As I was having breakfast in my Christchurch suburban dining room on Monday morning, I heard a loud but indeterminate noise.

I actually thought it was a quake, but as there was no shaking, I assumed it came from the noisy construction site two doors away. So, I ignored it and carried on reading the newspaper over breakfast.

I then had a sense that somebody was nearby. Upon looking up I was surprised (to put it very mildly) to see two cops, with rifles at the ready, peering through the windows on the back door.

I thought: “This is exciting. Why spend good money to see Muru [a new movie based on the 2007 Tūhoe police raids] when you can get it delivered to your doorstep, free of charge” (but these cops didn’t have the ninja uniforms as seen in the movie).

I opened the door. Two cops with rifles rapidly became four cops with rifles facing me (the next door neighbour later told me he saw three cop cars in the street). It’s worth noting that although they all had a gun, none of them was wearing a mask.

“Can I help you?,” I asked. The one in charge said they were looking for Mr So and So. I replied that I’d never heard of him and they had the wrong address.

But wait, there’s more. The cop then said: “Mr So and So is a gang member. He was bailed to this address, he is under curfew at this address, and now he’s wanted.”

Don’t know any gang members
I reiterated that I’d never heard of this fellow, let alone provided him with a bail address (I don’t know any gang members. Well, not since I worked at the Railways decades ago).

I said that Mr Gangster had pulled a shrewdy on the judge, and voluntarily showed the cop written proof of my ID and ownership of the property (the power bill was the closest document to hand). I told them that I had owned and occupied this house for 40 years and had never heard of the fellow throughout that time.

It was all very chatty and polite. The cops could obviously see that their wanted man had pulled a swifty, plus I am a property-owning old Pākehā. They didn’t point their guns at me, nor did they ask to come inside (and I didn’t invite them). They took my word that my sleeping wife was the only other person in the house.

I asked if they were responsible for the loud noise I’d heard, and they said that was them pounding on the front door (plus the bedroom window, apparently). I told them that there also been pounding on the front door and bedroom window after dark on the previous Friday night, which I’d chosen to ignore (assuming it to be somebody at the wrong address).

The cop said it was probably police doing a bail curfew check.

The lead cop wrote a statement in his notebook and asked me to sign it, saying that I’d owned and occupied the place for 40 years, did not know the fellow they were seeking, and had not given him permission to use it as a bail address. Then they left.

Throughout the decades I’ve had plenty of cops on various doorsteps. But never with weapons, let alone weapons drawn. The only times I’ve been confronted by men in uniforms with rifles have been in places like the Philippines and Belfast.

Here’s the punchline. One of the cops said: “As I was coming up the drive, I was thinking, ‘this doesn’t look like a gang house’.” When it comes time to sell here, I must remember to instruct the real estate agent to highlight that as its unique selling point.

A flying start to the week.

Murray Horton is a political activist, advocate and researcher. He is organiser of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) and he has been an advocate of a range of progressive causes for the past five decades. Horton occasionally contributes articles for Asia Pacific Report.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Royson Willie and Kizzy Kalsakau in Port Vila

Vanuatu’s Supreme Court has asked the police and immigration to release Fijian citizen Mohammed Rizwan and to substantiate the claim that he is a wanted man in Fiji.

Rizwan’s lawyer, Frederick Loughman, confirmed that yesterday’s conference in chambers saw the court directing for the relevant documentation from Fiji to be made available by June 12.

After the documents are submitted to the court as ordered by the court on Wednesday, then the matter would be listed for trial.

READ MORE: Contempt application filed in Vanuatu over attempt to deport Fijian

An application for contempt would be heard after this matter is heard.

One of the grounds for the application for contempt was that the agents of the government did not provide any formal legal instrument from the government of Fiji to substantiate their new grounds for deportation or the claim that Rizwan is a wanted man in Fiji.

-Partners-

Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat said the Immigration Act section 53 said the minister could carry out the removal of non-citizen without notice if the person was a wanted person in another country.

“That’s basically what we’re following,” Napuat said.

“We’re following what the law says.”

Discharged from hospital
The minister said Rizwan was discharged from hospital on Wednesday evening but there was another application to the Magistrate Court by the Acting Director of Immigration for Rizwan to be detained because he was allegedly a wanted person in Fiji.

The minister confirmed that Rizwan has a valid residence visa.

“He’s entitled to live in Vila but we don’t have a copy of his police clearance ever since he arrived.

“That’s something that we’re still investigating.

“We need that to come and other supporting documents from Fiji about his cases and that the Fijian authorities want him in Fiji so they can settle outstanding matters they have against him,” the minister alleged.

The minister said Rizwan’s detention and supervision after being discharged from the hospital was done by immigration officers.

“We don’t have any personal issues with the foreigners we’re dealing with.

‘Implementing the law’
“We’re just basically implementing the law, which has not been implemented in the past or may have been relaxed in the past.

“The funny thing though is when we are trying to implement the law and safeguard the interest, the sovereignty of Vanuatu and their nation there are some people that don’t see the logic behind the work the government is doing.

“Even if they are lawyers or politicians, they need to ask themselves, what do they want for this country?

“That’s the most important thing.

“Do they want this country to be a home for criminals, illegal immigrants, overstayers, those that do not have the appropriate papers to come into the country and work here?

“I believe that money should not be the factor that will drive the citizens of the country to do what they want to do.

“They need to look higher into seeing their country, their future, the future of the people, their children.

“It’s sad to see that when the government is trying to do things according to law and trying to protect the sovereignty and interest of the people, some people don’t see that as important,” the Internal Affairs Minister said.

The lawyer representing Rizwan had said his interest was to see that the law was adhered to at all times, even if it was a deportation carried out by the government, it must be done within the confines of Vanuatu laws.

The Pacific Media Centre has a content sharing arrangement with the Vanuatu Daily Post.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz