Thread by @nonplasticmaori

What police want from whānau at #Ihumatao and what to actually give them - A Thread.

The number one approach of police at Ihumātao is psychological right now and there are tactics they are using that are taken directly from other playbooks.

Whānau are doing an amazing job at Ihumātao of maintaining the honourable stand of passive resistance.

Here is what Police want from Ihumātao supporters:

1. They want "an incident" that they can base a response upon. To these ends they will try and:

- wear you down through sleep deprivation/keeping you constantly on edge.
- switch between good cop/bad cop/paramilitary cop to keep you unsure of who you are dealing with & what they might do
- use the cloak of nighttime to provoke ppl bc that's when we are more wary

2. They want a negative image of you to inflate the sense of danger & get a competitive advantage in the media that they can then use to justify their own escalation. To these ends they will:
- Use images of you in masks, this is particularly helpful as they can then mask up too.

- Use footage of you swearing, abusing them, or talking about your desire to do anything violent or abusive.
- Target the most easily triggered and provoked to try and provoke them again.
- Use images of those who have a history of violence or warrants

3. They want to divide you & destabilize the movement internally. To these ends they will:
- Release media that suggests there are splits in the ranks (hau kaenga vs outsiders, peaceful vs non-peaceful etc) & try and get people to take ideological stands against each other.

- Use infiltrators to sow seeds of distrust and division
Infiltrators can be spotted because they will somehow have "lots of contacts" in the resistance world that they will namedrop but they themselves will not be a familiar figure in the resistance movements.

Police are most likely to take action at nighttime because that is when there are less people on site, it's when lawyers and human rights observers are less likely to be around, it's when cameras can catch less footage, and it's when people are tired and instinctually wary.

Here's some ways you might respond to the above tactics:

- Respect the very well thought out and honorable position that S.O.U.L. have taken of passive resistance, waipiro kore, para kore and tarutaru kore (no booze, no mess, no drugs)

- Minimise the work and stress for people like Pania and Davina who are doing great work at keeping people peaceful and light on the frontline - listen to them and support/amplify their messaging to keep the whānau united and on kaupapa.

- If you have a warrant or police record for any violent incident please consider helping out in the kitchen or something rather than the aukati line.
- Don't mask up
- Keep the aukati lines refreshed, rested, fed, and warm so they can stay light.

- Be mindful of newcomers who try to center themselves and make best friends with everyone by being overly flattering. If you're unsure - google stalk/fb stalk them to see if they have a LONG history of resistance work.

@AmnestyNZ @NZHumanRights @HumanRightsLawA please organise weach other to ensure there is nighttime presence.
Preserve the great work being done whanau, & continue to deny the police what they want, don't play their game. You're doing an amazing job.

Kia tau tonu te rangimārie x