Rugby officials harassed

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32975, 22 July 1972, Page 1

Rugby officials harassed

Members of the 17-1 man management committee of the Canter-J bury Rugby Union arei being harassed bj’ | unknown opponents of the South African Rugby tour of New] Zealand.

Eleven of the members, at| least, have been the targets! of abusive telephone calls, false deliveries of firewood, concrete and other bulk loads of unwanted goods, and the painting of slogans on their properties.

The paid staff of the Rugby Union have also suffered harassment. A football club was broken into and “H-A.R.T." cut into a billiard table top—-the vandals did several hundred dollars worth of damage. The chairman of the Citibens' Association for Racial Equality in Christchurch (the Rev. J. S. Murray), questioned last evening, said that the organisation “does not support such actions and has no such policy or programme." He said he was not able to say whether the offenders were members of C.A.R.E.,1 but he, personally, would not support such an action. “It has a very negative effect; it counts against support for our campaign. I have had rude telephone calls and threatening letters," Mr Murray said. He said that C.A.R.E. was •‘playing it very cool” because there were “extremists both on the Rugby side and among the anti-tour support-

Mr T. Richards, national; chairman of the Halt Alli Racial Tours Organisation, said the organisation had “no policy" on such a campaign of harassment of Canterbury Rugby officials. “I am not harassing them

myself. and I have no knowledge of any member of the Canterbury committee doing so. I cannot say if the campaign is the work of supporters.

“I know of it. of course. The same thing is happening .n Ashburton, Timaru, Greymouth and Rotorua.

“Such actions create a back-lash and do not achieve very much. But I understand the frustrations of the persons who do such things. For three years we have been trying to meet New Zealand Rugby Union officials to try to talk about the question rationally, without any success.”

He said that H.A.R.T. had not attempted to communicate with the Canterbury

Rugby Union on the Springbok tour question since the middle of last year. Mr Murray said the C.A.R.E. policy was one of “passive resistance” to the tour. Mr Richards said the H.A.R.T. policy was to “oppose” the tour. The Canterbury Rugby Union management committee which, some weeks ago, decided on a majority vote not to make public remarks about harassment, will discuss the subject again at its meeting next Tuesday evening. The officer in charge of the Christchurch Police District (Chief Superintendent G. Tait) yesterday said that the police were taking measures against harassment.