The Red Squad, the Labour Party, and the election

I’ve just read The Red Squad Story by Ross Meurant, who commanded the Red Squad during the Springbok tour of NZ in 1981. The book is basically Meurant’s defence of the actions of the Red Squad and other riot police during the tour.

I think that Helen Clark is emulating Meurant’s command style. Like Meurant, she issues orders to her troops via a megaphone, and regular commands are given to maintain order in the ranks. On her orders the troops charge in formation, imposing their will on the population with a combination of psychological warfare and brute force. Non-compliant members of the population, such as those accused of flicking their children on the ear, are detained by the troops. Henceforth the Labour Party shall be known as the Red Squad.

I am amazed that 20 or 40 police could charge a crowd of hundreds and impose their will upon them: if the crowd had been organised and courageous they could have mounted a counter-charge and annihilated the police. Your opportunity to participate in an organised counter-charge against the Red Squad comes on election day.

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An extremely biased article on the Springbok tour can be found here.