Maori TV provides Mass Media Platform for terror

Press Release

Chinese New Zealanders in Wellington and various community groups will be holding a protest on Parliament grounds Friday 21 August at 12:30pm to voice their objections to Maori Television’s planned broadcast of Uygur separatist Rebiya Kadeer’s documentary “the 10 conditions of love”

This protest has been organised by Lily Li of the Wellington New Chinese Friendship Associations (WNCFA) and seeks an audience with the Minister of Maori Affaires and the Minister of Finance as representatives of the Crown; a key stakeholder in Maori Television.

In broadcasting Kadeer’s documentary and interview Maori Television is effectively providing a mass media platform for terrorist and separatist ideals. Not only is this occurring but Maori Television makes no attempt to put Kadeer’s film in context of the current situation in XinJiang, China, where Kadeer has instigated violent riots in Urumqi (5/7/09) in her attempts to create her East Turkistan nation. Nor have they made any valuable attempts to present the other side of this contentious issue.

Maori Television’s broadcast will be in breach of the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards, which stipulates in Standard 4 and Standard 5 of its “Free to air TV code”:

When discussing controversial issues of public importance in news, current affairs or factual programmes, broadcasters should make reasonable efforts, or give reasonable opportunities, to present significant points of view either in the same programme or in other programmes within the period of current interest.

AND

Broadcasters should make reasonable efforts to ensure that news, current affairs and factual programming:
• is accurate in relation to all material points of fact and/or
• does not mislead.

New Zealand is also a multicultural society encompassing many cultures and people of many different ethnic back grounds. In a recent press release by Maori Television, Kadeer stated:

“If there was a message she thought Maori could learn from the Uyghur situation, it was the need to fight for independence and autonomy” (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0908/S00229.htm)

These comments and others in the Australian media are blatant attacks on ethnic harmony in New Zealand and many of the principals of the Treaty of Waitangi. The protest also seeks an audience with the Minister of Ethnic affairs to provide assurances that a repeat of the tragedies in Urumqi on July 5th this year has no place in New Zealand.

Permission to protest on Parliament grounds has been granted by the Speaker of the House and the Ministers concerned have been notified.

ENDS

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