Are our rights safe?—lecturer

Press, 4 August 1977, Page 13

Are our rights safe?—lecturer

! Safeguards on human rights in New Zealand were called into question at a panel discussion in Christchurch.

Dr K. Clements, a university lecturer in sociology and a member of the Council for Civil Liberties, was a speaker on the panel, which was convened by Amnesty International.

He described the existing situation in Indonesia, where I he said human rights were ’being gravelv denied. ! It was estimated there were : 100,000 untried political priIsoners there, most of whom j had been imprisoned for their ; support of Left-wing groups. Their children and dependants w ere denied such social nec- ■ essities as education, and many of those who had been released were prevented from ! getting a job. Dr Clements said this situation led to the critical question: Are human rights suf-| ficientlv safeguarded in New Zealand? “After Indonesia was granted independence, die nationalists thought the\ umuld be able to give the people the rights they had

been denied under Dut< > colonialism." he said. Tin had worked for a short whif> but they were soon ignored Dr Clements >aid there was ample legislation available :n New Zealand which would allow the Government to ignore human rights.

“What if New Zealand entered a serious economic I crisis? Would the Government again invoke legislation which is already on the books to handicap troublesome unions, and in the process deny human rights’” he said. “What about the Public Safety Conservation At t, which threatens the individual’s right to express his free opinion if the Government declares a state of emergencv? This was invoked in 1951. “What about certain provisions of the Official Secrets Act, which gives incredible powers to the Security Intelligence Service?

“What about the Industrial Relations Act. which inhibits the freedom of trade unions?" Other speakers w ere Mr < Pere-Ribior, a Chilear refugee who spoke on "pol* cal oppression” there and Brazil; and Father J. Cum<» who described “disregard” ’ human rights in the Phi’ pines.