New Zealand suspended three Maori MPs for the Haka protests in Parliament. here’s why

Three Maori MPs of Te Pati Maori have been suspended from the New Zealand Parliament for demonstrating a traditional haka in protest against the bill of controversial treaty principles. The Parliamentary Privilege Committee has recommended a 21-day suspension for the party’s co-leader Raviri Vaity and Debbie Nagareva-packer, and the party’s youngest MP, Hana-Ravati is a seven-day suspension for Mappi-Clarke.The move is being described as a rigorous punishment assigned to elected officials in the legislative history of New Zealand.Haka, which Mappi-Clarke started during the first reading of the bill last November, exploded after being asked whether the party supported the law. In a dramatic moment that went viral globally, Mipi-Clarke also torn a copy of the bill, inspiring the speaker Gerry Brownli to suspend the then for 24 hours. The committee has now ruled that the actions of MPs may have “frightened” other MPs and disrupted the voting process.Committee Chairman and National Party Minister Judith Collins called it a “very serious case”, in which the protest was described as unprecedented in its two decades in Parliament. The report also criticized the Nagreva-packer to mimic the gesture of a gun, which he said that there was a “Viri” instead, a traditional expression contained in the Maori culture. Coalins stressed that the purpose of suspension was to show that such conduct was unacceptable and would be treated with “extremely seriousness”.

Te Pati Maori’s response was fast and prolonged. In a social media post, the party said that the decision was “the worst punishment ever in our history,” saying, “Tangta Kabua protests, colonial powers arrive for maximum punishment.” MP Marymeno Kap-King described the process as “gross unjust, inappropriate and unfair”.The bill of treaty principles was introduced by the Liberterian Act party, which was aimed at re -interpreting the 1840 Treaty of Vatangi – the founder compromise between the Maori tribes and the British Crown. Although it was eventually defeated by 112 votes by 112 votes, it instigated a broad backlash, including a nine-day protest march and demonstrations of thousands of people across the country.While the Labor Party agreed that the actions of MPs were contested, it considered the punishment to be very serious, a suspension of one or two days would have been suggested. The Green Party opposed the sanctions, arguing that they were incompatible and would leave the Peti Maori voters without representing during a major budget session.