Tense scenes as police block road to jail

Press, 27 February 1981, Page 1

Tense scenes as police block road to jail

PA Auckland A small force of policemen and prison officers from Mount Eden formed a road block in a street leading to the jail yesterday to prevent a big crowd of protesters nearing the prison yard. The 20 or more officers stood behind a single-rope cordon watching as the unionists protesting against the arrests of picketers at Auckland Airport formed a picket line. About 150 .members of several unions, including the Drivers’ Union and the Engineers’ Union, waited peacefully for the arrival of the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr W. J. Knox. ■

. At least one of the .protesters abused the police, and when a middle-aged man ' spoke against the crowd he was insulted and abused.

The man,, who described himself as a Hungarian, told the picketers that the New Zealand population did not support them and those in jail had deserved

to be arrested, as they had broken the law. In spite of being rounded upon, by several unionists, the man stood his ground, saying that he did not want to see New Zealand taken over as his country had been in 1956. A number of picketers abused the man, calling him a “foreigner” and a “scab,” but he replied that he was a New Zealander now and was probably a better one than any of those assembled there.

The man said he hoped the Government would not give in to the unionists because/“they were doing their best to ruin the country.” Another incident almost developed when a passing motorist sounded his car horn, and when abused by the unionists, stopped the car. As he walked towards the crowd, a protester fronted up to him with a dog, but was called away by other protesters.

The man told the protesters they were a “disgrace to the country,” and then-returned to his vehicle. When Mr Knox arrived he was greeted with clapping, and cheering as he went to speak to some of. the imprisoned unionists. He returned about half an hour later, gave a short statement to the protesters about the situation’s being unchanged, and then left for the airport.