H.A.R.T. plans changed

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32776, 29 November 1971, Page 1

H.A.R.T. plans changed

The Halt All Racist Tours organisation has cancelled its plan to disrupt the national women’s cricket trials which will begin in Dunedin on Wednesday. New techniques of demonstration are planned instead.

Fhe national chairman of H.A.R.T., Mr T. Richards, said the organisation had decided that in the case of the women’s cricket trials disruption would be self-defeating because it would not put the real issues of racial sport before the public.

Instead, the organisa-l tion had a series of "educative, graphic, forceful and vigorously executed activities planned for the 10 days of the trials,” he said. He gave one example: “We I will be using guerrilla], theatre,” he said. “Five or.i six white people will be seated round a table in, say,] I the Octagon. Then a black; person will come and sit; with them and the cops will 1 come, beat him up and cart; him away—that is the sort of j* thing we will be doing.” 1 He declined to give any; 1 more details of the organis-H ation’s plans. : Council’s letter

H.A.R.T. changed its plans for the trials after a letter from the New Zealand Women’s Cricket Council said that the council was investigating the rights of nonwhite cricketers in South

Africa. I “They say they have written to the National Union of South African Students and a prominent non-white sports > administrator. If there is any sincerity at all in their investigations there remains the real possibility that reason i could yet prevail and we considered it would be provocative to continue with our

duce its planned demonstrators’ guide book and protesters’ kitbag although now that disruptive tactics would not be used in Dunedin the contents of both would be modified. Mr Richards said he felt .sure that although H.A.R.T. ' would no longer be coordinating them, there would still be some people who would feel committed by conI science to disrupting the ■.trials irrespective of H.A.R.T.s decision. “We will neither condemn nor support these people,” he said.

I plans to disrupt the trials,” said Mr Richards. “We know what they will! find,” he added. “And we will ask them for a new meeting when they have their infor-l mation from South Africa.” | “Less important” He said that H.A.R.T.’s decision not to use disruptive tactics was not because it feared losing public sympathy. “Public sympathy is less important than stopping iracial sport. We don’t really care what people think.” Disruption was only ■ adopted because the cricket 'council appeared to “have : burned its bridges.” Now that {position had changed, said Mr 'Richards. H.A.R.T, would still pro-