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December 02, 2019
Parihaka principles drive OMV oil protesters
Waatea Team
Posted On December 2, 2019
A Greenpeace organiser says non-violent civil disobedience inspired by Māori struggles has proved to be the only effective counter to big oil in this country.
Activists are converging on New Plymouth to stage a three-day climate uprising outside the offices of OMV, the Austrian company that is the last major multinational deep sea oil company still operating in New Zealand after years of protests.
The protesters include Austrian activist Magdalena Bischof who last week was among 30 activists who chained themselves to an OMV supply vessel in Timaru.
Niamh O'Flynn says Māori involvement is critical to the protest.
"Our group of activists here are staying out at Parihaka and we've really taken that kaupapa of non-violent civil disobedience that has such a strong history and such deep roots in the indigenous movement here and we're bringing that with us into this movement so I would say it is essential and a core part of that work and everything we do is building from that," she says.
A Māori delegation has also been to Austria to ask OMV to surrender its exploration permits.
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