Blame on radicals

Press, 23 June 1978, Page 4

Blame on radicals

PA Auckland Left-wing pake.ha radi- ) cals did not give Bastion Point defence spokesmen a chance to sneak, in the opinion of a Bastion Point ) protest leader, Mr Jack Ranieka. Mr Ranieka said a defence committee had been set up to defend about 150 ! of those charged at Bastion Point on May 25. Spokesmen were appointed and it had been agreed they would ask the Magistrate either to discharge the defendants or have all the charges heard together. “Because of the people causing the disruption they did not get the opportun-

ity to do that,” said Mr Rameka. He himself wanted to make a legal point in relation to a Supreme Court hearing but could not because of the din. He said the disruptive elements were Left-wing pakehas he had not seen during the occupation of Bastion Point. Some of the Left-wingers were genuine supporters of the protest movement but others were not, he said. They initiated hakas, for example, when everyone should have been quiet. “It was quite a hassle. Inside the Court people were banging on the wall. It made it very hard for

the Magistrate,” Mr Ranieka said. “But,” he said, “you can’t stop people from jumping on the bandwaggon.” Mr Rameka described the disruptive people as “professionals, Left-wingers ) you know who have been around since the Vietnam days.”