NZ police aware of terrorist sympathisers

"Individuals and groups" in New Zealand have sympathies for terrorist acts and organisations, say police.

But Assistant Commissioner Jon White, the head of counter-terrorism, said he could not disclose details of either, or identify which particular organisations or religious affiliations they identified with.

Mr White has previously said security officials are monitoring people in New Zealand.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters this week accused Muslim groups of sheltering fundamentalists in New Zealand, and said traditions of tolerance should not be taken for granted "when we are importing fanatics".

He referred to claims made by Auckland University student Shahin Soltanian that groups promoting violence had been active here. He made the claims on TVNZ's Agenda programme this month.

Mr White told the Weekend Herald yesterday that he could not comment on specific individuals, groups, or their allegiances.

"We are aware of individuals and groups in New Zealand who do sympathise with terrorist acts and groups overseas, but I'm not prepared to go into the detail of that," the assistant commissioner said.

"They are people who are of interest to us and the extent that we are undertaking activity to monitor those individuals and groups is not something I can go into."

Mr White said the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States had been a landmark event for intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

He said New Zealanders could rest assured in the wake of this month's London bombings that security here was being constantly revised.

There was nothing to connect anything in New Zealand with any of the events in London or elsewhere in Britain, he said.

"That is a situation that we continue to monitor."

Mr Soltanian's claims have been dismissed as false by the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand.