Wairarapa Moana scene of UN Special Rapporteur visit
It went under the radar locally.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Cali-Tzay, visited Wairarapa early April to hear directly from the Moana’s customary owners about the Crown’s actions that stopped the the Waitangi Tribunal returning Iwi lands taken in 1949.
Kingi Smiler, Chair of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation, noted it was the first visit by a UN Special Rapporteur to Wairarapa Moana.
“The Special Rapporteur visited our Wairarapa Lakes and was told the story of their gifting to the Crown in 1896 in return for land reserves in the Wairarapa, and the trail of broken promises by the Crown that followed,” Smiler said in a statement afterwards.
The site visit was followed by a hui at Masterton’s Te Rangimarie Marae, with descendants of the customary Māori owners of Wairarapa Moana: Rangitāne o Wairarapa, Ngai Tūmapūhia-a-rangi hapū, Pouākani hapū and Mangatu.
“Our whānau … told the Special Rapporteur that the Crown’s actions in stopping the Waitangi Tribunal return our Pouākani lands was a breach of our human rights, and the Treaty of Waitangi, and (has had a) significant impact on our whanau over the last 160 years.”
“This is not an issue which will simply fade over time. We remain resolute in our pursuit of our lands, for justice and for redress,” he said. … Continue Reading
Recent Comments