ANKARA

New Zealand on Monday observed the first anniversary of its government's formal apology over Dawn Raids, racist raids on Pacific people in the 1970s.

In a statement, Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio said a major event will be held on Aug. 27 in Auckland.

Pacific leaders and communities will congregate at the Orakei Marae in Auckland to not only commemorate the Dawn Raids, but also to strengthen kinship ties, Sio said.

“The concept for the celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Dawn Raids Apology is an opportunity to reflect, celebrate and look to the future through an open and transparent cultural celebratory platform,” he added.

Last August, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologized to Pacific communities impacted by the raids, crackdown from 1973 to 1979, and then sporadically afterward, on alleged illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands.

“Pacific peoples, Maori and other ethnic communities were specifically targeted and racially profiled during the Dawn Raids, which was wrong and should have never happened," the minister said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid