David Farrar: How is Waititi’s hero going?

In July Te Pati Maori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said that Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traoré was his modern day hero. I thought it would be timely to check in and see how his hero is going.

Al Jazeera reports:

Burkina Faso’s military-led government has issued a decree dissolving all political parties that had already been forced to suspend activities after a coup four years ago.

This is justified on the grounds that multiple parties is bad for social cohesion. I’m sure Waititi would love to be able to do the same to parties he views as bad for social cohesion.

Human Rights Watch also touches on some other highlights from Waititi’s hero:

• In September, the junta passed a law making consensual same-sex relations a criminal offense punishable by two to five years in prison and fines.

• In July, the junta passed a law abolishing the Independent National Electoral Commission

• the Burkinabè military and VDPs have committed grave abuses, including the killing and unlawful forced displacement of civilians

• The junta has cracked down on political opposition, the media, and dissent, and used a sweeping emergency law to silence and unlawfully conscript critics, journalists, and civil society activists.

The amazing thing is no journalist in NZ has asked Waititi how he reconciles all this, with his statement that Traoré is his hero.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders