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The New Zealand National Front is a small far-right political party in New Zealand.
History
The New Zealand National Front was founded by Brian Thompson of Ashburton (who had earlier been the New Zealand secretary for the League of Empire Loyalists) in 1968, although its operation was erratic. In 1989, an organisation called the Conservative Front, led by Anton Foljambe, took over the name. Foljambe resigned as leader in 1997, establishing a new organisation called the National Democrats. Later, Kyle Chapman became leader and Foljambe returned. Since then, the NF has achieved considerably greater public recognition.
The National Front describes itself as "the leading organisation in New Zealand concerned with the preservation and advancement of unique New Zealand European culture." and considers itself to be "patriotic and nationalistic". The party's policy platform is primarily based around militarist and anti-immigrant themes, and often incorporates elements of survivalism.
The current leader of the New Zealand National Front is Kyle Chapman who is alleged to have a record of violence, including the arson of a marae. Chapman, however, says that allegations against him are greatly exaggerated, and that he renounces the use of violence. Chapman has previously been involved with skinhead gangs, and still maintains links with them today, most notably the Hammerskins. In 2004, Kyle Chapman unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty of Christchurch, placing fifth with 1.9 percent of the public vote.
The secretary of the NZNF is Kerry Bolton. Bolton is known for his leadership in the occult, including satanic groups such as the Temple of Set, the Black Order, and the Order of the Left Hand Path. He is also active as a writer, as the owner of the Renaissance Press, and as publisher of The Nexus and other periodicals. Mr Bolton was also "national spokesman" for the political party called the Fascist Union back in the early 90's.
In 2004, the NZNF began the process of registering as an official political party, (see political parties in New Zealand for more information). To register, a party must have 500 paid members who are eligible to vote. As yet, it is unclear whether it will gain registration. Unregistered parties may still nominate candidates for individual parliamentary seats.
On April 18 2005, the National Front was allocated $10,000 by the NZ electoral commission to fund election campaigning. The National Front was also allocated 30 seconds of primetime TV advertising.
Policies
Policies of the National Front include:
- Preservation of NZ-European heritage.
- Tightening of immigration laws.
- Rejection of immigrants or refugees who are not ethnically and culturally European.
- Distancing New Zealand from the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
- Abolition of the Treaty of Waitangi.
- Reintroduction of capital punishment, and harsher penalties for offenders.
- Reintroduction of conscription.
- Relaxation of gun control, thereby allowing "men to defend their families".
- Elimination of Political Correctness
- Creation of a National Bank
- Withdrawal from international trade
- Return to farm-based economy
- Opposition to abortion, but support for state-supported child care
- Re-constitution of the "White Commonwealth of Nations".
- Keeping the current flag of New Zealand
Support
The National Front received some public support in 2004, as shown by the nearly 2% vote for the NZNF's leader, Kyle Chapman, in a mayoral election. Public support for the National Front's nationalist ideals mostly originates from the white working class community, as well as several conservative and religious groups. Currently, the party claims to have over 500 members, some of whom plan to run in regional elections.
The NZNF is an affiliate of the White Pride Coalition Australia, Patriotic Youth League, and the Australia First Party (AFP). Beginning in late 2004, the NZNF and Kyle Chapman, working with Jim Saleam of the AFP, have helped to organize an Australian National Front (ANF) party. With NZNF administrative and propaganda support, the ANF has established branches in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne in 2005.
Activities
In 2004 the NZNF conducted a protest against Asian influence and immigration in Christchurch city, and other public meeting & pickets nationwide. At a planned "Anti-ZOG" (Zionist Occupied Government) event in the nation's capital on August 14, 2004 the Front was able to get ten picketers to protest an anti-racism meeting.
Recent demonstrations by the National Front include:
- Waitangi Day
- Wellington and Auckland held demonstrations concerning the Waitangi Treaty, demanding equal rights for all New Zealanders. They publicised the Littlewood Treaty, the English Language version of Treaty of Waitangi, which clearly states that both peoples would be equal. Both demonstrations were free from serious incidents.
- Protests against Free Trade Agreement with China
- Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch branches held protests against the free trade deal with China, reminding fellow NZers of the factories being closed down and moved there.
- Protest Against Parliamentarians for Global Action World Law Conference
- Ten activists attended the protest on the steps of parliament, complete with several NZ flags and a large sign reading “Stop PGA Treason!”, and placards saying “PGA MPs? whose interests do they serve?”, and “Resist PGA MPs Treason”.
On October 23, 2004 the National Front led a protest in Wellington in support of retaining the current New Zealand Flag, which was attended by an estimated 45 persons. . The march was opposed by the Anti-Nationalist group, MultiCultural Aotearoa, who led an 300-person anti-racism march near Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During the separate protests, a "radical, anarchist, punk-rocker type group" numbering about 200 persons, described by police as a "rent-a-protest crowd", surrounded and attacked the National Front and one National Front member (pictured right) was hurt. During the scuffles, one National Front member were quoted as stating that "The white revolution starts here and now."
According to the "New Zealand Herald", the following day Kyle Chapman complained of "insufficient police protection" against the anti-racist protestors . Kyle Chapman also mentioned the lack of arrests, claiming the police ignored the violence created by the radical left-wing aggressors, some of whom carried weapons.
In mid 2004, a number of attacks on immigrants and attacks on Jewish property and grave stones were blamed on skinheads allegedly associated with the Front. The NZNF has denied all claims of involvement relating to the attacks on Jewish gravestones and property. One arrest was made but charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence. After police indicated that they had no further evidence and no leads, British historian of World War Two David Irving offered a US$1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. He later increased the reward to $5,000 and it totaled $10,000 with contributions from others. Irving, whose holocaust denial was the subject of the famous libel case David Irving v Penguin & Lipstadt, implied that the cemetery owners were responsible for the desecration in order to collect the insurance. At the behest of the small Jewish community, the government of New Zealand refused entry to Irving later that year.
The NZNF operates a website to promote the party. It lists party policies, has a few free downloads of flyers, and links to an affilited forum and other affiliated groups. It also offers for sale T-shirts, hats, and books on topics of interest to NZNF members, some written by Kerry Bolton. Among the flyers for sale are those titled: "Abortion is genocide", "Zionism is Racist", "NZ Workers sacrificed to coolie labour", and "Family – Folk – Nation". The list of books for sale includes, The Kosher Connection: Drugs, Israel, Gangsters & Zionism, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, We of the white Race – the Coming New Reformation, Madison Grant's The Passing of the Great Race, Lothrop Stoddard's Rising Tide of Colour, and Adam: the First white Man.
Criticism & opposition
The National Front is accused by some of being a fascist or neo-Nazi group, and has previously had problems with police. One member was videotaped in 2003 saying, "I'm a nazi, and I'm fucking proud of it too."
The NZNF website and an affiliated web forum, NZpolitics, have been hacked repeatedly. Perhaps the first attack was made in late 2004 by a hacker claiming affiliation with the BlackMask. The hackers justify their actions by claiming that the National Front is a fascist, racist organisation , The National Front has also been the subject of attention from the weblog community. The Australian DARP blog's coverage of NZNF activities led to the formation of FightDemBack (FDB), which specifically focuses on the NZNF and related groups. FDB uses a campaign of intimidation in an attempt to silence National Front members, including posting names, photographs and addresses of National Front members and their supporters on the internet.
External links
- Official website
- Interview With New Zealand National Front members Questions posed by Jim Saleam of the Australia First Party, answers written by Kyle Chapman, Anton Foljambe & Kerry Bolton. February 28, 2005
- Press release:National Front Thwarted in Wellington Illustrated account of June 8, 2004 demonstration, from counter-demonstrators, "Wellington Activists Against Racism".
- NZ National Front Responds to Anarchist PR A reply to the above press release, from Kerry Bolton.
- Scoop Images: National Front's Bad Day In Wellington Photos of October 23, 2004 demonstrations.
- Scoop Images: Fairies Against Fascism Vs National Front More of the same.
- Fight Dem Back, a blog covering the NZNF and related groups
- stuff.co.nz National Front's Anzac plans upset vets on 24 April, 2005
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