1 A Maori protester bared his tattooed buttocks while others spat at Queen Elizabeth II's representative and the prime minister Monday at a ceremony for the 155th anniversary of a treaty between indigenous tribes and British colonists.
2 A crowd of about 500 angry Maoris also booed and jeered Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard and Prime Minister Jim Bolger, who were not harmed, police said.
3 Police scuffled with demonstrators who raised a rebel flag of Maori independence and stomped on a New Zealand flag. No arrests were reported.
4 Other anniversary events were cancelled after Maori leaders warned they could not guaranteee the safety of government officials.
5 Earlier arsonists tried to set fire to a historic wooden building where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.
6 The treaty is commemorated annually on Feb. 6 at Waitangi, a village in New Zealand's north.
7 Police said it was the rowdiest observance since the 150th anniversary in 1990 when Maoris bared their buttocks at Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who is also New Zealand's head of state. The act known as 'whakapohane' is regarded as a gross insult in Maori tradition.
8 Leaders of Monday's protest said they were angry about a government plan to settle forever outstanding land claims by tribes, some of which date back to the treaty.
9 Under the proposal the government will give Maori people 1 billion dollars (dlrs U.S. 633 million) compensation for land taken by settlers in breach of the historic agreement.
10 'We accuse you of the rape and theft of all lands and resources in Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand),' Matiu Tarawa, one tribal leader said in a speech to Bolger during the ceremony.
11 In reply Bolger said he would 'honor the treaty in a way it has never been honored before.'
12 Police said unknown arsonists tried to set fire to the Waitangi Treaty House in the early morning hours before the ceremony. Naval sentries guarding the building extinguished the flames at its rear before major damage was done.
13 Tribal leaders condemned the attack as 'major lawbreaking, not political action.'
14 'We don't need anyone burning down buildings to express our grievances,' said Matiu Rata, a former Cabinet minister who leads the Muriwhenua tribe.
15 The treaty gave Britain sovereignty over New Zealand. Maoris agreed to sell some land in return for protection of their tribal land rights and traditions.
16 However, this was soon ignored by land hungry settlers which led to warfare between the two races last century.
17 Although successive governments in recent years have tried to address past wrongs, some modern day Maoris argue that the treaty has never been implemented properly.

Earlier arsonists tried to set fire to a historic wooden building where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 .
set fire
Why were they trying to set fire to the building?