BY SUSAN PRICE & VIV MILEY
One of those detained by authorities after the June 8 raid on the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Conference in Jakarta was Auckland city councillor Maire Leadbeater — prompting a statement from New Zealand foreign minister Phil Goff following her release seeking a formal explanation from the Indonesian government for the police action.
"I am concerned by allegations that local Indonesian people attending the conference were assaulted and if this was the case want to know what action will be taken against those responsible", Goff said in the June 11 statement.
"I have asked their embassy for a full report on the events of the past weekend and will be asking the Indonesian government formally for an explanation and justification of their actions."
The New Zealand Greens' foreign affairs spokesperson Keith Locke, who is Leadbeater's brother, was critical of Goff's failure to register a political protest until after Leadbeater's release.
"If a New Zealand delegate to an Asian Development Bank meeting had been treated in this way I am sure there would have been an immediate protest", he said. "Because Maire was at a conference critical of corporate globalisation, she hasn't had the same political backing."
Nevertheless, Goff's statement contrasts with the silence to date by Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer.