Vineyard of the Saker on anti-TPPA protest

A major article.

KIWIS COME OUT TO EXERCISE THAT THING CALLED FREEDOM

BY MOHSIN SIDDIQUI

Vineyard of the Saker Oceania,

5 February, 2016

Today was a good day to be out and about in Auckland. A bouquet of human values was on display that is usually confined to that, overtly distorted, place called ‘personal space’ in this ever shrinking public space.

The protests in Auckland were anticipated by the vast majority of the population in this truly unique Island in the Pacific. There is an almost electrifying blend of people from all walks of life who came out to voice their dissent.

The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) was signed despite the opposition of the majority of the population. It does not ,however, surprise as precisely such an outcome was predicted at last week’s Auckland Town Hall meeting. The intent of the protesters was more to do with the assertion of their right to dissent and to mark a start to their struggle as renowned New Zealand journalist and film maker Bryan Bruce noted.

"Queen Street, Auckland, NZ

Signing the TPPA is merely symbolic and no matter what the state propaganda machine regurgitates (from PR coaches), the truth is that the majority of a nation cannot be silenced. And as such, a piece of paper is meaningless. The people do not want the TPPA and they will not allow for it to steal their right to life,dignity and freedom.

The Establishment should simply give up pushing through a corporate takeover of sovereign Aotearoa. What is the point? Do they never expect to interact with the common man? Do they really think human spirit can be crushed by politics of fear,lies,intimidation and injustice?

Last night the Auckland Transport Authority ‘mysteriously’ announced that buses will not be running from 09:00am to 03:00pm. That just happened to coincide with the peak commute time for protesters from around Auckland.

This is Aotearoa and its people cannot be dominated by corporations:

To their credit the people were 100% peaceful with their protest and civil disobedience. Men, women, children and the elderly marched in solidarity cheerful,hopeful and dignified as their rights were being signed away at a casino. 

The government decided to sign a fundamentally undemocratic treaty in the one place they could.

The policemen kept the peace and somewhere in their stares into the abyss one could see them struggling to contain their own outrage at this farce. Most policemen were calm,friendly and jovial.

"We were not meant to be enslaved” – singer by the police car

One police man,however, dragged a protesting woman, blocking the motorway ramp,  by the hair.

People are on the edge for a lot of reasons these days. Primarily because they are truly on their own. Every single ‘right’ is a paid privilege and as such many are finding themselves on the other side of the so-called ‘wealth gap’ (read: class system) with the global economy in meltdown.

People have a right, by birth & not granted to them by the state, to stand up and protest as they wish when their life is being taken from them.

Impressive creativity on display with the civil disobedience activists locking down the city in a rotating fashion.

Just because life is not taken instantly, but instead over time does not mean it is worth any less.We are being annihilated in slow motion via poisoned food sources, waterways, abuse physically,mentally and emotionally via a failed capitalist model that delivers to the few at the expense of the many.

So, if someone wishes to get up and protest to this injustice then kudos to them for being awake.

There are some things that a capitalist monetized model simply cannot put a price on.

This is followed by some audio material which can be heard in the original article