One of the Waihopai Three will return to Blenheim this weekend for a planned protest at the government spy base in the Waihopai Valley and he plans to say sorry for the trouble caused.
Teacher Adrian Leason will be one of the speakers at the protest, and he said one of the reasons for being there was to apologise to police and anyone else affected by the actions of the trio.
Mr Leason, Dominican friar Peter Murnane and farmer Sam Land cut electric fences and slashed the dome which belonged to the Government Communications Security Bureau.
They were later acquitted by a jury of burglary and wilful damage after using the "claim of right" defence.
They said they were saving lives in Iraq by disrupting satellite transmissions.
Mr Leason told the Express he took no delight in damaging government property.
"As a Catholic Christian and as a New Zealand state primary school teacher, damaging property is not what I do as a rule.
"I get no sense of pleasure and regret the inconvenience and time-wasting of the good police officers of Blenheim and neighbours and anyone else caught in the peripheral of the event," he said.
New Zealand had good laws which protected private property as well as protecting human rights, but in relation to the spy base one outweighed the other, he said.
"I went through quite a lot of soul-searching and what to do when faced with a moral and ethical dilemma.
"I put my family, career, job and freedom on the line and if doing right means I get in trouble and lose something very precious to me, I'm prepared to stand up and do what's right," he said.
Neither Mr Murnane or Mr Land would be joining him, but "passed on their best wishes" for the protest, he said.
Mr Murnane was working in the Solomon Islands while Mr Land would be unable to travel to Blenheim.
One of the protest themes was raising questions about New Zealand's military involvement in overseas conflicts.
Questions needed to be raised about how much was spent on the military each year in a time of cost cutting and austerity, he said.
The three will be back in the High Court at Wellington in March to appeal against a decision granting the Crown permission to pursue $1,229,289 in damages to the spy base.
- The Marlborough Express
Mike #3,
The government is persuing this because it is unacceptable that I and other taxpayers should have to foot the bill for the vandalism conducted by these three men.
Just because criminal charges were escaped through the somewhat dubious "claim of right" defence doesn't remove a liability for damages which in this case would be remiss of the government not to pursue despite in this case it being rather symbolic.
From all accounts these three don't have two sticks to rub together but there is a process to follow as there rightly should be.
Sorry Mike #3, but its not a case of the law being ineffective because the crown lost, its because the majority of NZ, hell, the real '99%' of NZ, believes the law is wrong and they should have been punished.
Gee... I'm Sorry..
That's Better. Lets all go have a nice cup of tea & group hug now that it's all fixed - Yeah Right!
Agreed with cynic and others. These guys have cynically played the media and the courts, and continue to do so. They can self justify their actions all they want, but without the right security clearances they cannot have any surety they were right; only rumour and hearsay. They could just have easily endangered lives rather than saving them with their actions.
how come the marlborough articles pop up first on most commented? Just wondering.
Sorry but false emotional pleas worked on a gullible jury , but not now. They have no idea how the information was used-----to track hostages or divert a terrorist attack are two possibilities. I really am fed up of the holier than thou brigade who parade their hearts on their sleeves and act out of a belief in their own intellectual superiority, Very odd that remorse has turned up at the same time as the bill . I suppose the usual crowd of supporters will turn up, secure in their sense of self importance !
"I'm a Catholic Christian and a New Zealand state primary school teacher" so it's OK for me to break the law, vandalise property that is not mine and further risk the lives of innocent people half a world away..right? WRONG. What proof exists that damaging this site in anyway whatsoever does more for the people he purports to want to help than to hinder the help they need. Self imposed importance, self will run riot and justified on the basis of religion and employment by the State? Well if the State wants to pay this criminal then let then do so behind bars crushing large rocks by hand. And, let's protest his visiting our relatively peaceful region. The likes of him we do not need.
What a humble fellow. It takes great courage to stand up for what you believe in today. Apathy and ignorance abound such humility is a breath of fresh air
Why is the government still pursuing this? A unanimous jury, who heard all the evidence found them not guilty! This whole idea of chasing them down for costs is simply a vindictive act from the Government as they lost the case... It sends a clear message that the judicial system is only 'effective' when the crown wins. If the Government Communication Security Bureau had nothing to hide they would have fronted at the court case, but instead they cowered up the road in a their ginormous tax payer rout spy building. They should have the bill taken out of their monstrous salaries if they care so deeply about it, after all it was their 'security' that failed, the job they were apparently been paid to do...
He isn't sorry one bit. He still thinks he is right. It annoys me greatly that these type of people think they can act on my behalf for my well being because they have some deeper consciousness or some rot like that.
SIMON WONG
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