Black Power
64.7 هزار بار بازدید -
5 سال پیش
-
During the late 1970s, New
During the late 1970s, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon formed an unlikely alliance with the "Black Power" street gang. This partnership led to the creation of the Piki Mai Trust, which employed members with taxpayer dollars as a reward for the positive changes they claimed to have made. In reality, the gang simply used the money and influence to establish itself as one of the country's largest organised crime groups, while maintaining the brutal practices for which they had become infamous.
Black Power's rise took place with the guidance of two unlikely outsiders. The first was Denis O'Reilly, who had trained for the priesthood before dropping out to join the followers of James K. Baxter. It was through Baxter that O'Reilly met William "Burma Bill" Maung, a veteran of the colonial British army during WWII. Afterwards, Maung had moved to the civil service, managing to keep his job during the initial decolonisation period. By 1967 however, Maung had fled the land of his birth, whose drive to eradicate all vestiges of empire saw it renamed Myanmar.
It could well be that Maung was simply caught up in the fight against colonial influence, that his mixed race heritage made him an obvious target for an authoritarian government keen to forge a new national identity. It could also be that Maung was passing information on to the intelligence services of the British and their American allies. In any case, he did not stick around for the inevitable show trial. Having relocated to New Zealand, Maung served as silent partner to O'Reilly, the public face of Black Power's political operations.
Reflecting Muldoon's own conservatism, the gang developed an ideology of self-reliance. They crafted an image of the necessary evil, that could help Māori pull themselves up by their bootstraps through implementing the kind of values seen as necessary for entry into the middle class. A key part of this, particularly to their public relations efforts, was a supposed ban on rape by gang members.
As a result, Black Power was able to survive the downfall of their patron in 1984. With Muldoon out of office, O'Reilly and Maung would help the gang build on the links they had established during his reign. Along with police officers Jim Furneaux and Wally Haumaha, their contacts included Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples. Having created the Party in the early 2000s along with MP Tariana Turia, Sharples hired Piki Mai boss and President of the Auckland chapter of Black Power, Martin Cooper, as a senior aide.
As a politician, Sharples hired the boss of the Piki Mai Trust and former President of Auckland's Black Power chapter, Martin Cooper, as a senior aide in his electoral office. Early on, this attracted controversy, with Cooper accused of kidnapping a teenager caught defacing party billboards. Police failed to open an investigation into this blatant act of political intimidation, a lack of concern mirrored by the media. Later, in 2010, with Sharples now a cabinet Minister, he and Cooper interfered in the handling of a property owned by the Trust which had been seized by police. Having been slated for destruction, it was instead on-sold, with the new owner extorted for payment by the gang.
Despite the numerous media appearances and paid speeches that O'Reilly has made, Black Power continues to operate in much the same manner as historic enemy the Mongrel Mob. In at least one case, the gang has rented itself out as muscle to apparently legitimate businesses, who used them to threaten former staff into dropping litigation over wage theft. Although the employers were eventually fined a minor sum, the search for the Black Power member who threatened the life of a witness and their child was dropped for an apparent lack of evidence.
Most cynical however, is the gang's continued practice of rape, given that an apparent embrace of consent was the cornerstone of their claims to be reformed. In recent years, there have been at least two convictions of senior figures for sex crimes. One of these is Samuel Utaotao, who appeared alongside O'Reilly and Cooper in the 1990 documentary "Black Power: Fast Forward" as an example of how the gang was working to reform its members.
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Support Plain Sight Productions: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23900461
Black Power's rise took place with the guidance of two unlikely outsiders. The first was Denis O'Reilly, who had trained for the priesthood before dropping out to join the followers of James K. Baxter. It was through Baxter that O'Reilly met William "Burma Bill" Maung, a veteran of the colonial British army during WWII. Afterwards, Maung had moved to the civil service, managing to keep his job during the initial decolonisation period. By 1967 however, Maung had fled the land of his birth, whose drive to eradicate all vestiges of empire saw it renamed Myanmar.
It could well be that Maung was simply caught up in the fight against colonial influence, that his mixed race heritage made him an obvious target for an authoritarian government keen to forge a new national identity. It could also be that Maung was passing information on to the intelligence services of the British and their American allies. In any case, he did not stick around for the inevitable show trial. Having relocated to New Zealand, Maung served as silent partner to O'Reilly, the public face of Black Power's political operations.
Reflecting Muldoon's own conservatism, the gang developed an ideology of self-reliance. They crafted an image of the necessary evil, that could help Māori pull themselves up by their bootstraps through implementing the kind of values seen as necessary for entry into the middle class. A key part of this, particularly to their public relations efforts, was a supposed ban on rape by gang members.
As a result, Black Power was able to survive the downfall of their patron in 1984. With Muldoon out of office, O'Reilly and Maung would help the gang build on the links they had established during his reign. Along with police officers Jim Furneaux and Wally Haumaha, their contacts included Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples. Having created the Party in the early 2000s along with MP Tariana Turia, Sharples hired Piki Mai boss and President of the Auckland chapter of Black Power, Martin Cooper, as a senior aide.
As a politician, Sharples hired the boss of the Piki Mai Trust and former President of Auckland's Black Power chapter, Martin Cooper, as a senior aide in his electoral office. Early on, this attracted controversy, with Cooper accused of kidnapping a teenager caught defacing party billboards. Police failed to open an investigation into this blatant act of political intimidation, a lack of concern mirrored by the media. Later, in 2010, with Sharples now a cabinet Minister, he and Cooper interfered in the handling of a property owned by the Trust which had been seized by police. Having been slated for destruction, it was instead on-sold, with the new owner extorted for payment by the gang.
Despite the numerous media appearances and paid speeches that O'Reilly has made, Black Power continues to operate in much the same manner as historic enemy the Mongrel Mob. In at least one case, the gang has rented itself out as muscle to apparently legitimate businesses, who used them to threaten former staff into dropping litigation over wage theft. Although the employers were eventually fined a minor sum, the search for the Black Power member who threatened the life of a witness and their child was dropped for an apparent lack of evidence.
Most cynical however, is the gang's continued practice of rape, given that an apparent embrace of consent was the cornerstone of their claims to be reformed. In recent years, there have been at least two convictions of senior figures for sex crimes. One of these is Samuel Utaotao, who appeared alongside O'Reilly and Cooper in the 1990 documentary "Black Power: Fast Forward" as an example of how the gang was working to reform its members.
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Support Plain Sight Productions: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23900461
5 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1398/11/07 منتشر شده
است.
64,773
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