Call for Tuhoe apology from police
9 November 2007 A leading Anglican churchman says the police should now apologise to Tuhoe for the October 15 raid on Ruatoki. Hone Kaa from St John's College says the church has been vindicated by the solicitor general's decision to veto terrorism charges against people arrested for involvement in alleged military-style training camps in the Urewera. Last weekend's Maori Anglican Synod denounced the police action, earning a rebuke from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters for rushing to judgment and not upholding the law. But Dr Kaa says the Church was standing up for people dragged into the police net. "Our concern was with the women, children and kaumatua, who were subjected to terror by the forces of the law. They are owed an apology. It’s the heads of the police themselves that have to go and seek that peace that Tuhoe is looking for," he says.
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