By Alex
Corlett
A little
more than a week ago news broadcaster TV3 allocated less than two minutes of screen
time to the Benny Wenda story. The story was an expose of a West Papuan Freedom
Fighter who was barred from speaking in New Zealand’s Parliament by Foreign
Affairs Minister Murray McCully.
Most viewers
did not blink an eye when seeing this story. Wenda gained political asylum in
the United Kingdom in 2003. It prevented him from being trialed in Indonesia,
avoiding a likely death sentence for preaching pro-freedom political messages
in his native country. As a result of these events, Wenda has been deemed
credible as a freedom activist all over the globe. Parliament in the United
Kingdom is one of the many stages his messages has been welcomed. Why is he not
welcome in New Zealand Parliament? New Zealand topped the most recent global
freedom listings which featured categories such as “freedom of movement and
legal discrimination”. One would assume speaking on freedom in our nations
parliament would be a great way to model freedom to rest of the world. Wenda
was after all imprisoned and tortured for publicly speaking out about the
importance of freedom.
One has to
ask: Are there more sinister motives for the honourable Murray McCullay denying
Wenda the right to speak? Well there are; the National Government is caught in
a situation where they are forced to play favourites. With Indonesia being a billion-dollar trading
partner for New Zealand and the agenda of the current Government being about
“balancing the books,” Wenda isn't going to get an opportunity to speak, unless
he buys his way in. The cliché quote “money talks” sums up the core value this
Government wishes to bestow upon the future generation of this country.
Such a
course of thought leaves me thinking. We hold an election every three years
with the intention that those elected into power will uphold the best interests
of our country. Very few people would deny the fact at this point in time that at
this point in time the majority of the country trusts the financial decisions
of the incumbent Government. We constantly hear phrases like our “Prime Minister
is a millionaire, so he must know what he’s doing”. For now our country can rest safe from
politicians whose only financial strategy is the printing press. At a time
where a recovering economy seems like a top priority, does the Benny Wenda saga
have something to teach the people New Zealand?
Over the
last year there have been disturbing events which should be of concern to New
Zealand citizens who value freedom. The well publicised Dotcom fiasco is just
one of these. The millionaire tycoon’s house was raided in joint operations
between New Zealand Police and U.S. Federal Departments. Dotcom was unlawfully
spied on, his assets were seized and he was detained, even though a year later,
there is no conviction. New Zealand’s Minister of Spying (GCSB) Prime Minister
John Key was unapologetic and was not held accountable for the invasion of a
Residents privacy and allowing U.S. agents onto New Zealand soil and private
property in an operation that was clearly illegal.
Benny Wenda
was turned away from New Zealand’s Parliament at the expense of financial gain.
His visit to New Zealand highlights that the world leader in freedom may have
some dirty laundry of its own. With a General election next year, will voters
be after a wardrobe that emphasises value for money or one that values freedom
of choice.
1 comment:
whilst i do sympathise with the points made in this post, It needs to be understood that foreign affairs is a murkey place to be. A balancing act has to be played that weighs the idealistic perspective up with the more pragmatic. Lets be a realistic his speaking in the UK is unlikely to do much to the trade of the UK as they are predomiantely occupied with the US, China and the EU. Also you have to realise we arent the heavy weight hitting nation that one of these nations is, as a predominantly exporting economy we need to try and keep our trade partners onside pariticulalry those in the ASEAN spheres. The US has a similar tight rope to walk with Taiwan. It cant formally recognise it because of the importance of trade and commerce with Beijing, but they have to weigh that against the so called liberties of a seemingly independent democratic nation.
Whilst I want him to be able to say what he wants to say, I personally agree with the decision for him to be denied the opportunity to speak before parliament. Our relations with Jakarta are important and it is Important that we keep them intact. We by all means should try and use constructive methods to put pressure on Jakarta to redress the issues that Ben has, however in my opinion antagonism is not a good method. This is one of those things that looks terrible but is sort of necessary.
Post a Comment