Tapsell: Racial attacks to stop

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 1

Tapsell: Racial attacks to stop

By staff reporters and NZPA

The Minister of Police, Mr Tapsell, has called on the Timaru police to stamp out Ku Klux Klan-style racial harassment which forced a family to flee their Timaru flat.

A Fijian Indian man, his New Zealand wife and their daughter, aged 10, fled the inner city flat after just a week. During that time stones were thrown on their roof, windows were broken, they were abused, given Nazi-style salutes and a cross was burned within sight of their home.

The couple, who asked that their family not be identified, said they were convinced the attac/: were racially motivated. Mr Tapsell said the attacks were -acist acts of the most sinister kind.

“There is no question at all that there is a group of young thugs in Timaru who have been carrying out this sort of racist attack and racist intimidation of people. "This is not the first time it has happened down there. I’m very disappointed that it should have happened in Timaru. "I have asked the police to keep a close eye on it and take the strictest possible action to stamp it out.” Mr Tapsell said the people involved were cunning and cowardly, and he was disgusted by their behaviour.

The family moved into the flat late in June.

They said that during the second night there, stones were thrown on the roof. The next night a big cross was burned in the garden of a house across the road where skinheads live.

The couple said the burning cross made it clear they were the intended target of shouts and Nazi salutes which became a nightly occurrence. The most frightening incident occurred when the woman was putting her daughter to bed. "There was a terrible crashing sound and we found that they

had broken all five windows,” she said.

The family praised the police, but said no prosecutions had been taken because of identification problems. The attacks had all occurred during the evening and the family saw people running off. “They all look the same — boots, black clothes, and short hair,” the woman said. The family decided they should move after the windows were broken. “By that stage we knew we would have to move and we did,” she said. The husband, who has lived in New Zealand for 18 years, said, “We have a daughter and also two young relatives staying with us and I just couldn’t be there 24 hours a day.” A Timaru police' spokesman said late last evening that two incidents were investigated. On June 26 a one-metre high cross had been burned in the front yard of an address near the family’s home. Two days later windows in their flat had been broken.

“The people in the house were not able to identify the offenders at the time. Some people were spoken to by the police, but without the identification required, unfortunately, no charges could be laid.” A member of the Indian community in Christchurch said last evening that not enough was being done to help the family. Mr Edward Kumar said 20 members of the Christchurch Indian community were considering going to Timaru to offer support to the family. “If we have to go down there to help, we will go,” he said.

He said he believed there were about 25 in the group harassing the family.