Finally, this man has been set free from the claws of the Fist, who would seek to return him to Algeria to face a show trial and certain execution. It is a great injustice that it has taken so long to prove that he is not a security threat.
Whatever you think of Mr. Zaoui, his religion, and his politics - they are not relevant to prevent a man seeking to settle in New Zealand.
Opponents, have stated that the government should intervene, to avoid risking being seen as a "soft touch", "any bloody foreigner bludging off the taxpayer" etc.
Whatever happened to justice and fair process? Those people advocating the aforementioned views obviously only find democracy and liberty convenient as principles when it suits them. I would be ashamed to have their votes if I was a politician. The government has no right to interfere in the legal process of immigration, lest it be accused of racism and favouritism.
Mr. Zaoui was never a threat to this country, and those who say he should go should think about leaving themselves. Your views are far more threatening to NZ's liberal democratic system of government than Mr. Zaoui's - who is an educated man, and a campaigner for democratic change in military ruled Algeria.
By cancelling popular elections it was set to lose in 1990, the Algerian government turned the Islamic Salvation Front from a political party into armed resistance, and greatly contributed to the rise of Islamic extremism in North Africa. Mr. Zaoui is simply an opponent of military dictatorship, and when the effort to oust the illegal regime failed, he decided to seek a new life in NZ, so that he and his family could get on with their lives.
A poll conducted on Stuff.co.nz asked voters whether he should be allowed to stay in New Zealand; the reading at 3pm was 31% for, 66% against. This poll only demonstrates an anti-Islamic xenophobic tendency among a select group of voters, who aspire to government, rather than any hint of illegality. In fact, if a poll was conducted on any random innocent Islamic man, it is likely that this theory will be confirmed. If Mr. Zaoui was a white Zimbabwean farmer, convicted in absentia for attempting to destabilise the government, perhaps a minor official in Ian Smith's apartheid-style regime, how many of those now calling for deportation of Mr. Zaoui would change their tune?
Whatever you think of Mr. Zaoui, his religion, and his politics - they are not relevant to prevent a man seeking to settle in New Zealand.
Opponents, have stated that the government should intervene, to avoid risking being seen as a "soft touch", "any bloody foreigner bludging off the taxpayer" etc.
Whatever happened to justice and fair process? Those people advocating the aforementioned views obviously only find democracy and liberty convenient as principles when it suits them. I would be ashamed to have their votes if I was a politician.
The government has no right to interfere in the legal process of immigration, lest it be accused of racism and favouritism.
Mr. Zaoui was never a threat to this country, and those who say he should go should think about leaving themselves. Your views are far more threatening to NZ's liberal democratic system of government than Mr. Zaoui's - who is an educated man, and a campaigner for democratic change in military ruled Algeria.
By cancelling popular elections it was set to lose in 1990, the Algerian government turned the Islamic Salvation Front from a political party into armed resistance, and greatly contributed to the rise of Islamic extremism in North Africa. Mr. Zaoui is simply an opponent of military dictatorship, and when the effort to oust the illegal regime failed, he decided to seek a new life in NZ, so that he and his family could get on with their lives.
A poll conducted on Stuff.co.nz asked voters whether he should be allowed to stay in New Zealand; the reading at 3pm was 31% for, 66% against. This poll only demonstrates an anti-Islamic xenophobic tendency among a select group of voters, who aspire to government, rather than any hint of illegality. In fact, if a poll was conducted on any random innocent Islamic man, it is likely that this theory will be confirmed. If Mr. Zaoui was a white Zimbabwean farmer, convicted in absentia for attempting to destabilise the government, perhaps a minor official in Ian Smith's apartheid-style regime, how many of those now calling for deportation of Mr. Zaoui would change their tune?