Three groups of protesters from the No Pride In Prisons trans rights activist group briefly delayed tonight's Auckland Pride Parade with a sit-down action blocking the parade's progress. Pic: Watchmanz Two groups of four and six protesters sat down on Ponsonby Road to each side of the VIP viewing stand. After some discussion they were allowed use of a microphone to explain to the spectators their action was to protest the Pride Parade organisers' decision to allow the Police and Department of Corrections to march in the parade. Pic: Reece Hallum The inclusion of Corrections in particular became contentious when a much smaller number of protesters from the same group broke into last year's parade protesting poor treatment of transgender prisoners by police and Corrections. The protesters, who had initially gathered in much larger numbers of several hundred for a protest rally on nearby Karangahape Road, moved to the parade route end point at Western Park where they were confronted by upwards of fifty on-duty police officers. Around 35 protesters in three smaller groups managed to break through the police and security line to stage the sit-down protest. One group left willingly, the other groups - including one of around 25 protesters - had to be herded off the road by police. The police presence remained strong for the remainder of the parade with several lines of officers blocking the remaining protesters on both sides of the road until the parade finished. The protesters continued chanting slogans such as "The Police are violent, we won't be silent," and "Stand up, fight back." In a statement issued to coincide with the protest No Pride In Prisons says “this year alone, No Pride in Prisons has heard from multiple transgender prisoners who have been either raped or brutally attacked while in Corrections’ custody.” Additionally, they say “Corrections has introduced and massively expanded double-bunking policies despite advice that doing so would put prisoners at greater risk of physical and sexual assault. These policies have directly led to the rape of trans women and others.” The protest action delayed the Pride Parade by around twenty minutes, with all floats stopping along the route as far back as the Three Lamps start point. Although the statement issued by NPIP on their website says the Parade had to be diverted this was not the case. At one stage the police helicopter flew overhead during the protest. Although some punches may have been thrown it appears there were no injuries and no arrests have been reported.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News
First published: Saturday, 20th February 2016 - 8:50pm