‘Aotearoa’: Calls for New Zealand to change its name
ISTANBUL (AA) – In a bid to restore the country’s indigenous name, a New Zealand political party is calling on parliament to change the country’s name to Aotearoa.
The party has also called for officially restoring the Indigenous Te Reo Maori names to all towns and cities. The Maori are the Indigenous peoples living on main island of New Zealand, and Te Reo is their language.
“It’s well past time that Te Reo Maori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country. We are a Polynesian country – we are Aotearoa,” said a petition launched by Te Paati Maori party.
Aotearoa is the current Maori-language name for New Zealand.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy because of its past as a colony of Britain, with Queen Elizabeth II as the current crown holder.
The Maori party first entered the New Zealand parliament in 2004 and has two seats out of 120 in the unicameral legislature.
The Maori Party believes it is “born of the dreams and aspirations of tangata whenua (native people) to achieve mana motuhake (self-determination) within their own land; to speak with a strong, independent and united voice; and to live according to kaupapa (principles) handed down by our ancestors.”
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