Initial Raids
Roadblocks were set up between Ruatoki and Taneatua by armed police, who searched and questioned everyone who passed through. There were reports that a school bus was stopped and searched, though police superintendent Wally Haumaha said these reports were wrong. The bus driver, however, told a hikoi four days after the raid: "The police did hop on our bus and they did search our bus ... they always held their rifles." The organiser of the hikoi called on the government to acknowledge the incident and do something for the children affected by it. Speaking on Radio New Zealand she asked "I'd like to ask that question why? is it because we're from Ruatoki? Is it because the majority of children are Māori out here?" Police maintained a strong presence in Ruatoki in the days following the initial raids and continued to question locals.
Read more about this topic: 2007 New Zealand Anti-terror Raids
Famous quotes containing the words initial and/or raids:
“For those parents from lower-class and minority communities ... [who] have had minimal experience in negotiating dominant, external institutions or have had negative and hostile contact with social service agencies, their initial approaches to the school are often overwhelming and difficult. Not only does the school feel like an alien environment with incomprehensible norms and structures, but the families often do not feel entitled to make demands or force disagreements.”
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