners — mainly from Algeria — for much of the 19th century before gaining a degree of autonomy in 1946.

    "Kanaky Palestine - same combat" solidarity placard.
    “Kanaky Palestine – same combat” solidarity placard. Image: APR screenshot

    Here are my five takeaways from this week’s violence and frustration:

    1. Global failure of neocolonialism – Palestine, Kanaky and West Papua
    Just as we have witnessed a massive outpouring of protest on global streets for justice, self-determination and freedom for the people of Palestine as they struggle for independence after 76 years of Israeli settler colonialism, and also Melanesian West Papuans fighting for 61 years against Indonesian settler colonialism, Kanak independence aspirations are back on the world stage.

    Neocolonialism has failed. French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to reverse the progress towards decolonisation over the past three decades has backfired in his face.

    2. French deafness and loss of social capital
    The predictions were already long there. Failure to listen to the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) leadership and to be prepared to be patient and negotiate towards a consensus has meant much of the crosscultural goodwill that been developed in the wake of the Nouméa Accord of 1998 has disappeared in a puff of smoke from the protest fires of the capital.

    The immediate problem lies in the way the French government has railroaded the indigenous Kanak people who make up 42 percent pf the 270,000 population into a constitutional bill that “unfreezes” the electoral roll pegging voters to those living in New Caledonia at the time of the 1998 Nouméa Accord. Under the draft bill all those living in the territory for the past 10 years could vote.

    Kanak leaders and activists who have been killed
    Kanak leaders and activists who have been killed . . . Jean-Marie Tjibaou is bottom left, and Eloï Machoro is bottom right. Image: FLNKS/APR

    This would add some 25,000 extra French voters in local elections, which would further marginalise Kanaks at a time when they hold the territorial presidency and a majority in the Congress in spite of their demographic disadvantage.

    Under the Nouméa Accord, there was provision for three referendums on independence in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The first two recorded narrow (and reducing) votes against independence, but the third was effectively boycotted by Kanaks because they had suffered so severely in the 2021 delta covid pandemic and needed a year to mourn culturally.

    The FLNKS and the groups called for a further referendum but the Macron administration and a court refused.

    3. Devastating economic and social loss
    New Caledonia was already struggling economically with the nickel mining industry in crisis – the territory is the world’s third-largest producer. And now four days of rioting and protesting have left a trail of devastation in their wake.

    At least five people have died in the rioting — three Kanaks, and two French police, apparently as a result of a barracks accident. A state of emergency was declared for at least 12 days.

    But as economists and officials consider the dire consequences of the unrest, it will take many years to recover. According to Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) president David Guyenne, between 80 and 90 percent of the grocery distribution network in Nouméa had been “wiped out”. The chamber estimated damage at about 200 million euros (NZ$350 million).

    Twin flags of Kanaky and Palestine flying from a Parisian rooftop
    Twin flags of Kanaky and Palestine flying from a Parisian rooftop. Image: APR

    4. A new generation of youth leadership
    As we have seen with Generation Z in the forefront of stunning pro-Palestinian protests across more than 50 universities in the United States (and in many other countries as well, notably France, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom), and a youthful generation of journalists in Gaza bearing witness to Israeli atrocities, youth has played a critical role in the Kanaky insurrection.

    Australian peace studies professor Dr Nicole George notes that “the highly visible wealth disparities” in the territory “fuel resentment and the profound racial inequalities that deprive Kanak youths of opportunity and contribute to their alienation”.

    A feature is the “unpredictability” of the current crisis compared with the 1980s “les événements”.

    “In the 1980s, violent campaigns were coordinated by Kanak leaders . . . They were organised. They were controlled.

    “In contrast, today it is the youth taking the lead and using violence because they feel they have no other choice. There is no coordination. They are acting through frustration and because they feel they have ‘no other means’ to be recognised.”

    According to another academic, Dr Évelyne Barthou, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Pau, who researched Kanak youth in a field study last year: “Many young people see opportunities slipping away from them to people from mainland France.

    “This is just one example of the neocolonial logic to which New Caledonia remains prone today.”

    Pan-Pacific independence solidarity
    Pan-Pacific independence solidarity . . . “Kanak People Maohi – same combat”. Image: APR screenshot

    5. Policy rethink needed by Australia, New Zealand
    Ironically, as the turbulence struck across New Caledonia this week, especially the white enclave of Nouméa, a whistlestop four-country New Zealand tour of Melanesia headed by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who also has the foreign affairs portfolio, was underway.

    The first casualty of this tour was the scheduled visit to New Caledonia and photo ops demonstrating the limited diversity of the political entourage showed how out of depth New Zealand’s Pacific diplomacy had become with the current rightwing coalition government at the helm.

    Heading home, Peters thanked the people and governments of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu for “working with New Zealand towards a more secure, more prosperous and more resilient tomorrow”.

    His tweet came as New Caledonian officials and politicians were coming to terms with at least five deaths and the sheer scale of devastation in the capital which will rock New Caledonia for years to come.

    News media in both Australia and New Zealand hardly covered themselves in glory either, with the commercial media either treating the crisis through the prism of threats to tourists and a superficial brush over the issues. Only the public media did a creditable job, New Zealand’s RNZ Pacific and Australia’s ABC Pacific and SBS.

    In the case of New Zealand’s largest daily newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, it barely noticed the crisis. On Wednesday, morning there was not a word in the paper.

    Thursday was not much better, with an “afterthought” report provided by a partnership with RNZ. As I reported it:

    “Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, finally catches up with the Pacific’s biggest news story after three days of crisis — the independence insurrection in #KanakyNewCaledonia.

    “But unlike global news services such as Al Jazeera, which have featured it as headline news, the Herald tucked it at the bottom of page 2. Even then it wasn’t its own story, it was relying on a partnership report from RNZ.”

    Also, New Zealand media reports largely focused too heavily on the “frustrations and fears” of more than 200 tourists and residents said to be in the territory this week, and provided very slim coverage of the core issues of the upheaval.

    With all the warning signs in the Pacific over recent years — a series of riots in New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu — Australia and New Zealand need to wake up to the yawning gap in social indicators between the affluent and the impoverished, and the worsening climate crisis.

    These are the real issues of the Pacific, not some fantasy about AUKUS and a perceived China threat in an unconvincing arena called “Indo-Pacific”.

    Dr David Robie covered “Les Événements” in New Caledonia in the 1980s and penned the book Blood on their Banner about the turmoil. He also covered the 2018 independence referendum.

    Loyalist French rally in New Caledonia
    Loyalist French rally in New Caledonia . . . “Unfreezing is democracy”. Image: A PR screenshot

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘A lot of fire, violence’: Nouméa erupts as protests halt New Caledonia

    RNZ Pacific

    New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory

    Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called for reinforcements to maintain law and order.

    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.

    A Nouméa resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told RNZ Pacific people had started “panic buying” in scenes reminiscent of the covid-19 pandemic.

    “A lot of fire, violence . . . but it’s better. I stay safe at home. There are a lot of police and army. I want the government to put the action for the peace [sic].”

    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.
    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia. Image: Screenshot/NC la 1ère/RNZ

    Authorities have imposed a curfew for Nouméa and its surrounds, from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.

    Airports are closed due to protest action.

    Public services and schools in the affected areas announced they were sending staff and students home on Monday, and that they would remain closed for the next few days.

    Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who is on a five-country Pacific mission this week, has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to the unrest.

    Peters and a delegation of other ministers were due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Auckland Palestine rally honours Gaza journalists for freedom award

    Asia Pacific Report

    About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children.

    Marking the annual May 3 World Press Freedom Day “plus two”, the crowd also strongly applauded UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano Award being presented to the Palestinian journalists for their “courage and commitment”.

    Several speakers gave tributes to the journalists, the more than 100 Gazan news workers killed had their names read out and put on display, and cellphones were lit up due to the breeze preventing candle flames.

    Activist MC Anna Lee praised the journalists and said they set an example to the world.


    Shut the Gaza war down chants in Auckland.     Video: Café Pacific

    Journalist Dr David Robie, convenor of Pacific Media Watch, said 143 journalists had been killed, according to Al Jazeera and the Gaza Media Office, and it was mostly targeted “assassination by design”.

    He paid tribute to several individual journalists as well as the group, including Shireen Abu Akleh, shot by an Israeli sniper more than a year before the October 7 war outbreak, and Hind Khoudary, a young journalist who had inspired people around the world.

    The Guillermo Cano Prize was awarded to the Gaza journalists in Santiago, Chile, as part of World Press Freedom Day global events.

    Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) and vice-president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), received the UNESCO prize on behalf of his colleagues in Gaza.

    Candles for the Palestinian journalists
    Candles for the Palestinian journalists – named those who have been killed. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    ‘Unique suffering, fearless reporting’
    The UN cultural agency has recognised the “unique suffering and fearless reporting” of Gaza’s journalists by awarding them the freedom prize.

    Apart from those journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since October 7, nearly all the rest have been injured, displaced or bereaved.

    From the start of the conflict, Israel closed Gaza’s borders to international journalists, and none have been allowed free access to the enclave since.

    A thousand Gazan journalists were working at the start of the war, and more than a 100 of them have been killed.

    “As a result,” reports the IFJ, “the profession has suffered a mortality rate in excess of 10 percent — about six times higher than the mortality rate of the general population of Gaza and around three times higher than that of health professionals.

    PJS president Baker said: “Journalists in Gaza have endured a sustained attack by the Israeli army of unprecedented ferocity — but have continued to do their jobs, as witnesses to the carnage around them.

    “It is justified that they should be honoured on World Press Freedom Day.


    Naming the martyred Gaza journalists.   Video: Café Pacific

    ‘Most deadly attack on press freedom’
    “What we have seen in Gaza is surely the most sustained and deadly attack on press freedom in history. This award shows that the world has not forgotten and salutes their sacrifice for information.”

    IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “This prize is a real tribute to the commitment to information of journalists in Gaza.

    “Journalists in Gaza are starving, homeless and in mortal danger. UNESCO’s recognition of what they are still enduring is a huge and well-deserved boost.”


    Kia Ora Gaza – doctors speak out.      Video: Café Pacific

    Gaza Freedom Flotilla blocked
    Also at the rally today were Kia Ora Gaza’s organiser Roger Fowler and two of the three New Zealand doctors who travelled to Turkiye to embark on the Freedom Flotilla which was sending three ships with humanitarian aid to break the Gaza siege.

    Israel thwarted the mission for the time being by pressuring the African nation of Guinea-Bissau to withdraw the maritime flag the ships would have been sailing under.

    However, flotilla organisers are working hard to find another flag country for the ships and the doctors vowed to rejoin the mission.

    Palestinian children at today's Auckland rally
    Palestinian children at today’s Auckland rally . . . one girl is holding up an image of an old pre-war postage stamp from the country called Palestine with the legend “We are coming back”. Image: David Robie/Cafe Pacific Report

    Pacific Media Watch

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • I’m With Her: A Play On Words To Start Conversations About Violence Against Women

    Australia continues to see horrific reports of violence against women across the country, including reports of sexual harassment and assault in workplaces. In the university sector, a recent survey of workers found the rate of sexual harassment had increased by 52% over the past five years, with 52% also reporting they were encouraged to drop their complaints. The statistics and the stories may drag the issue into the public domain, but does anything change in our institutions, and across our societies? Which brings another, harder question: How do we change it? Associate Professor Caroline Fleay has a few ideas.

    Sometimes you have to sit in the dark for a light to go on. I mean literally sit in the dark. I recently saw the play I’m With Her in Perth. It is now being performed by invitation at the World Congress of the International Society of the Performing Arts in front of hundreds of leaders in the performing arts from across the world.

    I’m With Her is a galvanising conversation crafted by award-winning playwright Victoria Midwinter Pitt based on the words of eight prominent Australian women who share experiences of discrimination and abuse.

    It also speaks of resistance and solidarity. And it provides an important space in which to think through what needs to be done.

    The play features eight local women dressed in suffragette white, each reading the words of one of the following women – counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly MP, sex worker activist Julie Bates, botanist Marion Blackwell, world champion surfer Pam Burridge, bartender Nikki Keating, Catholic nun Patricia Madigan, anthropologist and Indigenous leader Marcia Langton and Australia’s only female prime minister, Julia Gillard.

    Playwright Amir Nizar Zuabi speaks of the power of theatre “as a moment where a community can get together to tell a story. And this story becomes a moment of healing or a moment of hope, or even a moment of just being together”.

    For myself, and undoubtedly many others who were in the audience, this play provides such transformative moments. It is a space for solidarity where simply being present becomes an act of alliance with the women who have shared their stories. Through their stories, we are reminded of the importance of solidarity in fighting discrimination and abuse. And we are reminded of resistance.

    The still darkness of the theatre and the simplicity of the play’s set amplifies the impact of the women’s spoken words. Professor Marcia Langton’s truth-telling includes the devastating statistic that:

    “Indigenous women are eleven times more likely to die due to assault than other Australian women.”

    She repeats this twice.

    She demands that we recognise the colonialist underpinning of this country, and the structural discrimination within it, in order to fully understand this violence.

    Professor Langton’s words speak of the solidarity among the network of Indigenous women who work alongside each other in response to this violence. It reminds me of women such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner June Oscar and the collective project Wiyi Yani U Thangani she has spearheaded to change the conversation about violence against First Nations’ women. As she says:

    “It is within our actions, every day, that we bring the world we want into being.”

    It also reminds me of Professor Hannah McGlade, now a member of the First Nations Steering Committee guiding the development of a First Nations National Plan to address violence to Aboriginal women and children. These are women who have long engaged in deep analysis, truth-telling and collective action in response to abuse and discrimination.

    I’m With Her addresses the importance of understanding the complexities that underpin discrimination and abuse, and the importance of acting in solidarity with those who continue to endure it. As Professor Langton says:

    “History is made by those who show up.
    Show up.”

    Other experiences in the play are of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, and collective efforts to stop it. Bartender Nikki Keating’s words speak of the experience of solidarity when she learned about the findings of a union survey into sexual harassment in the hospitality industry:

    “The results were so dark. It was almost unbelievable. But actually, it was real for the first time, what was happening to me. It was happening to everyone.”

    Learning of other people’s experiences matters. It can legitimise our own experiences and it can also galvanise us to take action alongside others. Nikki went on to be featured in the United Voice Hospo Voice ‘Respect is the Rule’ campaign, which has led to workers in the hospitality industry across the country calling for their workplaces to be free of sexual harassment.

    As Nikki reflects in the play, the harassment and assault is yet to abate, but the acts of solidarity she has since received from co-workers to call out this appalling behaviour in their workplace are profound.

    People in many workplaces continue to face sexual harassment. In a survey spanning five years up until 2022, the Australian Human Rights Commission found that 41 percent of women and 26 percent of men had been sexually harassed in their workplace. These figures are higher for people working in male-dominated workplaces, and they are also higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, folks from the LGBTQIA+ community, people with a disability, and young people.

    Alarming statistics continue to be evident in the sector I work within. Universities Australia’s 2022 National Student Safety Survey found one in six students had experienced sexual harassment since commencing their studies. One in 20 had been sexually assaulted. Female, transgender and non-binary students were much more likely to have experienced sexual harassment or assault in the past twelve months than male students.

    The National Tertiary Education Union’s 2023 survey of Australian university employees found that the rate of sexual harassment has increased 52 percent since the last survey in 2018. 38 percent of women reported experiences of sexual harassment, and 50 percent of all surveyed were aware of others who had been sexually harassed. Of those who had experienced sexual harassment, only 13 percent made a formal complaint and 24 percent an informal complaint.

    For many people, universities are not safe spaces. Like many other workplaces, much action is needed.

    In a welcome development, since December 2022 organisations and businesses in Australia now have a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act to take steps to prevent sex discrimination and sexual harassment in their workplaces. This means “actively preventing workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and other relevant unlawful conduct, rather than responding only after it occurs”.

    Active prevention includes the development of processes in which people can safely raise their concerns regarding sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

    As the NTEU’s 2023 report highlights, many respondents who either formally or informally reported their experience of sexual harassment in the university sector were dissatisfied with the response. Following their complaint:

    “52% were encouraged to drop the issue, 48% said no action was taken, 45% were labelled a troublemaker and 44% reported negative consequences for them from their employer, including denial of promotion, transfer, reassignment to less favourable work and/or scheduling changes.”

    There are clearly many people who feel silenced or compelled to leave their situation, increasing the mental and physical toll of sexual harassment.

    There can also be negative consequences for people who witness or hear about a case of workplace sexual harassment and take action in response. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s five year survey found that:

    “One in 6 bystanders (16%) had been ostracised, victimised or ignored by colleagues after taking action, with a similar proportion (15%) labelled as a troublemaker.”

    It is striking that there continue to be people who experience sexual harassment, as well as those who witness or hear about it, who are then victimised or called a troublemaker for reporting it.

    The introduction of the positive duty imposing a legal obligation on employers to actively prevent sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace is an opportunity for change. But much more needs to be done.

    Bringing about change in our institutions, and across our societies, requires significant cultural transformation. It requires people to stand in solidarity, raise their voices, share their stories, and demand change.

    This is the message of I’m With Her.

    As the women ask at the beginning of the play:

    “Is this ever going to change?
    Is this just the way things are?
    Do we accept this?
    Do we?”

    Their answer is no, we will not.

    I’m with them.

    The post I’m With Her: A Play On Words To Start Conversations About Violence Against Women appeared first on New Matilda.

    This post was originally published on New Matilda.

  • Pacific alliance condemns France over bid to ‘derail’ Kanaky decolonisation

    Asia Pacific Report

    A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination.

    The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in a statement that it reaffirmed its solidarity with the Kanaks in a bid to to expose ongoing efforts by the French government to “derail a decolonisation process painstakingly pursued in this Pacific Island territory for the last 30 years”.

    It said that France — especially under the Macron government — as the colonial power administering this UN-sanctioned process of decolonisation had repeatedly shown that it
    could not remain a “neutral party” to the Noumea Accords.

    The 1998 pact was designed specifically to hand sovereignty back to the people of Kanaky New Caledonia and end French colonial rule, said PRNGOs.

    “In recent months, the Macron government [has] forced through proposed constitutional
    amendments aimed at changing voting eligibility rules for local elections in the French
    territory,” said the statement.

    “These eligibility provisions have been preserved and protected under the [Noumea] Accords as a safeguard for indigenous peoples against demographic changes that could make them a minority in their own land and block the path to freedom.”

    The electoral amendments were passed by the French Senate in early April and
    will be voted on in Parliament this month.

    Elections deferred
    “The Macron government has, in a parallel move, also managed to defer local elections,
    initially scheduled for mid-May, to mid-December at the latest, to allow voting under new
    provisions that would favour pro-French parties,” the statement said.

    In 2021, President Macron unilaterally called for the third independence referendum to be
    held in December that year amid the covid-19 pandemic that “heavily affected the
    ability of indigenous communities to organise and participate”.

    Although it was a “no” vote, only 43.87 percent of the 184,364 registered voters exercised their right to vote.

    “Express reservations and requests by Kanak leaders and representatives for a later date were ignored, casting serious doubt on genuine representation and participation,” said PRNGOs.

    A Pacific Islands Forum Mission sent to observe proceedings concluded in its report that “the self-determination referendum that took place 12 December 2021 did so with the non-participation of the overwhelming majority of the indigenous people of New Caledonia.

    “The result of the referendum is an inaccurate representation of the will of registered voters . . . ”

    The alliance said that in all of these actions, the French government had shown no interest at all in respecting the Noumea Accords or in granting the Kanak people their most fundamental rights — “particularly the right to be free”.

    ‘Democracy’ link claimed
    Macron’s allies and pro-French advocates have claimed that these initiatives by the
    French government are more consistent with democratic principles and the rule of law.

    The aspirations of the Kanak people for self-determination had been
    “mischaracterised as being ethno-nationalistic, akin to the ‘far-right’, and racist,” PRNGOs said.

    The alliance said that if the vote on May 13 succeeded in removing the electoral roll restrictions succeed, it would be seen as a direct attack on the principle of the right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter and its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

    “That the evil of colonialism can continue unchecked in this manner, and in this 21st century, is not only an insult to the Pacific region but to the international system,” the statement said.

    “The Pacific is not distracted by French false narratives. The Kanak, as people, are the rightful inhabitants of what is present day New Caledonia still under enduring French colonial rule.”

    The alliance called on President Macron to withdraw the constitutional changes on electoral roll provisions protecting the rights of the indigenous people of Kanaky, and it appealed to France to send a neutral high-level mission to resume dialogue between pro-independence parties and local anti-independence groups over a new political agreement.

    It also called for another independence referendum that “genuinely reflects their will”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Palestine protesters stage Gaza ‘die-in’ as leaders call for step up in boycotts

    Asia Pacific Report

    A score of Palestine solidarity protesters draped themselves in white shrouds with mock blood in a sombre “die-in” demonstration at Te Komitanga Square — the heart of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city — today as speakers urged people to take a stronger boycott against Israeli products.

    The rally by hundreds of protesters marked Israel’s killing of more than 34,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounding more than 77,000 in its genocidal war on Gaza.

    The war has lasted 205 days so far with no let-up in the deadly assault on the besieged enclave and protesters staged 35 events around New Zealand this week as global demonstrations continue to grow.

    Opposition MPs took part in the rally, including Labour’s Shanan Halbert and Green Party’s Steve Abel and Ricardo Menéndez March.

    Activist and educator Maryam Perreira called on Palestine supporters to step up their boycott and divestments pressure — “it’s working, sanctions brought down apartheid South Africa and this will bring down the Israeli genocidal regime”.


    “Food not bombs for Gaza”.    Video: Café Pacific

    She said the courage and commitment of the Palestinian resistance had become an inspiration to the world.

    Send Israeli ambassador home
    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) secretary Neil Scott called for sanctions action by the New Zealand government.

    He urged Palestine supporters to call on the government to:

    • Send the Israeli ambassador home, and
    • End the working holiday visa for 200 Israelis who come to New Zealand to rest and relax “after committing genocide in Gaza”.

    Scott called on New Zealanders to email Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford to take action.

    “Try just one email and see how it goes. Then another on another topic. Then another. That’s how I started a while ago,” Scott said.

    “We need a tide of emails to get them to understand that Kiwis don’t want the Israeli ambassador here.

    “Neither do we want the young Israelis committing genocide today and to walk among us tomorrow.”

    More than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for the closure of the Israeli embassy in Welington.


    “They can’t demonise an entire nation.”  Video: Café Pacific

    Superfund divestment
    Scott said divestment pressure also worked – it is one of the driving forces for student protests at some 70 universities across the US over the past week with police arresting hundreds.

    He spoke about the NZ government’s Superfund which has investments all over the world.

    “A few years ago, they invested in Israeli banks which were investing in the building of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestine Territories. They were involved in investing and enabling crimes against humanity,” Scott said.

    “Our efforts got the NZ Superfund to divest from those banks in 2021.”


    “BDS – more action call.”    Video: Café Pacific

    He called on people with KiwiSaver fund accounts to check them out for investments in “Israeli companies who are in any way involved in the occupation”.

    “We’re now calling for everyone to boycott Israeli products — or those companies which are complicit in Israeli crimes against humanity or the illegal occupation, land theft, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and now genocide.”

    Scott cited the boycott target list of the global BDS movement — Ahava (“Dead Sea mineral skin care products”), BP and Caltex, Hewlett-Packard, McDonalds, Obela Hummus and SodaStream.

    “The key is for all of us to take action today. Remember — boycott, divest, sanction.”

    Palestinian flags in Auckland's Te Komititanga Square
    Palestinian flags in Auckland’s Te Komititanga Square today. Image: APR

    Meanwhile, 1News reports that three New Zealand doctors planning to sail with an independent flotilla carrying aid to Gaza have had their mission “scuppered at the last minute”. They blame Israel for the delay.

    The doctors — Dr Ali Al-Kenani, Dr Wasfi Shahin and Dr Faiez Idais — left for Istanbul 10 days ago where they joined other international volunteers in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, said 1News.

    Organisers of the humanitarian aid mission said the boats were set to sail under the flag of the West African nation of Guineau Bisseau but said the country had withdrawn permission to use its flag under pressure from Israel.

    A Gaza "die-in body" in Te Komititanga Square
    A Gaza “die-in body” in Te Komititanga Square today. Image: APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • US student Palestine protests against Israel’s war on Gaza inspire global action

    Asia Pacific Report

    From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps.

    And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in the 1960s and 1980s.

    But authorities have cracked down at some institutions against the peaceful demonstrations with at least 550 being arrested in the US, reports Al Jazeera.

    Clashes between students and police officers have been reported across the US during intensifying university protests with encampments in at at least 20 institutions.

    Ali Harb, a Washington-based commentator on US foreign policy, Arab-American issues, civil rights and politics, says the Gaza-focused campus protest movement “highlights a generational divide over Israel” in the US.

    Young people are willing to challenge politicians and college administrators across the country, he says.

    “The opinion gap — with younger Americans generally more supportive of Palestinians than the generations that came before them — poses a risk to 81-year-old Democratic President Joe Biden’s re-election chances,” says Harb.

    “It could also threaten the bipartisan backing that Israel enjoys in Washington.”

    Divestment from Israel
    What started as the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University, where students camped inside campus to push their institute to divest from companies linked to Israel, has since spread to campuses in California, Texas and other states.

    The students are protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza, where Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 34,000 people and its blockade has caused starvation.

    Students have been demonstrating worldwide in support of Gaza since the outbreak of the war on October 7.

    Following the Columbia encampments, the protests have further spread to universities from France to Australia. Here is a summary:

    In Paris, France, Sorbonne University students have taken to the streets. Additionally, the Palestine Committee from Sciences Po, is organising a protest where students set up about 10 tents on Wednesday. Despite a police crackdown, the protesters regathered on Thursday.

    In Australia, students from the University of Sydney set up pro-Palestine encampments on Tuesday, and they were continuing to protest yesterday. Also, University of Melbourne students have pitched tents on the south lawn of their main campus.

    In Rome, Italy, students from Sapienza University organised demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes on April 17 and April 18.

    Investigating Israeli ties
    In the United Kingdom, students from the University of Warwick’s group Warwick Stands With Palestine have occupied the campus piazza. In Leicester, a protest broke out on Monday in which students from the University of Leicester Palestine Society also participated.

    Last month, students from the University of Leeds occupied a campus building in protest against the university’s involvement with Israel.

    Hicham, a student protesting at Sciences Po, which is also called the Paris Institute of Political Studies, told Al Jazeera, “We have a few demands but one of them is to start investigating all of the ties they [Sciences Po] have with the state of Israel, which [are] academic and financial”.

    The students are calling on the French government to provide more help to the Palestinians.

    Safeguard Gaza universities plea
    Meanwhile, nearly 30 Palestinian academics in the UK have called for “swift” action to safeguard universities in Gaza.

    The statement, whose signatories include Ghassan Abu Sittah, who has worked at al-Shifa and Alhi Arab hospitals in Gaza during the war, urged “friends and colleagues to take immediate steps to defend the integrity of Palestinian universities in occupied Palestine against the current plans and measures seeking to destroy them”.

    It added: “Having turned the universities of Gaza into detention centres before demolishing them, forcibly rendering Palestinian scholars, scientists, researchers and students homeless once again, Israel’s campaign of scholasticide has turned its attention to eliminating future independent Palestinian educational life in Gaza.”

    The academics also said they demand the institutions created by Palestinians in the face of “immense challenges” are not destroyed “but instead are rebuilt”.

    “They serve as a symbol of resilience and hope for the Palestinian people as a whole.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Israel delays Gaza Freedom Flotilla departure with bureaucratic ‘block’

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza.

    All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave.

    However, organisers received word of an “administrative roadblock” initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent the departure.

    Israel is reportedly pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from the flotilla’s lead ship — Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”).

    This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delayed yesterday’s planned departure.

    “This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine,” said a Freedom Flotilla statement.

    “How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?”

    Israeli tactics
    This is not the first time that Israel has used such tactics to stop Freedom Flotilla ships from sailing.

    “We have overcome them before and are diligently working to overcome this latest attempt,” said the flotilla statement.

    “Our vessels have already passed all required inspections and we are confident that the Akdeniz will pass this inspection provided there is no political interference.

    “We expect this to be no more than a few days delay. Israel will not break our resolve to reach the people of Gaza.”


    ‘Freedom flotilla’ defying Israel’s Gaza blockade.       Video: Al Jazeera

    Al Jazeera reports that lawyers, aid workers and activists are on board the ship in preparation for efforts by the flotilla to break the Israeli air, land and sea blockade of Gaza.

    About 100 media people are on board as well, hoping to provide a more global eye on what is happening in Gaza.

    Chief Mandla Mandela, the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela, is part of the flotilla that plans to soon set off for Gaza.

    “For us South Africans, the Palestinian issue has always been close and dear to our hearts,” Mandela said, noting that this grandfather had also said, “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.”

    Published in collaboration with Kia Ora Gaza.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Palestine protesters challenge TVNZ over Israeli ambassador’s ‘propaganda’

    Pacific Media Watch

    Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side gate entrance for media workers for about an hour.

    The protest climaxed a week of critical responses from commentators and critics of TVNZ’s Q&A senior reporter/presenter Jack Tame’s 45-minute interview with Israel ambassador Ran Yaakoby last Sunday which Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) secretary Neil Scott described as “a platform for propaganda to excuse the genocide happening in Gaza over the last six months”.

    Waving Palestine flags and placards declaring “Bias”, “silence is complicity — free Palestine,” and “Balanced journalism — my ass,” the protesters chanted “Jack Tame, you cannot hide – you’re complicit with genocide.”

    Protester Joseph with a Palestine flag outside the entrance to TVNZ's headquarters today
    Protester Joseph with a Palestine flag outside the entrance to TVNZ’s headquarters today. Image: APR

    Chalked on the pavement and on the walls were slogans such as “Jack ‘Shame’ helped kill MSM”, “TVNZ stop platforming genocide and Zionism”, “TVNZ genocide apologists” and “137 journalists killed” in reference to the mainly Palestinian journalists targeted by Israeli military forces.

    Across the street, a wall slogan said: “TVNZ (Q&A) broadcast Israeli lies about Gaza”. Other slogans condemned the lack of Palestinian voices in TVNZ coverage – there are about 288 Palestinian people in New Zealand, according to the 2018 Census.

    Ironically, TVNZ tonight screened a rare Palestinian story — a heart-rending report about the tragic death in Gaza of a baby girl, Sabreen Joudeh, “Patience” in Arabic, who had been saved from her dying mother’s womb after an Israeli air strike on their family home.

    The TVNZ report interviewed the related Gouda family in Auckland hours before Abdallah Gouda, a doctor, flew out to Turkiye to join a humanitarian aid flotilla leaving for Gaza.


    PSNA’s Neil Scott criticises TVNZ coverage of Gaza.   Video: Café Pacific

    Criticism of ‘complicity’?
    “Jack Tame, you’re a professional,” yelled PSNA secretary Scott through a loud hailer addressing TVNZ. “You know what would be set up, you have to know.

    “But you allowed it to happen!”

    “I don’t get you Jack, stupid or complicit? Complicit or stupid? One of the two.”

    Critics are understood to be filing complaints about the alleged “one-sidedness” of the programme citing many specific criticisms.

    “We’re here today because of Jack Tame’s Q&A report for TVNZ,” said Scott. Among some of his complaints were Tame:

    • interviewing Ambassador Yaakoby at the Israeli Embassy in Wellington instead of at a TVNZ studio with the New Zealand flag being showed alongside the Israeli flag. “Tying the two countries together – a professional would have had the New Zealand flag removed.”
    • Not providing context around the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel at the start of the interview – “more than 75 years of repression since 750,000 Palestinians were expelled as refugees from their homeland in the 1948 Nakba.”
    • Asking a series of questions that the Israeli ambassador “avoided, changed, or outright lied” in his response.
    • Not following up with the questions as needed.
    • Avoiding the questions that “would have placed the issue of the Israeli attack on Gaza” in context.
    A protester holds a "Silence is complicity" placard outside TVNZ
    A protester holds a “Silence is complicity” placard outside TVNZ in Auckland today. Image: APR

    Platform for propaganda
    “Essentially, Tame gave Israel a platform for propaganda to excuse the genocide happening in Gaza over the last six months,” said Scott.

    Among the contextual questions that Scott claimed Tame should have questioned Ambassador Yaakoby on were the envoy’s unchallenged claim that “1400 people had been butchered” by Hamas fighters.

    In fact, the documented figure is 1139 — 695 civilians, including 36 children, and 373 security force members, according to a France 24 report citing official sources.

    “The ambassador didn’t mention that more than 350 Israeli soldiers were among those killed — at their military posts,” Scott said.

    “Many of the others were aged between 18 and 40 and in the military reserves.”

    Also, no mention was made of the controversial Hannibal Directive which reportedly led to the Israeli military killing many of its own countrymen and women captives as the resistance fighters retreated back to Gaza.


    The controversial Q&A interview with Israeli Ambassador Ran Yaakoby. Video: TVNZ

    Among other responses to TVNZ’s Q&A this week, Palestine solidarity advocate and PSNA chair John Minto declared in an open letter to TVNZ published by The Daily Blog that the programme “breached all the standards of decent journalism. In other words it was offensive, discriminatory, inaccurate and grossly unfair.”

    A protester holding up a "Bias" placard outside TVNZ
    A protester holding up a “Bias” placard outside TVNZ in Auckland today. Image: APR

    ‘Unchallenged lies’
    “It wasn’t journalism – it was 45-minutes of uninterrupted and unchallenged Israeli lies, misinformation and previously-debunked propaganda. It was outrageous. It was despicable,” Minto wrote.

    “The country which for six months has conducted genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza was given free rein to pour streams of the most vile fabrications and misinformation against Palestinians directly into the homes of New Zealanders. And without a murmur of protest from Jack Tame.

    “Even the most egregious lies such as the ‘beheaded babies’ myth were allowed to be broadcast without challenge despite this Israeli propaganda having been discredited months ago.

    “The interview showed utter contempt for Palestine and Palestinians as well as New Zealanders who were assailed with this stream of racist deceits and falsehoods with Q&A as the conduit.”

    Among a stream of social media comments, one person remarked “On John Tame’s YouTube channel it gained a lot of comments fairly quickly . . .

    “These comments were encouraging as at least 95 percent were denouncing the interview . . . with a lot of them debunking the endless stream of blatant lies and atrocity propaganda that poured out of the Israeli ambassador’s mouth.

    “Most of the posters were obviously from our country and it was a great example of how Israel’s actions have shattered its reputation with their propaganda fooling hardly anyone anymore.

    “It’s a bit like a little child with chocolate all over their face denying they ate the chocolate . . . except in Israel’s case it’s civilian blood all over their face . . .

    “Anyway, when I revisited the thread the comments had been purged and deleted.”

    On the Q&A YouTube channel, @ZaraLomas commented: “The fact that Q&A are deleting critical comments speaks volumes about their integrity (or lack thereof), and their faith in this shocking piece of ‘journalism’.

    Television New Zealand
    Television New Zealand . . . under fire over its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza. Image: APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Nelson Mandela’s grandson joins Gaza flotilla, slams ‘genocide complicit’ leaders

    Asia Pacific Report

    Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza.

    Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine.

    When he met with flotilla participants yesterday, including the Kia Ora Gaza team from Aotearoa New Zealand, he said: “It was not only our efforts in South Africa that defeated the apartheid regime, but it was also efforts in every corner of the world through international solidarity of the anti-apartheid campaign.”


    Chief Mandla Mandela talks to the Freedom Flotilla.   Video: Freedom Flotilla/Palestine Human Rights

    Mandela said that while his grandfather was incarcerated for life imprisonment on Robben Island, he drew “immense inspiration” from the Palestinian struggle.

    He added that Palestine “was the greatest moral issue of our time, yet many governments choose to remain silent and look away”.

    “Many have been complicit in the genocide, the ethnic cleansing, the war crimes, and crimes against humanity that have been meted out on a daily basis against our Palestinian brothers and sisters — not just the 7th of October, but for the past 76 years.”

    — Chief Mandla Mandela

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Sydney University students set up Gaza solidarity camp as war marks 200 days

    Asia Pacific Report

    Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States.

    The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of infrastructure haunted Gaza with Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave passing the 200 days milestone.

    Nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and more than 14,500 children killed in the attack, which critics have dubbed a war of vengeance.

    In Sydney, according to the university’s student newspaper, Honi Soit, the camp was established on the campus when tents were pitched “emblazoned with graffiti reading ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘from the river to the sea’”.

    Students form several Australian universities were in attendance for the launch of the encampment, which was inaugurated with a student activist “speak out” on the subject of the war on Gaza and the demand for USyd management to drop any ties to the state of Israel.

    According to the student newspaper: “Many chants that were used on US campuses in the past week were repeated at the encampment tonight like “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” followed by “Albanese/Sydney Uni you will see, Palestine will be free”.

    Pro-Palestinian protests are gaining momentum at colleges and universities across the United States with street protests outside campuses as police have cracked down on the demonstrators.

    Students at New York University, Columbia, Harvard and Yale are among those standing in solidarity with Palestinians and demanding an end to the war on Gaza.

    Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey, reporting from New York, said student demonstrators from New York University (NYU) gathered for hours in a park just off the campus to protest against the genocide.

    The protest moved to the park following the mass arrest of 133 students and academic staff who had participated in a protest on the NYU campus the night before.

    “As news spread of their arrests, so have demonstrations around the country — at other colleges and universities,” Saloomey said.

    Columbia announced that it was introducing online classes for the the rest of the year to cope with the protests.

    Watch Saloomey’s AJ report:


    Columbia protests: Chants of ‘Azaadi’.               Video: Al Jazeera

    The Al Jazeera Explainers team have put together a comprehensive report detailing the numbers that highlight the unprecedented level of violence unleashed by Israel on Gaza in the 200 days of war.

    The massive infrastructure damage caused by the Israeli war on Gaza
    The massive infrastructure damage caused by the Israeli war on Gaza . . . . making the strip “unlivable”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Australia’s social cohesion under strain, challenges and solutions

    Pacific Media Watch

    Australians are being urged to stay united following the horrific events in Sydney last week, reports the ABC’s Saturday Extra programme.

    Five women and one man were killed in a mass stabbing at Bondi Junction last Saturday by a man with a history of mental illness, and a nine-month-old baby baby was among the eight people wounded.

    The attacker was shot by a police officer and died at the scene.

    Two days later at a church in Wakeley, a suburb in Western Sydney, controversial Assyrian Orthodox preacher Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel suffered lacerations to his head when he was attacked during a sermon that was being live-streamed. Nobody was killed.

    Three other unrelated knife attacks took place in Sydney this week. Only the Wakely church attack was officially described as a “terror” attack although there had been widespread media speculation.

    Those attacks coupled with anger and division caused by the war on Gaza as well as the polarising impact of the Voice referendum last year and Australians are seeing their sense of community and social cohesion challenged.

    The ABC has spoken to a panel of analysts about the solutions to staying united and their comments were broadcast yesterday.

    The panel included Khairiah A Rahman, an intercultural communications commentator from Auckland University of Technology who is also secretary of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and a member of Muslim Media Watch.

    The programme highlighted New Zealand’s experience in March 2019 when an Australian gunman entered two mosques in Christchurch and killed 51 people while they were praying.

    Asked what her message had been to the New Zealand government through the Royal Commission established to look into the mass killing, Rahman replied:

    “Overall, social cohesion when we think about it has got to do with the responsibility of all people and groups at all levels of society. So we can’t actually leave it to the government or the leaders, the Muslim leaders.

    “At the end of the day, the media also had a hand in all of this and my research had to do with media representation of Islam and Muslims prior to the attack. One of the things I found was unfair reporting, so pretty much what you have experienced in your media reporting of Bondi.

    “The route that extremists take from hate to mass murder is a proven one, and you need to report fairly and stay calm in a society.”

    Interviewees:

    Dr Jamal Rifi, Lebanese Muslim Community leader, Sydney

    Tim Southphommasane, Australia’s former race discrimination officer

    Khairiah A Rahman, intercultural communications researcher, Auckland University of Technology

    Producer: Linda LoPresti

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Stop detracting from Israel’s barbaric crimes’ in Gaza plea from Freedom Flotilla

    Asia Pacific Report

    Hours ago, the news media reported that Israel has attacked Iran. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition publicly declared that it is reminding the world that with all the escalation between Israel and Iran, the killing is still going on in Gaza.

    “While those two countries go back and forth, we cannot let Israel distract the world from what is causing far more death, disease, and destruction — Israel’s policies of starving and continued bombardment of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children,” said the Freedom Flotilla.

    Hundreds of civilians from dozens of countries — including Aotearoa/New Zealand — have been meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, to prepare to sail soon for Gaza, carrying thousands of tonnes of life-saving food and medicine, said Kia Ora Gaza, one of the flotilla coalition members, in a statement.

    Three New Zealand doctors are among the international participants.

    The flotilla aims to break Israel’s unlawful siege of Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire to save the lives of thousands of Palestinians.

    Participants from 30 countries will be on board, including 40 Americans.

    Elliot Adams, former president of Veterans for Peace and a former US paratrooper, called out the complicity of his own government in supporting Israel’s genocidal aggression:

    “Israel is trying to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza, with US support, through starvation as well as direct violence.

    “This is a humanitarian crisis and we have got to try to stop it by breaking the siege.”

    Israeli ‘bombs, bullets killing’
    Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau said: “Israeli bombs and bullets are killing Palestinians in Gaza every day and their illegal siege is deliberately starving everybody else.”

    She said she was joining the nonviolent flotilla “because our governments are not listening to the people’s demand to stop Israel’s barbaric crimes against humanity.”

    Argentinian surgeon Carlos Trotta, who has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) across the world, including in Gaza, said that the health situation for Palestinians in the besieged Strip was at a crisis point:

    “It’s an emergency. Children are dying of malnutrition, patients have their limbs amputated without anesthesia, and thousands are at risk of dying from the spread of infectious disease, all because of Israel’s arbitrary restrictions on aid arriving in Gaza.

    “It is critically important for this flotilla to act right now to help prevent even more loss of life.”

    Participants will undergo non-violence training for the next three days.

    During that time they will review potential scenarios and learn various strategies and tactics to protect themselves and each other in the event of any attacks.

    Departing next week
    The flotilla will depart next week carrying more than 5000 tonnes of humanitarian aid on a cargo ship, accompanied by two passenger ships.

    Huwaida Arraf, a human rights lawyer and Freedom Flotilla organiser, said: “Israel’s current siege on Gaza, as well as its 17-year-long blockade are forms of collective punishment, which is a war crime.

    “As the siege and blockade are illegal, Israel has no right to attack or stop our ships.

    “We call on our governments, which have thus far done nothing to protect the Palestinian people or compel Israel to abide by international law, to start living up to their obligations and demand our flotilla have safe passage to Gaza.

    “We ask people around the world to join us in this call.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • NZ called on to demand Israel ends ‘inhumane blockade’, and give aid flotilla safe passage

    Asia Pacific Report

    Three Palestinian solidarity groups have joined the humanitarian aid charity Kia Ora Gaza in calling on New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to demand that Israeli authorities “end their inhumane blockade” of Gaza and allow the international Freedom Flotilla “safe and unhindered passage”.

    A team of three doctors has been selected to join the flotilla to provide humanitarian medical aid when it sails soon to the besieged Gaza Strip.

    They will be joined by hundreds of prominent civilians, human rights advocates and medics from around the world, plus international media people.

    The volunteer doctors are Dr Wasfy Shahin and Dr Faiez Idais to be led by Dr Adnan Ali.

    An open letter, signed by Kia Ora Gaza’s Roger Fowler; John Minto, national chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA); Janfrie Wakim, spokesperson of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC); and Maher Nazzal, co-founder of Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee (PACC), has also called for permanent ceasefire.

    The open letter stated:

    Dear [Foreign Minister Winston Peters] and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon,

    We call on the NZ government to demand the Israeli authorities end their inhumane blockade and siege and allow the international Freedom Flotilla safe and unhindered passage to their destination — Gaza 

    We are pleased to announce that a team of three New Zealand doctors have been selected to join the international Freedom Flotilla which is due to sail for Gaza very soon.

    Our Kiwi team of volunteer doctors are Dr Wasfy Shahin and Dr Faiez Idais to be led by Dr Adnan Ali.

    The Freedom Flotilla sailing again
    The Freedom Flotilla sailing again . . . 9 people were killed in the 2014 Israeli attack on the flotilla. Image: Kia Ora Gaza

    They will be joined by hundreds of prominent civilians, human rights advocates and medics from around the world, plus international media personnel on this peaceful non-governmental, civil-society mission to challenge the illegal and inhumane 17-year Israeli naval blockade and siege of Gaza and to deliver urgently needed humanitarian and medical aid and services.

    The team of Kiwi doctors are ready to join the Freedom Flotilla to bring humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza.

    Our NZ medical team’s participation in this important humanitarian mission has been facilitated by Kia Ora Gaza and supported by many hundreds of fellow New Zealanders. We expect our government to resolutely uphold their safety and wellbeing.

    This mission seeks to bring a message of hope and solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for peace and justice and to highlight demands to end Israel’s illegal siege and deprivation of Gaza, the bombing, and the occupation.

    As with previous international humanitarian flotillas to Gaza, the current mission poses no threat whatsoever to Israel.

    However, in light of the urgent need for aid, Israel’s non-compliance of ICJ orders, and their illegal interception and seizure of previous Gaza-bound boats in international waters, we call on the NZ government to urgently demand the Israeli (and US) authorities lift the siege, implement a permanent ceasefire and allow the Freedom Flotilla safe and unhindered passage to reach their destination and deliver humanitarian and medical aid.

    Yours sincerely,

    Roger Fowler QSM
    Chair, Kia Ora Gaza

    John Minto
    National Chair
    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

    Janfrie Wakim
    Spokesperson
    Palestine Human Rights Campaign

    Maher Nazzal
    Co-founder
    Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee (PACC)

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • French security forces in Nouméa ahead of two opposing marches today

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other.

    One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the pro-independence FLNKS umbrella) and its CCAT (field action group), was protesting against planned changes to the French Constitution to “unfreeze” New Caledonia’s electoral roll by allowing any citizen who has resided in New Caledonia for at least 10 years to cast their vote at local elections — for the three Provincial assemblies and the Congress.

    The other march was called by pro-France parties Rassemblement and Les Loyalistes who support the change and intend to make their voices heard by French MPs.

    The constitutional bill was endorsed by the French Senate on April 2.

    However, as part of the required process before it is fully endorsed, the constitutional bill must follow the same process before France’s lower House, the National Assembly.

    Debates are scheduled on May 13.

    Then both the Senate and the National Assembly will be gathered sometime in June to give the final approval.

    Making voices heard
    Today, both marches also want to make their voices heard in an attempt to impress MPs before the Constitutional Bill goes further.

    The pro-France march is scheduled to end at Rue de la Moselle in downtown Nouméa, two streets away from the other pro-independence march, which is planned to stop on the Place des Cocotiers (“Coconut square”).

    The pro-independence rally in the heart of Nouméa
    The pro-independence rally in the heart of Nouméa today. Image: @knky987

    At least 20,000 participants were estimated to take part.

    Security forces reinforcements have been sent from France, with two additional squads (140) of gendarmes, French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said yesterday.

    While acknowledging the “right to demonstrate as a fundamental right”, Le Franc said it a statement it could only be exercised with “respect for public order and freedom of movement”.

    “No outbreak will be tolerated” and if this was not to be the case, then “the reaction will be steadfast and those responsible will be arrested,” he warned.

    Le Franc also strongly condemned recent “blockades and violence” and called for everyone’s “calm and responsibility” for a “Pacific dialogue in New Caledonia”.

    CCAT spokesman Christian Téin (centre) during a press conference on Thursday 4 April at Union Calédonienne headquarters.
    CCAT spokesman Christian Téin, Arnaud Chollet-Leakava (MOI), Dominique Fochi (UC) and Sylvain Boiguivie (Dus) during a press conference on Thursday at the Union Calédonienne headquarters. Image: LNC

    Tight security to avoid a clash
    New Caledonia’s Southern Province vice-president and member of the pro-France party Les Loyalistes, Philippe Blaise, told Radio Rythme Bleu he had been working with security forces to ensure the two opposing marches would not come close at any stage.

    “It will not be a long march, because we are aware that there will be families and old people,” he said.

    “But we are not disclosing the itinerary because we don’t want to give bad ideas to people  who would like to come close to our march with banners and whatnot.

    “There won’t be any speech either. But there will be an important security setup,” he reassured.

    Earlier this week, security forces intervened to lift roadblocks set up by pro-independence militants near Nouméa, in the village of Saint-Louis, a historical pro-independence stronghold.

    The clash involved about 50 security forces against militants.

    Tear gas, and stones
    Teargas and stones were exchanged and firearm shots were also heard.

    On March 28, the two opposing sides also held two marches in downtown Nouméa, with tens of thousands of participants.

    No incident was reported.

    The UC-revived CCAT (Field Actions Coordination Cell, cellule de coordination des actions de terrain), which is again organising today’s pro-independence march to oppose the French Constitutional change, earlier this month threatened to boycott this year’s planned provincial elections.

    CCAT head Christian Tein said they were demanding that the French Constitutional amendment be withdrawn altogether, and that a “dialogue mission” be sent from Paris.

    “We want to remind (France) we will be there, we’ll bother them until the end, peacefully”, he said.

    “Those MPs have decided to kill the Kanak (Indigenous) people . . . this is a programmed extermination so that Kanaks become like (Australia’s) Aborigines,” he told local media.

    “Anyone can cause unrest, but to stop it is another story . . . now we are on a slippery slope,” he added.

    War of words, images over MPs
    Pro-France leader Sonia Backès, during a the March 28 demonstration, had also alluded to “causing unrest” from their side and its ability to “make noise” to ensure their voices are heard back in the French Parliament.

    “The unrest, it will come from us if someone tries to step on us,” she lashed out at that rally.

    “We have to make noise, because unfortunately, the key is the image,” she said.

    “But this little message with the ballot box and Eloi Machoro’s picture, this is provocation.

    “I am receiving death threats every day; my children too,” she told Radio Rythme Bleu.

    CCAT movement is placing a hatchet on ballot box.
    The CCAT movement is placing a hatchet on a ballot box, recalling the Eloi Machoro protest. Image: 1ère TV screenshot APR

    Hatchet and ballot box – the ghosts of 1984
    During the CCAT’s press conference earlier this month, a ballot box with a hatchet embedded was on show, recalling the famous protest by pro-independence leader Eloi Machoro, who smashed a ballot box with a hatchet to signify the Kanak boycott of the elections on 18 November 1984.

    The iconic act was one of the sparks that later plunged New Caledonia in a quasi civil war until the Matignon Accords in 1988. Both pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur and Lanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou shook hands to put an end to a stormy period since described as “the events”.

    On 12 January 1985, Machoro was shot by French special forces.

    On 18 November 1984, territorial elections day in New Caledonia, Eloi Machoro smashed a ballot box in the small town of Canala
    The territorial elections day in New Caledonia on 18 November 1984 when Eloi Machoro smashed a ballot box in the small township of Canala. Image: RNZ/File

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • $200 Per Metre: Toy Cops Turn Out In Force To Shield Armed Duck Hunters From Folks Wishing To Document Their Harm

    This weekend marks the opening of ‘duck season’ in Victoria. That is, people with guns flock to game reserves around the state, to blow the heads off unsuspecting native wildlife.

    New Matilda regular Geoff Russell – who files predominantly on the environment and animal rights – travelled from Adelaide to Victoria to document the slaughter, as part of the group South Aussies for Animals (SAFA). A short time ago, Geoff was fined and ordered to leave. He filed this brief report earlier this afternoon (and you can read his report a fortnight ago here, which he filed from the opening of duck season in South Australia).

    The Victorian Game Management Authority (GMA) officer’s technology failed him. A laser measuring device so that he could correctly assess how far I was from the water; from ‘damp ground’ as he was careful to tell me. He paced 18 meters to the edge of the reeds. I paced 20. But let’s not quibble. The legislation said I needed to be 25 metres from the water, or be fined.

    I was fined.

    My buddy was suddenly on the ground in handcuffs. I didn’t see the precise cause of the take-down, my back was turned. But I gather he hadn’t mastered the kind of obsequious compliance required when dealing the people with badges and handcuffs. He was soon released.

    On the other side of the reeds, probably 500 meters away were 4 duck shooters.

    The GMA officer could have been watching them. He could have been making sure they killed what they downed. He could have made sure they didn’t shoot into flocks of ducks; that they were handling their firearms properly; that they weren’t drinking alcohol, like the two Victorian shooters that were filmed in South Australia on the opening weekend of our duck season.

    I say “Our”? That’s right I’m from South Australia, but this weekend I’m visiting Victoria to attempt to film duck shooters breaking the law and/or inflicting cruelty to native wildlife. To ducks.

    Having been fined, I was ordered to leave immediately. Which I couldn’t do; or at least, I thought I couldn’t do. There was a cluster of police and GMA vehicles blocking the road I came in on. And so I waited and watched as more fines were issued.

    The only appropriate description of this operation was “overkill”.

    Judging by the heavy police and GMA presence, somebody, possibly even the Victorian Premier herself, ordered the release of the hounds, to protect the rights of men with guns to treat wildlife with extreme prejudice.

    You can support the work of SAFA by visiting their website here. And you can support New Matilda’s work by making a one-off contribution here. Or by subscribing here.

    The post $200 Per Metre: Toy Cops Turn Out In Force To Shield Armed Duck Hunters From Folks Wishing To Document Their Harm appeared first on New Matilda.

    This post was originally published on New Matilda.

  • Noumea faces more protests over New Caledonia voting rules change

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    Demonstrations have been held in New Caledonia — with more protests expected — from both pro- and anti-independence supporters after the French Senate endorsed a constitutional amendment bill to “unfreeze” the French Pacific territory’s electoral roll.

    The Senators endorsed a move from the French government to allow French citizens to vote at local elections, provided they have been residing for at least 10 uninterrupted years.

    The Senate vote will be followed by a similar vote in the French National Assembly (Lower House) on 13 May.

    In June, both Houses of Parliament (the Senate and National Assembly) will gather to give a final green light to the text with a majority of two-thirds required for it to pass.

    The Senate vote in Paris on Tuesday has since triggered numerous reactions from both the pro-France and the pro-independence parties.

    Southern Province president and leader of the pro-France party Les Loyalistes, Sonia Backès, hailed the Senate’s decision, saying it came “despite strong pressures from the pro-independence parties”.

    She said “we have to stay mobilised” in the face of the two other planned votes in the next few weeks, she said, announcing more demonstrations from the pro-France sympathisers, including one next Saturday.

    Counter protests
    On March 28, both pro-France and pro-independence militant supporters gathered in the thousands in downtown Nouméa, only a few hundred metres away on opposite sides of Nouméa’s iconic Coconut Square (now renamed Peace Square) — one in front of the Congress, the other in front of the local government’s building.

    The marches each gathered more than 10,000 supporters under strong surveillance from some 500 police and security forces, who ensured the two crowds did not clash. No significant incident was reported.

    Several officials have taken to social media to comment on the issue.

    New Caledonia constituency’s MP in the National Assembly, Nicolas Metzdorf, posted that the electoral roll changes were “a national and international legal obligation” and “those who are calling [New] Caledonians to take to the streets to oppose this are taking a considerable risk”.

    Pro-France Rassemblement (local) Congress caucus president Virgine Ruffenach posted: “We are engaged in a struggle for justice, for a democratic Caledonian society which respects international rules and does not reject anyone.”

    French Home Affairs and Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin, who initiated the constitutional amendment, wrote that the French government “remains more than ever open to a local agreement and has a mechanism in place that will allow to take the time to finalise it”.

    Darmanin was referring to a related political issue — the need, as prescribed by the 1998 political Nouméa Accord, for all parties to meet and inclusively arrive at a political agreement regarding New Caledonia’s future.

    The agreement is supposed to replace the Nouméa Accord and, in order to allow more time for those talks to produce some kind of a joint text, the dates for this year’s provincial elections have been postponed from May 2024 to December 15, 2024 “at the latest”.

    ‘Strong message to Paris’
    On the pro-independence side, FLNKS-Union Calédonienne Congress caucus president Pierre-Channel Tutugoro conceded that the Senate vote’s results were “something to be expected”.

    “Now we’re waiting for what comes next [the National Assembly and French Congress votes] and then we’ll know whether things will eventuate,” he said.

    The Union Calédonienne, one major component of the four-party pro-independence FLNKS, has in a few months revived a so-called CCAT (Cellule de Coordination des Actions de Terrain, or Field Action Coordination Cell).

    The CCAT, consisting of non-FLNKS pro-independence parties and trade unions, has since organised several demonstrations, including one on March 28 and the latest on April 2, the day the Senate vote took place.

    This week, CCAT claimed it managed to gather about 30,000 participants, but the French High Commission’s count was 6000.

    Reacting to the Senate vote on Wednesday, CCAT head Christian Tein announced more protest marches against the “unfreezing” of the electoral roll were to come . . . the next one being as soon as April 13 “to keep on sending a strong message to Paris”.

    Tein said the march was scheduled to take place on Nouméa’s central Peace Square.

    The protesters once again intend to ask that the French government withdraw its text, claiming the French state is no longer impartial and that it is trying to “force its way” to impose its local electoral roll change.

    The same date was also chosen by pro-France leaders and sympathisers who want to make a demonstration of force to show their determination to have their voting rights recognised through this proposed constitutional amendment.

    PALIKA to ‘review strategy’
    Meanwhile, another major component of the FLNKS, the Kanak Liberation Party (PALIKA), held its general assembly last weekend.

    Its spokesman, Jean-Pierre Djaïwé, told a news conference that PALIKA, while deploring that New Caledonia’s politics had significantly “radicalised”, was now considering “reviewing its strategy”.

    He said PALIKA and FLNKS, who recently have displayed differences, must now reaffirm a strategy of unity and “the pro-independence movement’s will to work towards a peaceful future”.

    “There’s no other alternative,” he said.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Three NZ Arab doctors joining Kia Ora Gaza humanitarian aid mission

    Asia Pacific Report

    Three New Zealand doctors — two Palestinian and one Iraq-born — are planning to join the charity Kia Ora Gaza in its mission this month to provide humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, reports 1News.

    But reporter Simon Mercep says “they’re not completely sure whether they’ll reach the Gaza coast and step on dry land”.

    Mercep asked Gaza-born Dr Wasfi Shahin how hopeful was he?

    “He paused before smiling as he told 1News tonight: ‘Fifty percent. Not more’.

    But Mercep said he remained determined.

    Dr Shain said: “I hope I can reach there to see what I left 50 years ago.”

    1News asked Faiez Idais, a Jordan-trained doctor, how dangerous he expected the mission to be.

    ‘We’ll be in danger’
    “If they [the people of Gaza] are in danger, we’ll be in danger. It’s not a problem for us,” he said.

    “They don’t have even water to drink. They don’t have food to eat.”

    “I am a physician,” he added. “I can’t do anything from here.”

    Dr Idais was born in Jerusalem and has never been to the Gaza Strip.

    The third doctor, Iraqi-born Dr Adnan Al-Kenani, took a pragmatic approach, reports Mercep.

    The three doctors off to Gaza
    The three doctors off to Gaza . . . Dr Faiez Idais (from left), Dr Adnan Al-Kenani and Gaza-born Dr Wasfi Shahin (seated) . . . “If we get an opportunity, if we land there, we can do service.” Image: 1News screenshot APR

    “If we get an opportunity, if we land there, we can do service on land,” he said. “It depends on the circumstances there. But we are purely a health organisation.”

    The doctors will fly out of Auckland next week to join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition international humanitarian effort, which is assembling ships at the port of Istanbul in Turkiye.

    A container vessel and one ship for volunteers is already there, and a third is expected to join soon.

    Seven aid workers killed
    Since the doctors were interviewed for the report last weekend, seven international charity workers were killed in a drone attack by Israeli forces in Gaza — six foreigners and a Palestinian.

    This took the death toll of aid workers to at least 203 aid workers in Israel’s deadly six-month war on Gaza, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

    The killing has caused outrage around the world and the founder of the charity World Central Kitchen that employed the aid workers, Spanish American celebrity chef Jose Andres,  said they were “targeted systematically”.

    This took the death toll of aid workers to 195 in Israel’s deadly six-month war on Gaza.

    Dr Adnan Ali, a GP and surgeon from Auckland, and Kia Ora Gaza coordinator Roger Fowler
    Dr Adnan Al-Kenani , a GP and surgeon from Auckland, and Kia Ora Gaza coordinator
    Roger Fowler speaking at a Palestine solidarity rally in Aotea Square last Sunday. Image: David Robie/APR

    ‘Catastrophic hunger’
    Meanwhile, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition reports that it will be sailing in mid-April with several vessels carrying 5500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

    “This is an emergency mission as the situation in Gaza is dire, with famine setting in in northern Gaza, and catastrophic hunger present throughout the Gaza Strip as the result of a deliberate policy by the Israeli government to starve the Palestinian people,” the coalition said in a statement.

    “Time is critical as experts predict that hunger and disease could claim more lives than have been killed in the bombing.

    “Getting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is urgent, but it is not sufficient. We must end Israel’s unlawful, deadly blockade as well as Israel’s overall control of Gaza.”

    The statement added that “allowing Israel to control what and how much humanitarian aid can get to Palestinians in Gaza is like letting the fox manage the henhouse.”

    Asia Pacific Report with 1News and Freedom Flotilla Coalition reporting.

    The Majestic, one of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ships
    The Majestic, one of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition ships bound for Gaza. Image: 1News screenshot APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Sydney group slams ‘unjust’ Jakarta crackdown on Papuan torture protests

    Asia Pacific Report

    An Australian West Papuan solidarity group has condemned a brutal crackdown by Indonesian police against student protesters demonstrating against torture by the security forces.

    A video of the cruel torture of a West Papuan man, Defianus Kogoya, by Indonesian troops in West Papua in early February, went viral last week with students and civil society groups staging several protest rallies and meetings over the past two days.

    Indonesian security forces violently crushed these protests with tear gas and water cannon and arrested 62 people at one demonstration.

    “Yet again we have peaceful demonstrators being arrested, beaten and tear gassed by the Indonesian security forces,” Joe Collins, spokesperson of the Australian West Papua Association (AWPA), said in a statement.

    “Do they really believe West Papuans will be so intimidated that they’ll stop protesting against the injustices they suffer under Indonesian rule?

    “The West Papuan people will continue to protest until the international community and the United Nations start to bring Jakarta to account for the actions of its military in West Papua.

    “The issue isn’t going away.”

    University crackdown
    In Jayapura, a rally was held yesterday at Perumnas 3 Waena and the Jayapura University of Science and Technology (JUST) by civil society groups, including by the Papuan Student and People’s Front Against Militarism (FMRPAM).

    The local news outlet Jubi reported that the police had cracked down on the rally, assaulting demonstrators and firing tear gas.

    The demonstrators were demanding that an independent investigation team be formed into the case of torture of Puncak regency residents by Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers and asked that the perpetrators be tried at the III-19 Jayapura Military Court.

    Although the demonstrators tried to negotiate with the police, it ended in frustration. The police then dispersed the crowd by hitting the demonstrators and firing tear gas.

    “Disperse, disperse, this is a public street,” shouted the Commander of Battalion A Pioneer of the Papua Mobile Brigade in Kotaraja Jayapura, Police Commissioner Clief Duwit.

    The police then dispersed the crowd by beating them and firing tear gas.

    Demonstrators ran for their lives towards the JUST campus.

    In Sentani, at the red light junction where protesters began giving speeches and criticise the behaviour of the military in West Papua, security forces arrived quickly with two water canon vehicles.

    Jubi reported that the field coordinator of the FMRPAM action, Kenias Payage, said that his party was taken away by a combination of TNI/Polri security forces while carrying out a peaceful speech at the Sentani red light.

    Sixty two people were reportedly arrested.

    Reverend Benny Giay
    Reverend Benny Giay . . . “Those who are arrested or killed are often referred to as ‘armed groups’, ‘separatists’, ‘terrorists’, and with other accusations.” Image: Jubi/CR-8

    ‘Third party’ probe call
    Meanwhile, Reverend Benny Giay, the moderator of the Papuan Church Council, has called for a “third party” to investigate allegations of violence by the security forces in Papua, reports Jubi News.

    The third party should examine the facts, including allegations that the victims were members of the pro-independence West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

    “Those who are arrested or killed are often referred to as ‘armed groups’, ‘separatists’, ‘terrorists’, and with other accusations,” Reverend Giay said.

    “It’s necessary to have a third party to clarify this. There is a lot of violence in Papua now but the media doesn’t classify it, so we suspect everything,” he said earlier this month.

    Reverend Giay cited the incident of racial slurs against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, in August 2019, which sparked massive demonstrations in cities across Papua and Indonesia.

    He said that when Papuans protested against the racism, they were instead branded as “insurgents”.

    Reported with the collaboration of the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) and Jubi News.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kia Ora Gaza reveals more on Freedom Flotilla plans to break Gaza siege

    Asia Pacific Report

    A New Zealand charity providing humanitarian aid for Gaza today revealed more details of the international Freedom Flotilla’s bid to break the Israeli siege of the enclave as mass starvation looms closer.

    Latest reports say 27 children have died from malnutrition so far and the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days from Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

    About 1000 protesters in an Auckland’s Aotea Square rally today waved empty dinner plates, some with messages such as “Gaza is being starved”, “Free Palestine” and “Starve Israeli weapons”.

    They then marched in a silent vigil around central Auckland streets.

    Among the speakers was Kia Ora Gaza coordinator Roger Fowler, who introduced one of the doctors that will be joining the charity’s medical team on the siege-breaking humanitarian voyage.


    Twenty seven Gazan children die from malnutrition.  Video: Al Jazeera

    “We’ve got a fundraising campaign, obviously we’ll be sending a flotilla of ships to Gaza,” he said.

    Fowler introduced Dr Adnan Ali, an Auckland GP and surgeon who is a member of Medics International.

    “We hope another doctor we are talking with will be able to join him,” Fowler told Asia Pacific Report.

    Kia Ora Gaza's Roger Fowler with Lyn Doherty
    Kia Ora Gaza’s Roger Fowler at today’s Palestine rally. His wife Lyn Doherty is on the left. Image: David Robie/APR

    Israel defies ceasefire order
    Israel has defied a near unanimous UN Security Council — the US abstained — demand last week for an immediate Ramadan ceasefire with just 10 days left of the Muslim religious fasting period.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also so far ignored further orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which is investigating Israel over South Africa’s allegations of genocide.

    The court ruled on Thursday that “in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation”, Israel must take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza”.

    The measures outlined includes food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care.

    Israel was also ordered to open more of the seven land crossings into Gaza.

    On Friday, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, told the UN Human Rights Council that Israel was committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

    She said that countries should impose an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.

    Kia Ora Gaza's Roger Fowler introduces Dr Adnan Ali
    Kia Ora Gaza’s Roger Fowler introduces Dr Adnan Ali (centre) of Medics International at today’s Palestine rally. Image: David Robie/APR

    Luxon government condemned
    Speakers at today’s Aotea Square rally — including Labour’s List MP Shanan Halbert and the Greens’ Ricardo Menéndez March — criticised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his coalition government for refusing to condemn Israel’s atrocities against and failing to make any “meaningful” humanitarian response to the war.

    During his speech about Kia Ora Gaza and the Freedom Flotilla, Roger Fowler reminded the crowd about Israel’s brutal response to the 2010 flotilla.

    The flotilla, led by the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara was intercepted by the Israeli navy, and commandos shot nine Turkish and one Turkish-American pro-Palestinian activists. A 10th who was in a coma died six years later.

    This attack led to a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel.

    Israeli forces have destroyed the memorial memorial erected in Gaza to honour those killed during the current war.

    "Gaza is being made to starve"
    “Gaza is being made to starve” . . . empty plates at the Palestinian rally in Aotea Square today. Image: David Robie/APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.