Focus Question 3: Which human right/s is this issue violating?
A major Human Right that this issue was indirectly violating was Human Right Number two; don’t discriminate. A the time the blacks in South Africa were being discriminated against based on their skin colour. Many aspects of life were segregated in South Africa, such as bus stops, hospitals, ambulances and blood transfusions. The fact that New Zealand held a rugby tour for South Africa meant that it looked like New Zealand supported Apartheid, though this was not the case. From this New Zealand was affected in many ways, not just from the protests that happened but it also left New Zealand more divided in a way it had never been before.
The Springbok Tour also violated Human Right Number three: The Right to Life. We all have the right to life and to live in freedom and safety. The people of New Zealand were not able to live in safety due to this tour. Many people were injured and as Pete Carrington, a former member of the blue squad said, ‘it was sheer luck nobody died’. Not only were ordinary members of the public harmed, but police too. After the game in Hamilton 29-year-old Constable Dennis Rastovich was left with one collar bone fractured and another dislocated as well as a fence picket driven into his cheek. After the vent he said, “My hands were lifeless at my sides. My collar bones were gone. I had been spun around against a fence and had a door smashed edgewise into my back. Then bricks rained on me, tearing my back muscles. That’s when two fellows ran at me and drove a fence picket through my face. It came up under my visor.” There were extremes of violence happening around the country and this was un-heard of in New Zealand. There was a large division in Aotearoa that caused many people to lose their basic human right of being able to live safely.
The Springbok Tour also violated Human Right Number three: The Right to Life. We all have the right to life and to live in freedom and safety. The people of New Zealand were not able to live in safety due to this tour. Many people were injured and as Pete Carrington, a former member of the blue squad said, ‘it was sheer luck nobody died’. Not only were ordinary members of the public harmed, but police too. After the game in Hamilton 29-year-old Constable Dennis Rastovich was left with one collar bone fractured and another dislocated as well as a fence picket driven into his cheek. After the vent he said, “My hands were lifeless at my sides. My collar bones were gone. I had been spun around against a fence and had a door smashed edgewise into my back. Then bricks rained on me, tearing my back muscles. That’s when two fellows ran at me and drove a fence picket through my face. It came up under my visor.” There were extremes of violence happening around the country and this was un-heard of in New Zealand. There was a large division in Aotearoa that caused many people to lose their basic human right of being able to live safely.