Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against a conservative attempt to amend the country’s foundational treaty on Tuesday, and booming Indigenous Maori “haka” shouts could be heard throughout the city.
According to police, around 35,000 protesters flooded into Wellington, a city by the sea. They blocked busy streets as their energetic procession made its way slowly to parliament.
Horse riders brandishing the red, white, and black Maori flag joined bare-chested men wrapped in traditional feather cloaks.
Children marched with adults with ceremonial wooden swords and sporting characteristic full-face Maori “moko” tattoos.
“The vibe is beautiful. People of all walks are here to support. It is peaceful and respectful,” participant Nick Stewart told AFP.
After a minor party in the conservative coalition government draughted a bill to alter the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, protests have been growing around New Zealand.
Despite the bill’s slim chances of passing, its unveiling has sparked one of the biggest rallies in New Zealand’s history.
Many detractors, including some of the most reputable lawyers in New Zealand, believe it is an attempt to deny the 900,000 Maori people in the country their long-agreed rights.
“We stand here gathered in our tens of thousands on the steps of parliament to protest this bill for our mokopuna,” said Stewart, using a Maori word for future generations.
Crowds gathered on the lawns outside New Zealand’s beehive-shaped parliament building, playing reggae music and giving speeches that urged the government to come out and face them.
“It’s not the best way to have a conversation. We will not accept unilateral change to a treaty that involves two parties,” said Ngira Simmonds, a key advisor to New Zealand’s Maori queen.
“There is a better way,” he told AFP from Wellington.
Many demonstrators arrived in Wellington after a nine-day “hikoi” — or protest march — that began hundreds of kilometres away at New Zealand’s northern tip.
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