New Zealand peacefully celebrated 169 years
of partnership between its indigenous Maori people and white settlers from
Britain Friday with Prime Minister John Key shrugging off a physical attack on
him by two Maori dissidents the previous day as an isolated incident, dpa reported.
A group of Maoris at historic Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, which is regarded as the nation's birthplace, moved to distance their
people from the attack, in which Key was grabbed around the chest and neck but
was unhurt. The group held a large banner reading, "Love and Peace - U R
the Key - so be it."
Maori chiefs signed a treaty with representatives of
Britain's Queen Victoria at Waitangi on February 6, 1840, and the coming
together of the races is commemorated annually as the country's national day
with a public holiday.
Key told a church service at Waitangi that the two men who
attacked him Thursday as he arrived at a Maori meeting house were out of sync
with the mood of the nation, which wanted to celebrate racial unity.
"We give thanks to the fact that our country is still
one of the most amazing places in the world to live, where our oceans are
teeming with fish, where our land is arable and can deliver for our people,
where we see opportunities for all New Zealanders and where we can live in
peace," he told the 1,000-strong congregation.
About 50,000 people were reported to have gathered at
Waitangi, where 20 giant Maori canoes were paddled past the grounds where the
treaty was signed and a navy frigate fired a 21-gun salute.
About 100 people carrying a Maori sovereignty flag staged a
peaceful demonstration to draw attention to the rights of indigenous people,
but there was no sign of rowdy protests that have marred Waitangi Day
celebrations in previous years.
Pita Sharples, minister of Maori affairs and co-leader of the
Maori Party, which supports Key's conservative government, praised past
protestors, saying they did what was needed to draw attention to his people's
rights under the treaty.
But he said the country's near-600,000 Maoris - about 15 per
cent of the population - were now in partnership with the government on a basis
of mutual respect.
"We have a real relationship where we can talk to each
other and listen to each other," he told Television New Zealand. "We
can go forward together."