Being a freedom fighter is all very well – but let’s keep our fights to words, Valerie.

Her stance is not really one of being against imperialism, militirism or human rights abuses on principle but just selected examples where certain western countries are involved. That is the only criteria that she had for protesting. If she held a protest at the Chinese embassy against involvement of PetroChina in Sudan the the propping up of the Zimbabwean regime then her interest in human rights would come across as genuine. I think that she’s a fake and a hypocrite for that reason as there is no consistency in her principles. If you think about her statements in the context of what has just happened then she makes no sense or is suffering from acute self-delusion.

“Seeming to stop something from happening in that moment in time doesn’t necessarily stop those things from happening over and over and over again.”

So what do you want to happen, ignore human rights abuses because they are probably going to occur in a future Timor. That is a cynical rationale that Kissinger would have been proud of to justify.

“What we need to do is to perhaps let them sort out their own lives and go from there.”

Hello! Anyone remembering the rioting, killings, anarchy and civil war that broke out recently? Let’s just forget about that since it inconviences our rose tinted views. What the Timorese need is a strong civil society with rule of law and reliable government institutions. Do you think those things appear out of thin air in a devestated country with little capacity or experience to develop them?

Being a New Zealander is more than just being born in Takapuna and living in Wellington for 10 years. Its acknowledging and respecting the importance our culture and traditions of which ANZAC day is an important part. Her protest simply demonstrates her ignorance of what it is to be a New Zealander. Hardly a gutsy move is it?

Now there’s a thought. How about starting a collection to buy her a one-way ticket?