Mana leader Hone Harawira says Prime Minister John Key has deliberately set the stage for protest at Waitangi.
The former Te Taitokerau MP, who joined today’s march against the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement in Auckland, said that protest now moved back to the north.
But news media reports said tonight Prime Minister Key had pulled out of his Waitangi schedule, but denied he was “running scared”.
He said he would not attend after failing to get a response from Te Tii Marae at Waitangi to his queries over an attempt to prevent him making a political speech.
Television One News tonight quoted him saying: “”I can’t go and I won’t go to Waitangi with a gagging order on me, especially when elders are encouraging acts of violence.”
Radio Waatea reports Harawira had said the TPPA was a treaty between governments and corporates and the citizens of the 12 countries involved have been ignored and kept in the dark.
“The Prime Minister seems happy to not only sign it but to sign it two days before the Treaty of Waitangi Day and then … expect to get a pat on the back for it.
“No, I think he’s asking for trouble. I think he’s created a flashpoint and I think he needs to answer for his actions, ” said Harawira.
Before the cancellation, the Prime Minister had been due to be welcomed on Te Tii Marae in Waitangi tomorrow morning, after the arrival of the hikoi.
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