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Tu Tangata, Issue 21, 1 December 1984, Page 52

Maoris are news in the Netherlands, at least according to a Dutch magazine International Recht.

In the July issue, the Treaty of Waitangi is looked at. The article presents a balanced viewpoint, if somewhat dry, and follows through to the 1978 occupation of Bastion Point.

The article also mentions a forum used in 1980 in Rotterdam to advance understanding amongst native peoples, a Fourth Russell Tribunal at which a Colin Clark spoke about the Maori people.

Possibly the Dutch interest in Maori and New Zealand comes from their fellow countryman, Abel fansoon Tasman who sighted this country in 1642. Perhaps they feel a sense of responsibility for the aftermath of the colonization of this country.

All that aside, the information presented at the Fourth Russell Tribunal, which incidentally was looking at the rights of the Indians of North and Latin America, is factually presented.

No doubt the Maori people suffered more or less the same fate as other colonized countries, it’s just that reading about it in a translation from the Dutch, makes the reader aware that there is more binding cultures together than there is gained from holding onto hurts of the past.