Peaceful protest - submissions due 7 April

'Inquiry into matters relating to the State visit of the President of China to New Zealand in 1999'

Although this Inquiry relates to the visit of Jiang Zemin, it will cover various aspects of peaceful protest: * assessing whether there are enough protections for peaceful and lawful protest; * assessing whether the powers of government pertaining to the maintenance of public order are appropriate; and * assessing the procedures for the exercise of those powers.

This message is in two parts - 1) a note from Rick Sahar on the importance of making submissions to this Inquiry; 2) the media release from the Subcommittee of the Justice and Electoral Committee with details of what the Inquiry will be covering, who to send your submission to, how to find out more about it etc.

1) As many of you were directly involved in or witnessed the "Talk Tibet Vigil" initiated by Friends of Tibet that was held in Wellington during Jiang Zemin's state visit to Wellington, we are forwarding to you the terms of the inquiry that the Justice and Electoral Subcommittee has called for submissions into the handling of protests during Jiang's visit.

THE CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 7 APRIL 2000

It would be ideal if you could pass the following information onto as many people/groups that were involved in the demonstrations or have an interest in Human Rights as soon as possible. This is a great opportunity for each of us to have a say in the future of peaceful protest in NZ, and we have to act quickly.

Please send your submissions (20 copies of each are required) directly to: Fiona McLean, Subcommittee of the Justice and Electoral Committee Secretariat, Room 10.11, Bowen House, Parliament Buildings, WELLINGTON.

On behalf of the local committee, Rick Sahar

Chairperson, Friends of Tibet Wellington.

2) Media release - Subcommittee of the Justice and Electoral Committee

Inquiry into matters relating to the State visit of the President of China to New Zealand in 1999

The Subcommittee of the Justice and Electoral Committee is inviting public submissions on its inquiry into matters relating to the State visit of the President of China to New Zealand in 1999. The closing date for submissions is 7 April 2000.

The terms of reference for the inquiry are:

To examine the handling of demonstrations held during the State Visit of the President of China to New Zealand in 1999, and the impact of those events on the civil liberties and fundamental rights of New Zealanders. In particular,

• assessing whether there are enough protections for peaceful and lawful protest;
• assessing whether the powers of government pertaining to the maintenance of public order are appropriate; and
• assessing the procedures for the exercise of those powers.

The subcommittee has requested written submissions from certain individuals and organisations relevant to its inquiry. Submitters should note that the making of these specific requests in no way precludes other interested parties from making submissions on the inquiry.

The subcommittee requires 20 copies of each submission.

Those wishing to include any information of a private or personal nature in a submission should first discuss this with the Clerk of the subcommittee, as submissions are usually released to the public by the subcommittee.

Submitters should note that, where any evidence is given that contains an allegation against a person that may seriously damage the reputation of that person, the subcommittee will be obliged to inform that person of the allegation and to give that person a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Those wishing to appear before the subcommittee to speak to their submissions should state this clearly and provide a daytime telephone contact number. For further guidance on making a submission, our publication Making a Submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee can be found on our web site at www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz<

Submissions (20 copies of each) should be addressed as follows:

Fiona McLean
Subcommittee of the Justice and Electoral Committee Secretariat
Room 10.11, Bowen House
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON

Contact for further details:

Janet Mackey (Chairperson) on * (04) 471 9999 or

Fiona McLean on * (04) 04 471 9045 or fiona.mclean@parliament.govt.nz

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