Press Release
Press Release
5th April 2007
The Monarchist League of New Zealand condemns the suggestion of the Law Commission to abolish the crime of sedition.
Spokesman Dr Robert Mann said The Monarchist League’s view is that if the West does not uphold its values and protect its institutions from physical and verbal attack, it is paving the way for the proponents of sharia law to have their way with us infidels because Islam is active in promoting its way of life and death in liberal democracies where everything is acceptable.
Even for those who haven’t noticed the threat from fanatical wings of Islam, the crime of sedition has a continuing function in support of the monarch’s relationship with the democratic government – a matter on which Sir Geoffrey has been unduly influenced by his years in the republic of the USA. Sir Geoffrey likens sedition to defamation, which is hardly a true comparison. Civil law is not a good way to handle attacks on the constitution – criminal law is needed.
This is the same Sir Geoffrey who led the abolition of the minor crime ‘criminal libel of the lower bench’. While less important than sedition, this crime also had a role in defending our constitutional monarchy against destructive influences.
Dr Robert Mann
Acting Chairman,
The Monarchist League of New Zealand Inc.