February 24, 2014
Mahaki seeks mandate
Gisborne iwi Te Aitanga a Mahaki is putting the price of settling its historic claims at $120 million.
Te Aitanga a Mahaki Trust is seeking a mandate from its 6000 beneficiaries to negotiate the claim, after earlier attempts were inconclusive.
It says the Waitangi Tribunal’s 2004 report described the Turanga claims being significantly worse than Taranaki and Waikato, because 43 percent of Turanga men were killed in the war by the Crown, including over 100 Turanga prisoners illegally executed at Ngatapa, which is in Te Aitanga a Mahaki’s tribal area.
A quarter of the adult population was imprisoned on the Chatham Islands.
Negotiator Willie Te Aho says if direct negotiations can’t achieve the desired result, the iwi has the option of asking the Waitangi Tribunal to order the compulsory return of part of the Mangatu forest plus compensation.
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