Far from the French rugby match

INTERNATIONAL – Fifteen men in black sticking out their tongues, striking their thighs and their chests while singing, with a warlike air. THE “so”which means “ dancer » in the Maori language, is an essential moment of every rugby match in the All Blacksand will be again, this Saturday, November 16, during France – New Zealand at the Stade de France. But in recent days, in the face of a contested bill, this dance, which has become ceremonial, is resuming its original meaning, namely that of a battle song aimed at intimidating adversaries.

Tension has indeed been rising in New Zealand since the minority ACT party, belonging to the right-wing government coalition, proposed a law to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi. This founding text, signed almost 200 years ago between British settlers and more than 500 Maori chiefs, still governs the legislation of the two large Pacific islands today, as we explain to you in the video at the top of the article.

A haka in Parliament that ignited the powder

At the origin of this text, the leader of the Liberal Party David Seymour, part of whose ancestry is Maori. He wants the Treaty of Waitangi to apply to all New Zealanders, not just Maori, so that all “ Kiwis » enjoy the same rights and privileges. Except that critics of the bill claim that such a development would have the effect of dismantling programs, particularly education, intended for Maori citizens.

Anger took a new turn on Thursday, when New Zealand Maori Party MPs interrupted a parliamentary session with a haka, aiming to oppose the bill which risks worsening race relations. As you can see in our video belowMP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke sang the famous traditional song as she tore up the draft text. She was then imitated by her colleagues, forcing the Speaker of the House of Representatives to suspend the debates.

The scene sparked anger among the country's indigenous population, who make up about 20 percent of New Zealand's 5.3 million people.

A week-long march to Parliament

A major march crossing the North Island and punctuated by demonstrations began Monday, November 11, from Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand. But it was especially on Thursday that the protests took on an impressive scale. Around 10,000 people marched in Rotorua, a town where nearly 30% of the inhabitants are Maori, around 450 km north of the capital Wellington, New Zealand police said in a press release, cited by NBC News. The protesters, some wearing traditional clothing, were greeted by hundreds of people waving the Maori flag and chanting slogans.

The protests are far from over, the “national march » continues this weekend and demonstrators are due to arrive in front of Parliament in Wellington on Monday.

If the bill has very little chance of succeeding, because almost all the opposition parties are opposed to it, it is nevertheless an illustration of the fear of the Maoris of seeing their rights unraveled since the taking office of the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, a conservative from the New Zealand National Party.

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