Pro-S.A. group at Amnesty meeting

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 11

Pro-S.A. group at Amnesty meeting

By

DEBORAH MCPHERSON

Pro-South African Government demonstrators gave organisers of an Amnesty International meeting last evening a few anxious moments. ; : About 13 demonstrators from a group calling itself The Truth About Southern Africa waited outside College House in Waimairi Road for the Minister of Foreign Affairs,; Mr Marshall, who was guest speaker, to arrive. The group is against

sanctions being imposed against South Africa, and believes the anti-apart-heid movement is Com-munist-backed. Mr Marshall arrived an hour late, after his flight from Wellington was decayed by bad weather. Demonstrators silently raised higher placards describing him as a “Marxist puppet." Just before Mr Marshall arrived, some 70 Amnesty supporters waiting inside gathered outside to give a show of support beside the hecklers. .

Instead of a violent exchange, however, demonstrators and Amnesty supporters took the opportunity during the wait to exchange points of view animatedly but not angrily. Most of the demonstrators also attended the meeting, but made ho further interruption; except for an occasional burst of derogatory laughter, and a question during time set aside for questions to Mr Marshall. A petition is being circulated in New Zealand

by Amnesty International to mark the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and the Declaration on Human Rights, to be celebrated on December 10. The petition asks people to reaffirm the declaration.

Mr Marshall announced that a special human rights unit to handle international human rights issues would be set up in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said the unit would handle the whole range of the Govem-

merit’s activities on international human rights abuses.

The unit, which would initially have a staff of two, should be runnng by the end of the year.

The Government also intended introducing legislation which would enable New Zealand to ratify the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984, Mr Marshall said.