New Delhi, May 15 -- A New Zealand parliamentary committee has recommended suspending three Māori Members of Parliament for performing a protest haka during a parliamentary sitting last year. The haka, a traditional Māori group dance, was initiated by opposition MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke after she was asked whether her party supported a controversial bill aimed at redefining the country's founding treaty, the Treaty of Waitangi. The bill, which sought to alter the interpretation of this historic agreement, was overwhelmingly voted down last month.

The committee ruled that the haka could have "intimidated" other lawmakers, recommending a one-week suspension for Maipi-Clarke and a 21-day suspension for Te Pāti Māori ...