Protesting the GCSB + TICS Bills

On the 27th of July, 2013 at 2pm there will be a nation wide protest taking place against the GCSB and TICS bills.

A Coalition of Concerned Citizens will also be meeting here in Palmerston North (the Square) in solidarity with the rest of the country.

Spokesperson Laia Asieo Odo said "We the people need to stand up for our right to privacy. These rights should not be traded off to foreign governments at the whim of politicians"

The GCSB, an intelligence agency that was established to protect New Zealand citizens from external threats, is surrounded by scandal, including an improper process leading to the appointment of its director, an inglorious saga surrounding the arrest of Kim Dotcom and associates, and accusations that the agency has been illegally spying on New Zealanders.

"The track record of Spy agencies in this country is not good. Powers have been used often illegally. In the past the people who have been most brought under the gaze of the spying agencies have been Māori or other people involved in any sort of critical work, whether they are protesting against fracking and drilling for oil in conservation land or whatever"

"Under the proposed legislation the GCSB would be transformed from a foreign intelligence agency into one that spies on New Zealand citizens and residents."

"One must seriously question the embarrassing keenness John Key makes to open the private lives of New Zealanders to foreign governments, in particular the US and the other Five Eyes governments"

Laia Asieo Odo continued "Politicians court our votes but rely on our apathy and mute compliance to pursue their own agendas, invariably these days the agendas of the elites. - these things are not consistent with democracy"

More info:

Dissecting the GCSB
http://www.3news.co.nz/Dissecting-the-GCSB-bill/tabid/367/articleID/304523/Default.aspx

Dame Anne Salmond: A warning to New Zealanders keep hold of democracy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10897497

Protesting the GCSB + TICS Bills: Nationwide!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1397960757085992/

Click for big version.

ENDS

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