Group cancels march plans

Press, 14 January 1986, Page 4

Group cancels march plans

PA Auckland Kotahitanga, the Maori independence organisation, has called off its march on Waitangi this year, said a spokeswoman, Mrs Maxine Ngata, yesterday. Instead Kotahitanga would talk with Tai Tokerau elders at Waitangi’s National Marae about the Treaty of Waitangi, Mrs Ngata said.

Representatives would be sent to join protest action in Wellington where the official Waitangi Day celebration would be held on February 6, she said. At a Kotahitanga hui at the week-end, Auckland and Northland Kotahitanga members decided to unify Maoridom against the

treaty through a hui at Waitangi. “Kotahitanga is not just here to shout at the people,” Mrs Ngata said. “We’re here to unify people because through unity we will become strong.” It was the first time the march had been cancelled since the group formed about 10 years ago, she said. The Northland members would help Waitangi elders forget the stormy past and prepare to welcome protesters. Last year, members of Kotahitanga (which means unity of the people) hurled smoke canisters, flares and abuse at Waitangi Day celebration officials, including the then Governor-General, Sir David Beattie.