New Zealand .. Lesson in Politics with Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of "Holy Tattoos"
After New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern caught the world's attention and won international acclaim for her management of the Muslim attacks on Muslims in March 2019, it was the turn of another New Zealand politician to draw international attention and provide the world with lessons on promoting the spirit of negotiation and peaceful coexistence between societies.
In a lengthy report, the British newspaper "The Guardian" sheds light on the story of the rise of New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, known for the traditional tattoo that "adorns" her face, to the realm of domestic politics and the stage of international conflict.
The Guardian said that Nanaia Mahuta's story with politics goes back to her family roots, as she descends from Maori tribes of the indigenous community in New Zealand, and her family and her father had a major role in the fight for the rights of his community, and he was a negotiator representing his tribe in a series of negotiations with the New Zealand government aiming to pay compensation for The mass expropriation of indigenous lands and the atrocities committed during the colonial period, which culminated in the arrival of the first settlement of its kind in New Zealand's history of $ 170 million in exchange for stolen land, with an official apology from the Queen of Britain.
Six months after assuming the position of Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta faces a challenging international political environment characterized by New Zealand's attempt to position itself above the conflict of tensions between China, which it relies on for trade, and its traditional security and diplomatic allies - Australia, Britain and the Five Eyes Intelligence Group, the newspaper said. (It is an intelligence alliance that includes Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand), in addition to bilateral tensions with Australia, the climate change crisis and the repercussions of the Corona pandemic.
The newspaper believes that Nanaia Mahuta is trying to devote a school in international diplomacy based on transferring the experiences of indigenous communities in negotiations to the international diplomatic sphere. The place of New Zealand in the international system: We are not a country that can exercise a lot of power through realpolitik or through military or economic power, but mainly through soft diplomacy.
In turn, Nanaia Mahuta explains to the Guardian that New Zealand can provide a formula that works for many countries. “I think we can present this experience to countries with indigenous peoples - not as a ready-to-implement model, but as a way of thinking about how to achieve self-determination, and by promoting coexistence through The rule is that there is nothing to fear in this field. ”
She adds that this experience also provides a future outlook for addressing international tensions on a larger scale, by strengthening the values of partnership and upholding the importance of negotiation rather than the tendency to settle matters hate in favor of one of the parties, through a model based on 'We win' and not I win or you are winning As dictated by the rules of the Maori community.
The messages of the New Zealand minister’s political presence are not limited to her negotiating abilities, as her insistence on decorating her face with the “Mokuo” tattoo known in Maori traditions highlighted the reality of diversity and coexistence between multi-ethnic societies in this country-island.
According to a report by "CNN", Mokuo tattoos are increasingly prevalent in contemporary New Zealand society, and tattoos often carry great cultural significance for those who wear them, as they tell a visual story that links the indigenous people to their ancestors. The American website adds that this tattoo is considered a sacred Maori society, and sometimes reflects a person's social status or family history.
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