KEY POINTS:
Police today said they were "disturbed" by Auckland University Students' Association offering $5,000 to anyone who can carry out a citizen's arrest of Condoleezza Rice.
District Commander Superintendent Brett England said anyone who attempts to cross police lines during the US Secretary of State's visit to Auckland at the weekend will be stopped.
He said: "The consequences of such a security threat could be very serious indeed.
"We are obliged to ensure the safety and security of the visiting guest and we will not shirk from that task.
"Operational planning for this visit has been in the making for several months and there are highly effective security measures in place, so I would strongly advise the association representatives who've put this challenge out, to withdraw it immediately so as to avoid being caught up in something much bigger than they may have anticipated."
The students' association was today lodging a formal complaint with police over the impending visit of Dr Rice, who will meet Prime Minister Helen Clark, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Opposition leader John Key.
The visit, her first trip to New Zealand, follows a meeting of the Asean Regional Forum this week in Singapore.
Yesterday, AUSA offered a $5000 reward to any Auckland University student who made a successful citizen's arrest of Dr Rice during her visit.
AUSA president David Do said the arrest would be for her role in "overseeing the illegal invasion and continued occupation" of Iraq.
"While we still hope an Auckland University student might be able to make a successful citizen's arrest of Rice, we are also pursuing official channels available to us to have this war criminal arrested," Mr Do said.
"Student associations in New Zealand have a long history of being involved in fighting for global justice, dating back to student involvement in the 1981 anti-Springbok tour protests and the US war in Indochina in the 1960s and 1970s.
"By opposing Rice's visit and seeking her arrest we seek to continue that proud tradition."
AUSA international affairs officer Omar Hamed said Dr Rice's involvement in the war in Iraq was a crime under the Geneva Conventions Act 1958, and the Crimes of Torture Act 1989, and the association would ask police to arrest and prosecute her under this legislation.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA
