July 13, 2021
Springbok anniversary tour to spotlight Maori apartheid challenge
Springbok Tour protest leader John Minto says Māori will be an important part of his 40th anniversary tour around the country.
The former Halt All Racist Tours national organiser is holding meetings in each centre the Springboks played on the anniversary of the game.
It’s a chance to celebrate the thousands of New Zealanders who put their bodies on the line to protest racism and apartheid in South Africa.
Among the guest speakers will be protest leaders from 1981, former All Blacks, a former Red Squad inspector, South Africans, and some of the Māori who stood up and demanded change.
"This is very much an issue which brought Māori and Pākehā activists together to challenge not just what was happening in South Africa but to challenge what was happening in this country. It helped deepen the debate about racism in this country because Māori activisits said 'you can't be concerned about racism 6000 miles away and not look at what's happening in your own back yard," Mr Minto says.
The tour will also draw links to the situation in Palestine, where the Israeli occupation has been defined by international and Israeli human rights groups as meeting the definition of apartheid.
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