Thousands of demonstrators in New Zealand are protesting the new government's policies towards indigenous Māori communities.
The new center-right coalition government in Wellington plans to limit the use of Māori language, review affirmative action policies, and reassess how the country's founding document—the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840—is interpreted in modern legislation.
The treaty was a 19th-century agreement between the British monarchy and about 540 Māori rangatira, or chiefs.
It pledged the protection of Māori land and established British law in New Zealand.
The government wants to wind back policies that acknowledge Māori as New Zealand’s first people and atone for the wrongs of European colonization.
There are also plans to scrap a dedicated indigenous health authority. Māori represent about 16.5 percent of the national population of around 5 million. They suffer high rates of poverty, and more than 50 percent of prison inmates are Māori, according to official figures.
The protesters believe the new government has a “racist” agenda that’s an “assault” on indigenous rights.
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