ISTANBUL

The Indigenous Maori people of New Zealand boycotted ministers at New Zealand’s National Day, or Waitangi Day, on Wednesday, according to Radio New Zealand.

Waitangi Day commemorates the first signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on Feb. 6, 1840. The treaty establishes and guides the relationship between the New Zealand government and the Indigenous population.

While there was a lot of anticipation for large-scale protests at Waitangi, the turnout was much smaller than expected. Last year 42,000 people protested the coalition government’s policies but this year, there were approximately 100 people to protest instead of the thousands expected.

The cause may have been the Treaty Principles Bill that suggests a change to the original Treaty of Waitangi that will end in a few months. Critics called it a tool to “oppress iwi Māori" because the Luxon National Party-led government has indicated it wants policies to scale back the Maori language and Maori-specific public services, and to change the effect of the treaty on the country’s legal system.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, was not allowed to address those gathered in the northlands despite previous arrangements. She gave her speech to the media afterward.

Many who wanted to communicate their discontent with the government were upset by organizers’ efforts leading up to Waitangi Day.

David Seymour, leader of the coalition government participant ACT party, had his microphone taken twice by Ngātiwai leader Aperahama Edwards during his address.

The protests also included demonstrators turning their backs and jeering.

New Zealand First Minister Shane Jones, referring to the speeches as a "circus," said future government funding for the Waitangi National Trust should be withheld unless they " buck their ideas up," according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper. Davidson called it an “abuse of power.”

The Maori are the native Polynesian people of New Zealand. They constitute one-fifth of the country’s population of 5 million.