'Hacktivist' expats plan cyber sit-in

By AINSLEY THOMSON

A group of Maori living overseas is planning a cyber protest on the Government's foreshore and seabed website to show support for the hikoi.

The group, calling itself the Takutai United Hacktivists Association, or Tuha, is organising a "simultaneous worldwide" electronic sit-in for May 5 - the day the hikoi will reach the Beehive and about the time that Parliament is likely to take a first vote on the Foreshore and Seabed Bill.

The protest has been dubbed Operation Not One More Grain of Sand.

Tuha is sending out emails to gather support and says thousands will take part in the cyber-activism, which could crash the Government server.

The website is run by Ministerial Services, which is part of Internal Affairs.

Spokesman Colin Feslier declined to comment last night.

The office of Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen, the architect of the bill, also declined to comment.

The Tuha website says that human rights and property rights are not safe in New Zealand and that the Government's long-term plan is for Maori rights to disappear.

"We need co-ordinated worldwide action to help raise the awareness of the international community to the Government's racist agenda."

The website includes instructions on how to take part in the cyber sit-in, explaining that people can either go to the Government's page and keep pressing "refresh" or can download a program, provided by Tuha, which will automatically keep refreshing the page.

IT writer Juha Saarinen said it was possible to overload the server using the "denial-of-service" method that Tuha was employing, but it depended on how the Government website was designed.

The Tuha website says the intention of the protest was not to cause the Government website to crash, but rather to show international support for Maori land-owners and the hikoi, and to "give an indication of just how many people around the world strongly object to the impending theft of Maori land".

But Mr Saarinen said Tuha's method would only show that a lot people were requesting data. It would not carry a message.

"It's digital vandalism," he said.

The Tuha website carries messages of support for the hikoi.

"Tu meke. A big shout out to all the whanau from us in China," says one.

"We'll be doing our bit here at the NZ embassy ... kia kaha."

Takutai United Hacktivists Association