Disappointing, but this is what countries do whenever there is any kind of
attack. They choose military options and censorship.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
(Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2019 8:50 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] New Zealand rulers use mosque attacks to target
political rights
https://themilitant.com/2019/04/06/new-zealand-rulers-use-mosque-attacks-to-target-political-rights/
New Zealand rulers use mosque attacks to target political rights
By Felicity Coggan
Vol. 83/No. 15
April 15, 2019
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — In the two weeks since a rightist lone wolf shooter
killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, working people in their
thousands have turned out to rallies and vigils, looking to express their
opposition to racism and anti-Muslim bigotry. Close to
$16 million New Zealand dollars ($10.9 million) has been donated to victims of
the attack.
New Zealand Labour government is using rightist’s killing of 50 people at two
mosques to expand use of their political police and target workers’ rights.
Cops will now carry guns, including assault weapons, above.
But the Labour-led coalition headed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken
advantage of the widespread working-class solidarity to rally political support
behind the government and its banner of classless “national unity.” The
capitalist rulers she speaks for have seized on the killings to move to
threaten political rights, boost their police and spy agencies and step up
censorship.
On March 29 the central government, Christchurch City Council and some local
Muslim and Maori organizations hosted a national “We Are One”
service in Christchurch, attended by government delegations from Australia and
58 other countries. Similar events were held around the country. Ardern
received a standing ovation from the tens of thousands gathered, while hundreds
of armed police, including police snipers flown in from Australia, patrolled
the park.
More than 250 detectives and other cops, including Australian police and FBI
agents from the U.S., are investigating the shooting rampage by Brenton
Tarrant, a self-proclaimed “eco-fascist” originally from Australia.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced March 25 that all front-line police
will now carry guns. Previously, New Zealand police carried pepper spray,
batons and Tasers, but not guns except in special circumstances. They’re now
wearing Glock pistols and either carry semi-automatic rifles or have them ready
in their police cars. Armed cops have been deployed at public events across the
country.
The same day Ardern set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into why the twin
government spy agencies — the Security Intelligence Service and the Government
Communications Security Bureau — didn’t have Tarrant’s name on spy watch lists
in either New Zealand or Australia. Their goal is to strengthen the powers of
the capitalist rulers’ political police.
Government attacks political rights
Amid a barrage of media columns blaming the massacre on “white” people and
racism, guns or social media, the government is pushing to strengthen
censorship. This atmosphere is stifling political discussion by working people.
Four days after the attack Ardern said she would never use Tarrant’s name.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has called for the judge at his trial to silence
Tarrant any time he “starts to rave about his ideology.”
Tarrant’s 74-page “manifesto,” posted online before the attack, has been banned
by Chief Censor David Shanks, making those who possess, distribute or possibly
even quote it liable to up to 14 years in jail or a NZ$10,000 fine. Minister of
Justice Andrew Little is fast-tracking moves to strengthen existing laws on
“hate speech” and making “hate crimes” illegal.
Free speech on the internet is being targeted. Ardern welcomed a decision by
Facebook to ban posts, photos and content supporting “white nationalism.” But
who decides what ideas and isms should be censored?
Privacy Commissioner John Edwards called on Facebook to give the names of
people who distributed the video to police.
Groups on the middle-class left are pushing the idea that there is a rise in
racism and anti-Muslim prejudice in the working class. “Love Aotearoa Hate
Racism” held a rally and march that drew thousands in central Auckland March 24
to “tackle all forms of racism on our streets and in our workplaces.”
But an anti-Semitic rant by one of the speakers went unchallenged by rally
organizers. Ahmed Bhamji, chairman of a mosque in the suburb of Mt. Roskill,
claimed the gunman was funded by Israeli government intelligence agency Mossad
and “Zionist business.”
“These conspiracy theories are dangerous lies,” New Zealand Jewish Council
spokesperson Juliet Moses said. “They put the Jewish community at risk.”
Ardern’s use of the killings to shut down political space has won enthusiastic
praise from the international liberal media in the U.S. and elsewhere. “Ms.
Ardern has shown the way,” said a March 21 editorial in the New York Times.
The government-led promotion of “national unity” has led to other setbacks for
working people. Leaders of the Post Primary Teachers’
Association, the union that organizes high school teachers, called off a
nationwide strike planned for April 3, saying it was “the only choice”
after the attack.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Uber drivers fight bosses’ pay cuts across California •SWP
launches drive to expand reach of books and ‘Militant’
•Cease-fire can open political space in Israel and in Gaza •New Jersey protest:
‘Driver’s license is a necessity for immigrant workers’
•Two-year-long anti-Trump ‘Russia collusion’ witch hunt fizzles out •Ongoing
trade rivalry between US and Chinese rulers ripples worldwide
Feature Articles •Woodfox shines light on prison abuse, solitary confinement
Also In This Issue •New Zealand rulers use mosque attacks to target political
rights •Help us go over the top in $115,000 Militant Fighting Fund •Kurdistan
debate on road to women’s emancipation •Iraq protests win firing of governor in
ferry disaster •Outcry hits attempt to gut Florida voting rights victory •End
solitary confinement! Voting rights for ex-prisoners!
On the Picket Line •Chicago hospital workers rally to protest short
staffing, low pay
Books of the Month •Fidel: ‘Without Che’s ideas, communism can’t be built’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Letters
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Christopher Hitchens
“ What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.
”
― Christopher Hitchens,