OBITUARIES
THE PEACEMAKER
& CHRISTIAN PACIFIST SOCIETY
-
Murray Horton
ABC notes with regret the demise of The Peacemaker, the pocket sized
newsletter of the Christian Pacifist Society (CPS). The newsletter was wound up
at the end of 2002, with the announcement that the Society would be following
it into retirement. We exchanged Peace
Researcher with them for a number of years.
This marks the end of an era. The Peacemaker had been in continuous
publication (not always under that name) since 1946. The Society emerged from
the Methodist Bible Class Movement of the 1930s, a movement led by the famous
Christian pacifists, Archie Barrington and the Reverend Ormond Burton. Many of
the young men in the CPS went on to become conscientious objectors (COs) during
the Second World War and paid a heavy price for that – up to 800 “defaulters”
were locked up, often for the duration of the war and beyond, either in one of
the special detention camps built for the purpose, or in prisons. It should be
pointed out that not all of those detained were CPS members or even Christians
– COs covered a wide range of religious and/or political beliefs. They were
persecuted by the military, Police and courts and subject to physical attacks
during the war, and barred from various Government occupations (such as
teaching) for years afterwards.
The CPS has been involved in all peace
activities in New Zealand for the past half century. But death and the age of
its dwindling membership finally caught up with it. The committee shrank to
three – Barry Harkness, who served 20 years, Jack Rogers, nearly 30, and
Richard Thompson, The Peacemaker
editor, who “only” served since 1987. Although the publication is gone, and the
Society is going, these blokes will keep active in the peace movement until
they drop – I’ve spotted at least one of them at marches against the Iraq War.
Gone but not forgotten. There is a
resurgence of interest in the resistance to war exhibited by New Zealand’s COs
during WW2. This was evidenced in the full houses for the Christchurch
performances of Kathleen Gallagher’s powerful 2002 play “Hautu” (the name of
one of the main detention camps, in the central North Island). Speaking as one
who was convicted for refusing military service, in the 1970s, and then
successfully registered as a conscientious objector (but not as a Christian
pacifist), I salute their courage in the much more desperate circumstances they
faced during the central event of the 20th Century, the worst war in
the world’s history. Thanks for the
decades of tireless work for peace, enjoy your well earned retirement.
If
you are interested in New Zealand’s secret history during WW2, I wrote a
lengthy article about all aspects of it (including a detailed account of the
treatment of conscientious objectors) when I was editing Canta, the University of Canterbury Students
Association paper, in 1974. It was one of a series called “It Can’t Happen
Here”, about the secret (i.e. real) history of New Zealand in the first three
quarters of the 20th Century. The relevant article was published in Canta
15, 5/7/74.
If
you would like a copy of that article, send $5 to cover copying and postage.
Make cheques to Peace Researcher, Box
2258, Christchurch.
----------------------------------------
Dr Neil James Cherry, Officer of the
New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), died at home on 17 May 2003 aged 56. He had
been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in November 2001. As with many
leaders, Neil’s controversial opinions about peace, energy, climate change and
the health effects of natural and artificial electromagnetic radiation earned
him both respect and scorn. He was derided as a “snake oil merchant” and a
“charlatan” in the Australian Parliament and ridiculed by academic colleagues
and corporate interests deeply threatened by his compelling and challenging
research. More recently however he received many local, national and
international awards in recognition of his outstanding leadership on a wide
range of issues.
His contribution to the peace and
anti-nuclear movement is less well known. In December 2002 Neil was one of the
recipients of the first eight Christchurch City Peace Awards given to local
groups and individuals. The short citation read: Neil Cherry has been a
tireless worker for peace and disarmament research and education for many
years. In 1985 he founded the Canterbury Branch of Scientists Against Nuclear
Arms and convened the group until 1996. He was an active member of the US-based
Union of Concerned Scientists and “Beyond War”, the Aotearoa/New Zealand Peace
Foundation, Students and Teachers Educating for Peace and the Riccarton Peace
Group. He was a member of the local and national committees of the 1986 United
Nations International Year of Peace and served as the scientific member of the
Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control from 1989-1991. He
was awarded the 1990 Commemorative Medal by the Government, for services to
peace and disarmament research and education. He has also published articles
about the dangers of nuclear power and nuclear winter, and the need for nuclear
disarmament.
In the early 1980s Neil was actively
involved in the Riccarton Peace Group’s campaign to get both the former
Waimairi and Riccarton Borough Councils declared nuclear-free. Because of his
growing media profile and church and academic contacts, he was able to help
convince conservative councillors of the symbolic importance of such zones.
After four attempts Riccarton Borough Council was finally persuaded in 1985 and
became the 100th nuclear free council. This campaign, in the heart
of the only electorate in Christchurch held by National, spurred Neil to
contest the seat for Labour in 1987 and to promote the nuclear free policy as
one of his key planks. Many locals rallied to organise events, such as the
Peace Train from Fendalton to Rangiora with the world-renowned anti-nuclear
activist, Dr Helen Caldicott, as keynote speaker. Although Neil lost by only
211, votes his campaign helped retain the nuclear free policy.
As a member of the first Public
Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), Neil brought
scientific expertise into debates with officials and Ministers on a range of
issues. His academic credibility was vital in the exchanges between PACDAC and
Dr James Hughes – the Head of the US Navy’s Astronomy Division - when he visited the former US Naval
Observatory atop Black Birch Ridge (Marlborough), in 1989, to defend PACDAC’s
challenge that the Naval Observatory contravened the spirit and/or letter of
the Nuclear Free Act. Neil played a key role in preparing questions submitted
by the Minister to independent international experts. During this time Neil and
I worked closely with Bob Leonard and others to ensure that issues raised in Peace Researcher were conveyed through
the Committee to the relevant Ministers. These included the US base at
Harewood; the safety of visits by US vessels carrying nuclear waste from a
leaking nuclear reactor in Antarctica; the role of the French DORIS* beacon;
the establishment of the Waihopai spybase; membership of secret agreements such
as UKUSA and Radford Collins**, and the purchase of the Australian frigates.
Neil took a leading role in the committee in doing the necessary research,
speaking out with authority and conviction, and drafting many of the
resolutions subsequently adopted by the committee.
* DORIS
(Doppler Obitography and Radio Positioning Integrated by Satellite) beacon.
This was a French automatic radio beacon covertly installed in the Chatham
Islands in 1988, for the purposes of determining the position of French
photographic satellites. It was one of an international network of such
beacons. In 1990, the Labour government ordered it removed on the grounds that
it could be used to assist the trajectory of nuclear missiles and was therefore
quite inappropriate in nuclear-free New Zealand. It had been installed by
direct negotiation with Telecom, without consulting the Government. ** The 1951 Radford Collins Agreement, between
the US and Australia, was revised in 1978 to include New Zealand. It was an
agreement for surveillance and tracking of the Soviet Fleet. Each country was
allocated an area of the Indian and/or Pacific Oceans. Ed.
During his illness Neil continued to
work as an Environment Canterbury Councillor, Chair of the board of
wind-turbine pioneers Windflow Technology, and Associate Professor of
Environmental Health at Lincoln University. He chaired meetings from his
wheelchair in his home of local groups concerned about the effects of
electro-magnetic radiation right up until a few weeks before his death. One of
the more poignant moments was when he appeared in his wheelchair before a local
High Court Judge to present his affidavit in support of a nuclear veteran
against the New Zealand Government for exposure to nuclear radiation during Operation Grapple*. He spoke about how,
on average the veterans are dying earlier, and many of their children and
grandchildren have serious health problems consistent with their father or
grandfather being exposed to genotoxic ionising radiation. He cited how the
British government has taken the lead and granted compensation to the veterans
and challenged the New Zealand government to do the same. “Few of the veterans
are still alive, most having died in their fifties. Surely we should use
today's knowledge to say we are sorry that they were ordered to do this and
here is the compensation". * Operation
Grapple. New Zealand military personnel were amongst those deliberately exposed
to radioactive fallout from a series of British atmospheric nuclear tests in
the 1950s and 60s, in the Pacific. Ed.
Neil was a person who cared deeply
about the wellbeing of all humanity – exposing threats and offering solutions. In 1985 he wrote a powerful piece entitled
“Reflections on Peace and Justice – a Personal View”. The excerpt below
describes the elements of his alternative paradigm:
“They are individual to each person but
have a commonality based on the love of the person for themselves, for other
people and for the world, on a commitment to serious study and analysis as a
prerequisite to action, on a commitment to daily action as a creative, non-
threatening, loving (unfearful), wise person. You will know when you are with
such a person because they are informed about local, regional and whole world
issues and trends, they have a conscious, sensible context in which they work
and live, and with them you experience not fear, powerlessness and despair but
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. Do not expect
these people to be perfect and always consistent. They aren’t for they
recognise their own shortcomings but are not guilty about them. Instead they
take responsibility for themselves and strive to overcome their faults as much
as possible. They have a vision of the future and are working towards it. As
they proceed they are continually learning and therefore continually refining
their vision and their strategy. So they are open to new and old ideas but they
will judge them critically and set them against their existing data set and
world-view (which ties all their knowledge together in a consistent way)”.
There are not many who can describe an
alternative paradigm and then fulfil the vision. Neil did just that. He will
remain an inspiration to future generations through his many achievements. For
more information about Neil’s life and copies of his research papers see www.nzine.co.nz and www.neilcherry.com.
The ABC committee extends our deepest
sympathy to our good friend and former colleague, Greg Jones, whose mother, Gwen, died in June 2003, aged 80. She was
diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2002 and Greg gave up his job to spend
several months as her full time caregiver. Greg is a longtime ABC member and
activist, a former committee member and treasurer for several years and a
regular at the Waihopai spybase protests (including being arrested there once).
He is also a leading light in the Catholic Worker group, which is holding the
weekly vigils at the US Air Force base at Christchurch Airport.
------------------------------------
BOB LEONARD
RETIRES AS PR EDITOR
But Stays On As Writer
-
Murray Horton
This issue marks my first solo flight
as editor. Bob Leonard, the founder and editor since 1983, has retired from
that esteemed office. PR has been through
many twists and turns during those 20 years but Bob has always been a constant.
The first series of 34 issues spanned 1983-93 inclusive; the current series
(this is number 27) started in 1994. There have been a number of co-editors –
Keith Burgess, Dennis Small, Warren Thomson, and myself – but Bob has always
been the other half of all of those partnerships. He has set a very high
standard of editorship and he takes the “researcher” part of the title very
seriously, bringing the rigorous standards of a professional scientist to bear
upon it. Not to mention the punctuation pedantry of the practising pedagogue.
Writers (including myself) and layout artists will breathe a sigh of relief
that our sloppiness will now go unpunished, if not unremarked.
Bob is not lost to PR, just to the thankless task of editing it. He continues as a key
writer and several of his articles appear in this issue. And he’s certainly not
retiring from ABC – in fact, he’s never been busier with ABC work than in the
first half of 2003.
This issue also marks the end of an era
for our printing arrangements. From nearly the beginning it has been printed by
Ray Butterfield, who fitted it in around his fulltime job (as a printer), and
who originally took on the job because of his involvement in the nuclear free
movement of the 1980s. Thank you, Ray, for those nearly two decades as our
printer.
----------------------------------