The Green's Golriz Ghahraman thinks that some people are more entitled to speak in New Zealand than others.

SOME WEEKS AGO I pointed out that those who opposed two Canadian 'alt right' activists from speaking at a public event in Auckland would have no legitimate right to complain if there came a time when a left wing activist was under threat of being prevented from addressing a public meeting. That time has arrived quickly.

The National Party's decision to oppose whistleblower Chelsea Manning being allowed into New Zealand has seen the very same people who opposed Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux speaking in New Zealand rush to the defence of Chelsea Manning's right to fulfill two speaking engagements in Wellington and Auckland.

One such person has been the Green Party's foreign affairs spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman. She has commented that Manning "always acted for the good of the people and democracy" and had paid a high price for leaking classified material to Wikileaks. Ghahraman is aggrieved that attempts are being made to silence Manning  "for the rest of her life, to be unable to travel and talk about why she did what she did."

Ghahraman, of course, strenously opposed Southern and Molyneux fulfilling their speaking engagement. And, as a Green Party MP, she is presently supporting the Electoral Integrity Bill which, if passed, will significantly hinder the ability of MP's from saying anything  that the party leader doesn't agree with.

Ghahraman clearly has a very flexible view of what freedom of speech is all about. While she continues to harbour an unhealthy urge to shut out opinions she can't tolerate, she shouldn't be surprised that she should be  charged with being a hypocrite when she defends Chelsea Manning's right to speak just because she happens to agree with Manning's political views.

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