Urewera jurors shown police footage

Surveillance video footage showing people in balaclavas with rifles walking through the Urewera bush has been played to the jurors in the Urewera trial.

The footage, captured by a police operation, was part of the Crown's opening address in the High Court at Auckland today.

One of the videos shows a group of people getting out of a 4WD.

"It is about evacuating a vehicle under fire,'' Crown prosecutor Ross Burns said.

The video shows one man getting out of the car and crouching behind the bonnet with a rifle at his shoulder. Several other people rush out of the car and run out of camera shot.

"In comes the instructor to talk to them further ... It's really hard to see any lawful purpose for that kind of exercise.''

Tame Wairere Iti, Te Rangikaiwhira Kemara, Emily Felicity Bailey and Urs Signer are alleged to have been involved in military-type training camps in the Urewera Ranges.

They have denied charges of belonging to a criminal organisation and possessing guns.

Other videos of the group show people walking through the bush. Some are armed with guns.

"You might wonder why they're hiding [their faces] from each other if they think that what they're doing is lawful,'' Mr Burns said.

He said two police officers, pretending to jog through the area of one of the training camps, found an old stove that had been used for target practice and had had molotov cocktails thrown at it.

Tame Iti was the organiser, the "common thread'', Mr Burns said.

He said the Tuhoe political activist had a Plan A and a Plan B.

"The Plan A on the face of it seems to be negotiation. If negotiation was not successful, he would resort to Plan B and that is what the revolutionary military wing training was for.''

He said an intercepted computer conversation from Iti's computer captured Iti talking to another man about a "revolutionary military wing of Aotearoa''.

"Its not pub talk,'' Mr Burns said.

Another conversation quoted Iti as saying: "We're planning to war if we have to''.

The jury has also been shown Tuhoe Lambert's diary.

Lambert had been charged with the group but has since passed away.

Mr Burns said Lambert had made two trips to Vietnam, had been a trainer with the New Zealand Army and oversaw the military training of the group.

He said the diary showed a planned training camp that included ambushes and sweeping down on targets.

He said the camps were given a code name "rama'' which means 100 eels by torch light.

Mr Burns said the camps were discussed in encrypted code on internet chat sites.

He said police also found training documents which they say are written in Signer's handwriting.

It includes alleged training exercises for attacking a building and ambushing.

He said the map also used the word "urupatu'' which is used to describe the scorched earth policy in the Ureweras in the 1860s. A member of the public gallery cut in: "Yes, by the Crown''.

Lawyers for the defence are expected to deliver their opening arguments this afternoon before the Crown begins calling witnesses.