CHRISTCHURCH A “PEACE CITY”?

Should Christchurch be declared a “Peace City”? This proposal was put forward back in April 2002 with backing from more than 20 groups and individuals.

The proposal is now moving through due process at the City Council. Here is a backgrounder from a recent City document:

“At its May meeting the Strategy and Finance Committee received a deputation from the Peace Foundation and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom requesting that Christchurch be declared a Peace City and proposing a number of initiatives (both short and long term) that the Council might wish to initiate to give meaning and commitment to such a declaration. Since then the Peace Foundation has also made a submission on the Draft Annual Plan requesting financial support to establish a full time position to contribute to its peace promotion work.”

ABC received a letter from The Peace Foundation asking for our support. We do indeed support this goal, but we have a problem with it as expressed here in Murray Horton’s letter to city councillor Alistair James:

10 May 2002

Councillor Alistair James

Chair, Strategy and Finance Committee

Christchurch City Council

Box 237

Christchurch

Dear Councillor James,

The Anti-Bases Campaign entirely supports the worthy goal of the City Council declaring Christchurch a “Peace City” and maintaining its leading position in New Zealand on all matters associated with peace.

However, there is a rather large problem standing in the way of this worthy goal and it constitutes the core issue of our campaign – namely that, since the 1950s, Christchurch has hosted an American military base, the only city in Australasia to do so, a base that hosts regular US military flights covered by exactly the same “neither confirm nor deny” policy that has seen US Navy ships excluded from New Zealand for nearly 20 years, a base that constitutes a glaring loophole in the fabric of both “nuclear free” New Zealand and “nuclear free” Christchurch.

I refer you to our Website www.converge.org.nz/abc (See Other Bases page).

For Christchurch to truly become a Peace City, Christchurch International Airport needs to be demilitarised. That is a matter not only for the Christchurch City Council but also for the New Zealand government.

We urge the Council to adopt such a policy.

Yours sincerely,

Murray Horton

for ABC