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dove picturePMA newsletter - May 1999


 

Peace Movement Aotearoa

PO Box 9314, Wellington.

Tel (04) 382 8129, fax (04) 382 8173,

email pma@apc.org.nz

This newsletter is sponsored by WILPF(Aotearoa)

wilpf dove


News from the office
Women in Black
The APEC bandwagon...
The 1999 Roger Award
GE/GM foods,US threats
SIS saga continues
East Timor - Update
Bougainville - progress?
Bombing is not a solution
NATO bombing - what you can do
Stop killing the people of Iraq
News from groups
Thanks!
Joy of lobbying
20 years of protest action 1979 - 1999 - Te Kawariki
What's on where



News from the office

Busy does not even begin to describe our workload over the past few months! There has been a veritable feast of speakers touring the country - Murray Horton, Bishop Carlos Belo, and Michel Chossudovsky to name but three; and a number of events marking commemorative and celebratory days including Waitangi Day, International Women's Day, and Tibet Uprising Day.

There were the preparations for the Hague Appeal for Peace conference, our efforts ensured the attendance of speakers from Aotearoa on the colonialism and globalisation panels - old and new threats to peace. Then there were the Alternatives to APEC meetings and events in Wellington, and later Christchurch.

February passed in a blur as we supplied information and advice for submissions on the SIS and Arms Amendment Bills; we circulated alerts on, for example, the increasing violence in East Timor, new reports on the French nuclear test sites, and updates on the two Amendment bills.

March began with PMA's Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day statement (we heard later it had been read out in New York at the United Nations to mark the day!); we circulated 19 alerts on the deteriorating situation in East Timor, on Bougainville and Iraq, submissions on food irradiation and more ... then just as we began preparing this newsletter, NATO started bombing Yugoslavia.

During April our work has been dominated by the NATO bombing - since our first alert went out within hours of the bombing starting, we have been inundated with enquiries and information from here and around the world. While trying to cope with this huge and sudden increase in our workload, we also circulated 21 alerts during April on East Timor, Bougainville, submissions on the World Trade Organisation, the SIS Amendment Bill no 2 and other topics of concern.

At the moment, we have a considerable backlog of work - apologies if you have been waiting for a reply to a letter or email, there are simply not enough hours in the day to respond promptly. If you all would like to dig deeply in your pockets and fund another worker here, that would be a very very nice thing !

We are grateful for the valued assistance of our volunteer workers: Hine, Catherine, Bhamini, Saori, Victor, Lilian, Heather, Chris G and Barney; and the recently departed Hannah (to paid work) and Sankar (to study and child care).

link to Photograph of Women in Black
Women in Black, Wellington, 29 March 1999 - click on image to see fullsize photograph

Around seventy women, from more than ten countries, sing 'I am a witness to your war crimes' outside the US embassy in Wellington. We are singing in solidarity with women around the world who protest war, atrocity and bloodshed wherever it is found.

We are singing to the NATO governments, to the New Zealand government who supports the NATO bombing, to all governments who are guilty of crimes against humanity and to all who support their bloody work.

We are singing for a future :

  • where conflict will be resolved by peaceful means;

  • where existing peace processes are properly used to end for all time the atrocity that is war;

  • where the human and financial resources so obscenely wasted in preparing for and waging war are used instead to create peace and security for us all.

If you prepare for war, then war is what you get. Why not try preparing for peace ?

See Bombing is not a solution for more on the NATO bombing

The APEC bandwagon

The APEC bandwagon goes rolling on ... in February, Louis Freech (US FBI director) visited the government to say there is a high risk of terrorist attack at the APEC summit in Auckland in September and that weapons of mass destruction, chemical or biological agents might be used. Perhaps this explains why Auckland's homeless people are to be moved to temporary accommodation, to protect them ? Hmmm - read on - this is part of Auckland City Council's 'beautification' (honest ! that's what it says) of the domain. For only $5.2 million, there will be extra litter collections, museum forecourt improvements, and other beautifications.

On 27 April the Arms Amendment Bill passed into law by a vote of 107-12. The Act allows foreign bodyguards to carry weapons during the summit.

This month, "PM Jenny Shipley held up Peru as an APEC role model for countries engulfed by poverty, saying it had demonstrated what could be achieved through liberalisation and trade reform" ... she was "effusive about Peru and its market and public sector reforms and how they could be showcased at the APEC summit in Auckland in September" Dominion (12-05-99).

When we forwarded these comments to Paul Bruce, Latin America Committee, he sent back an article on the 24 hour nation-wide strike held in Peru a couple of weeks ago - in opposition to president Fujimori's economic policies and demanding solutions to rampant unemployment. Seems the people of Peru are not so enthusiastic about 'free market' (profits before people) reforms!

For more info about the reforms in Latin America, contact LAC, PO Box 925, Wellington, pbruce@actrix.gen.nz.

Meanwhile the most recent APEC meetings took place in Christchurch. At the same time there were the two day 'Alternatives to the APEC agenda: development, foreign investment and sovereignty' meetings; the Revolting Artists Exhibition and the announcement of the 1999 Roger Award.

1999 Roger Award ...

This is for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in Aotearoa during 1998 is ... the Monsanto Corporation. The panel of judges also made a strong recommendation that Fletcher Challenge and Tranz Rail each receive a special Roger award. A new Collaborator's Award for the New Zealand individual or organisation which has collaborated most with transnational corporations was awarded to the Business RoundTable.

For your copy of the judgment, write to The Roger Award, PO Box 1905, Christchurch; it is posted on the PMA website or we can email it to you.

And for the new APEC Monitoring Group Fact Sheet No 3 - APEC, Maori & The Treaty , write to PO Box 1905, Otautahi / Christchurch, fax (03) 366 2803.


GE/GM Foods & US threats

Speaking of Monsanto brings us to the ongoing debate re genetically engineered crops and food. In March the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners expressed 'serious concerns' about the safety of GE food and urged the government to proceed with caution. They said the burden of proof of harmlessness "lies with the proponents, not the public" (Dominion , 10-03-99).

The Ministry of Health is calling for submissions (due 4 June) on the labelling of GE food. For information on this, and indeed all you ever wanted to know about GE/GM, contact RAGE, PO Box 30-762, Lower Hutt, fax (04) 589 0229, ragenz@hotmail.com, http://www.rage.org.nz/

Did you see US ambassador Josiah Beeman's comments as reported in the Dominion (and elsewhere presumably) on 24 April? After saying NZ might face US trade sanctions if mandatory labelling of GM foods is introduced, he added ... "if NZ refused to accept American crops here then obviously there is going to be difficulties in our trading relationships". Further proof that 'free trade' is only free one-way.

Beeman's comments on a variety of topics are, it has to be said, often a cause for concern - but frequently they are also a source of some amusement to us.

A recent letter to him, from a PMA member, expressing outrage about the US approach to Yugoslavia, as opposed to their approach to Colombia and Turkey (referring to the Noam Chomsky article which made these points), received the following reply ... "I am not in a position to comment on political murders in Colombia or terrorism in Turkey. However, I do know that Noam Chomsky is a linguist, not an expert in international affairs" (Josiah Beeman, 7 May).


SIS saga continues ...

In the last PMA newsletter we provided information on submissions re the SIS 'break in' Amendment Bill, which gave the SIS retrospective powers to break into people's homes and offices. Submissions were duly received, in both written and oral form, by the Intelligence and Security Committee - the vast majority of submissions were opposed to the break in provisions and the lack of oversight over the activities of the SIS.
The government paid $18,471 for accommodation and travel for Stella Rimington (former director of Britain's MI5) to give evidence in favour of the bill, but no-one making a submission opposed to the bill had their fare or accommodation paid for by the government.

The bill passed its third reading in parliament on 25 March by a vote of 99-20. However, in response to the submissions opposing the bill, it was announced that there would be another bill - the SIS Amendment Bill no 2 !
In our alert giving details of how to make submissions on No 2, we pointed out that the changes proposed in this new bill do not have much substance - the key issues, ensuring proper oversight of the SIS's activities and implementing an effective complaints procedure, have again been ignored. No 2 retains the new break in powers, and the right to place or remove 'things'; although warrants authorising break ins are now divided into 'foreign' and 'domestic' - domestic warrants will be signed by the Prime Minister and a new Commissioner of Security Warrants.

No 2 has progressed to the stage of oral submissions, this will be followed by the third reading (and passage into law presumably) later in the year.

Meanwhile, the legal battle which followed the break in by SIS agents into Aziz Choudry's home in 1996 and which precipitated this flurry of amendments to the SIS Act also continues. From the time the court ruled that the break in was illegal under existing SIS legislation, Jenny Shipley has refused to release the papers on which the interception warrant was based - not even to a judge so s/he could decide whether or not the information should be made public !

In the meantime, Helen Clark stated that Aziz's house was broken into because of someone visiting on a visitor's permit. As David Small, Democratic Rights Defence Fund, says ... "Her remark[s] infuriated the SIS and put on the public record details that the government deems so essential to national security that it would go to the Privy Council to prevent having to provide in confidence to a High Court judge."

Dr Allejandro Villamar was the only person Clark's comments could've applied to, yet the SIS warrant was issued in September 1995 - months before Villamar's attendance at the anti-APEC meetings (when the break-in happened) was even discussed ... hmmm, the plot thickens.


East Timor - update

Events have been changing fast since the announcement in January by President Habibie that Indonesia would let East Timor go if the option of autonomy was rejected. The military's response was to create and arm militias to derail the process. UN talks between Portugal and Indonesia have set a tentative date of August 8 for a UN supervised ballot.

Many within the Indonesian military, including the area commander Major-General Damiri, have openly supported and encouraged the pro-integration militias - the loss of East Timor is seen as a threat to the military's political and economic power in Indonesia. Attacks by the militias have been directly supported by the army and have resulted in a large number of deaths, terrorisation of the population and the forced relocation of thousands of East Timorese.

New Zealand's response has been muted, with Foreign Minister Don McKinnon echoing the Indonesian propaganda line following his meeting with Indonesian Commander in Chief and Minister of Defence General Wiranto. McKinnon stated on Morning Report that there were two groups that needed to be disarmed - the East Timorese resistance and the militias, implying that the situation is a civil war between East Timorese and ignoring the Indonesian military's role (Falantil, the armed wing of the Indonesian resistance, have promised to disarm when Indonesian troops leave).

It is important to put pressure on the New Zealand government to make a clear call for the disarming and disbanding of militia groups, the withdrawal of the Indonesian military and the deployment of UN peacekeepers as necessary conditions for a free, fair and democratic ballot in East Timor. - Joe Buchanan

Thanks to East Timor Action and East Timor Independence Committee for ongoing updates on East Timor. ETA, PO Box 9314, Wellington, eco@reddfish.co.nz; ETIC, PO Box 68-419, Auckland, maire@clear.net.nz

Bougainville - progress ?

Despite their unhappiness at NZ government duplicity over the purpose of the Matakana meeting in April, the BRA met last week with representatives of other parties to the Matakana/Okataina Understanding to begin implementing Clause 12 on the immediate disposal of weapons on the island. However, the non-inclusion of the Ona faction (Mekamui Army) may be used by some to delay this essential step towards peace.

Votes have been cast in the elections for representatives to the Bougainville People's Congress, as we go to press the votes are being counted. More on that in the next Newsletter - if you want to be kept up to date on Bougainville, please let us know, we receive daily updates on the situation.

Bombing is not a solution - how does more killing help ?

Reproduced here is an edited version of our original alert on the bombing, in many respects these basic points remain unchanged; an update follows in the next column.
"NATO warplanes have today begun bombing targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The rhetoric around the NATO decision and the statements made by NATO heads of government have been startling in their similarity to those made to justify bombing the people of Iraq. In many ways it is a similar situation - war mongering murdering governments in Yugoslavia and Iraq - but we do not believe bombing has or will improve either situation.

Indeed, as we enter the ninth year of bombing and starving the people of Iraq it is very clear that this approach changes nothing - except to kill more people, create rage and fear which will ensure future generations carry on the violence, and increase the bank balances of those who profit from the arms trade.

We are opposed to these air strikes because :

there is no basis for them in international law;

they are likely to worsen, not help, the situation. They will : cause death and suffering for civilians directly, and through the destruction of medical, water, sewage, communications and other facilities from the bombing; make Serb army and militia reprisals against civilians more likely; disrupt the humanitarian aid in place to assist all the affected people in the area; prevent future humanitarian aid as the aid workers are withdrawn and may not be allowed back; fuel hatred and work against a long-term peaceful resolution ever being reached.

What can be done - unfortunately, at this point in time, apart from protesting to the NZ government for their support for the air strikes, and to the NATO governments; supporting human rights, women's and peace groups which you are in touch with in the region; and supporting those who may be called up (this includes Serb reservists living in NZ) and chose not to go, there is not a lot which can be done.

The things which may have prevented the situation reaching this point - a total arms embargo; the deployment of the full OSCE peace monitor contingent as promised last year (only half of them ever got there, in a very dispersed fashion); putting adequate resources, both human and financial, into peacefully resolving this conflict - were not a priority for NATO governments. The old slogan 'those who prepare for war will get it' is foremost in our minds today - perhaps if the NATO governments had prepared for peace, then that is what they would have now.

Did you know that the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) has 54 members states, NATO has 19 ? NATO's budget is more than one thousand times larger than that of the OSCE."

Since that first alert, written in a state of disbelief, the situation has inevitably gotten worse. TV news reports are full of pictures of fleeing Kosovars, tales of tragedies and atrocities abound - all of it, we are told, the responsibility of Yugoslav president Milosevic.
It is difficult to imagine the plight of the people who are not pictured on the news - those whose homes have been destroyed, whose loved ones have been killed or maimed by the bombing. Do they have electricity, access to clean water, adequate food and medical supplies?

We can only listen for clues as to what is happening to the people remaining in Yugoslavia - the NATO spokesman proudly announcing that only 12 (? was it) of more than 8,000 bombs have missed their targets, what does it mean to have that number of bombs dropped on your country ? The news reports of nightly bombing raids involving 600 warplanes ...

Some of the 'damage' estimates we have received are: 1,500 dead and 5,500 seriously injured people; 700,000 jobless workers after 52 industrial facilities were destroyed; at least 250 hectares of forests burned to the ground; an ecological and environmental catastrophe of as yet unknown proportions caused by the bombing of oil refineries and chemical manufacturing plants, and from the use (now confirmed) of depleted uranium ammunition.

When trying to picture the unreported stories, our minds turn to the consequences of the bombing of Iraq during the Gulf war. The convener of the post-war United Nations mission there described it thus :

" nothing that we had seen or read had quite prepared us for the particular form of devastation which has now befallen [Iraq]. The recent conflict has wrought near-apocalyptic results upon the economic infrastructure of what had been, until January 1991, a rather highly urbanised and mechanised society. Now, most means of modern life support have been destroyed or rendered tenuous. Iraq has, for some time to come, been relegated to a pre-industrial age" ...
Will similar words be used to describe Yugoslavia when the bombing stops ? There is talk of sending all the refugees back, what will they be going back to - a place where "most means of modern life support have been destroyed or rendered tenuous" ?

Do these make any sense to you ...
"The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations." (Article 1, North Atlantic Treaty document, April 4 1949).

'air strikes will not prevent the atrocities in Kosovo, but the bombing will go on until the oppression ends' (NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark, 6 April).

'we must teach our children to settle their differences and vent their anger with words, not weapons' (US president Clinton's comments following the high school massacre in Colorado, 21 April).

'absurd and frivolous' (US State Department spokesman James Rubin on hearing that the International Court of Justice had agreed to hear the proceedings initiated by the Yugoslavian government against ten NATO governments, because the bombing breaches international law, 30 April).

Clinton's request to the US Congress for US $11 billion to continue to bomb the people of Yugoslavia - when will he ask Congress for a similar amount for peaceful resolution of conflict ? Apparently it was needed because the Pentagon's budget (US$265 billion last year) doesn't include funds for actually fighting wars ...

Link to photograph of candlelit vigil Click on image to see full size photograph.

What you can do


you could support the weekly 'while the bombing continues' vigils if you are in Auckland or Wellington : Auckland - 12 noon every Saturday at QEII park; Wellington - 5-30pm every Wednesday at the Cenotaph.

you could promote and sign the Balkans Crisis petition included in this mailing; and use the points on it in your letters to the NZ government.

you could continue sending your protest letters to the NATO diplomatic representatives based here, and to the NATO governments directly - contact details are available from PMA. Letters on the shameful use of depleted uranium weapons and cluster bombs would be particularly desirable at this time.

you could make donations to any of the following groups who are working to assist the people in the region :

  • Christian World Service - are working with partners in Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia/Former Yugoslavia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Through the international emergency response network, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, they ensure appropriate aid is delivered to the Kosovar refugees and the many people who are providing hospitality to them. For more information or to send a donation, contact Christian World Service, PO Box 22-652, Christchurch.

  • Women's Aid to Former Yugoslavia - is a voluntary anti-war women's group based in England. Since 1992 they have worked in conjunction with locally-based women's and refugee organisations in Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenija (and now in Albania and Macedonia) delivering appropriate humanitarian aid, funding and other resources in response to requests from their partners there - irrespective of nationality, ethnicity or religion. WATFY supports women's, peace and anti-war groups in the region.

    They are currently appealing for funds to support the work of two Kosovan women's organisations, now based in Macedonia, and a German/Bosnian/Albanian partnership working in Albania. Full details of these projects are available from PMA.

    Donations can be sent, with a note stating the money is for WATFY, to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, PO Box 2054, Wellington (cheques made payable to WILPF). All donations will be forwarded to WATFY by bank transfer.

  • Red Cross - have been providing humanitarian aid for the refugees fleeing across Yugoslavia's borders. There is no official program yet for helping the people remaining in Yugoslavia, but NZRC recognises help will be needed there too. In liaison with the Wellington Yugoslav community, an account has been set up for donations to Yugoslav Red Cross.

    Donations can be sent to: NZ Red Cross, International Programmes Manager, PO Box 12-140, Wellington. Enclose a note or write on the back of the cheque 'for Yugoslav Red Cross'. For more information, contact Greg Clewley, tel (04) 472-3750, fax 473-0315.

you could support the work of the Refugees as Survivors centres here in Wellington and Auckland. All refugees who come here are fleeing war, and RAS provides trauma counselling for refugees and for migrants from war zones, who have been tortured or have witnessed atrocities.

At the moment their funding only allows them to provide this assistance to adults; children's and adolescents' needs are not being met. For more information (or to send donations) RAS Auckland, PO Box 5932, Wellesley Street, Auckland, tel (09) 377 8185; RAS Wellington, PO Box 6187, Marion Square, Wellington, tel (04) 384 7279.

Finally on this ...

Putting together this section on the NATO bombing has been extremely difficult, the mass media coverage is so narrow that we have tried here to provide a few alternatives. The situation is complex, and if we were to print out all the material we have received we would have literally tons of it. There are many snippets of news and views we would like to share with you - however, it would take a much larger publication than this newsletter to do so.

Just on the one issue of why NATO is bombing Yugoslavia we have received a considerable amount of material - there are many ideas on why this is happening now and why it is happening to Yugoslavia. There is some puzzlement about why this particular situation of 'ethnic cleansing' is receiving such attention when there are so many examples going back over many years which have been ignored.

The Triple Standard poster is one of many which give pause for thought - 'Tangata whenua want to know where NATO was during the ethnic cleansing of Taranaki and Waikato', then there was the intriguing Letter to the Editor (Dominion , 12-05-99) on the irony of the naming of the Apache helicopters, a people 'ethnically cleansed' from their homeland. Then there is the long and sad list of other peoples around the world being 'ethnically cleansed' today.

As well there are the other human disasters which could have been averted if the kinds of resources that have been put into bombing Yugoslavia had instead been used to save lives - as but one example, the two to three million people who have died from starvation and malnutrition related diseases in North Korea during the past four years ...

Included in this mailing are the latest NCCD Disarmament Times and the Peace Council's Peace Digest - both provide other perspectives on the bombing.

For more information, those of you with internet access can check out our website - we are trying to keep the NATO bombing section updated with useful links and a selection of articles as they come in. Our website also includes the diary and photos of the protests in Wellington. Those of you who prefer printed material can send an SAE to the PMA office and we will send you an order form so you can choose the articles of particular interest to you.

Stop killing the people of Iraq

As you may be aware, it is not only the people of Yugoslavia who are subjected to regular bombing by US and British warplanes. After a temporary halt of three or four days while the bombing of Yugoslavia got underway, the almost daily bombing raids inside Iraq resumed. We understand from our US peace contacts that the Pentagon wishes to demonstrate 'their ability to simultaneously conduct wars on two fronts'. Lordy - what can you say about people with such ambitions ?
As well, the economic sanctions which have had such a devastating impact on the people of Iraq continue - with no end in sight. On Thursday 8 April, a group of extremely hardy peace people and media representatives gathered in the most inclement weather on the steps of parliament for the presentation of the international petition calling for the lifting of the sanctions.

Despite the grim purpose of our gathering, we were rather amused at the sight of the US flag flapping vigorously in front of parliament - it seemed so very appropriate given the current NZ government's sycophantic admiration of everything that is vile about the US government's foreign policy.

April 8 was chosen as a day close to the eighth anniversary of the Security Council's adoption of Resolution 687 - used by some to justify the ongoing genocide of the Iraqi people.

Edwina gave an update on the current situation in Iraq on behalf of PMA; Dr Marten Hutt spoke for the Iraq Sanctions Medical Alert Group on the health effects of the sanctions, and presented the 910 signatures to Graham Kelly, MP, who spoke of his determination to work for an end to the sanctions.

Photograph of presentation Click on the image at left to see full size photograph.

The presentation concluded with Pauline Norris's (ISMAG) reading of Wael Al Delaimey's moving poem 'The cry of a sanctioned Iraqi child'. Copies of Edwina's and Marten's speeches, and Wael's poem, are available from PMA

Copies of the petition were also forwarded to New York for presentation to Kofi Annan's office and to Washington for the US government.

Many thanks to those of you who promoted and signed this petition. We are now waiting for word from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Select Committee as to when interested persons will be able to make submissions to them about the sanctions - as soon as we know, we'll let you all know too.

News from groups

Nelson Peace Group - have been busy this year, they organised six stalls to collect signatures for the 'end the economic sanctions against Iraq' petition, hosted Murray Horton in Nelson on his national speaking tour, had a stall at the Riverside Music Festival Promoting Peace, put in a submission on the SIS Amendment Bill (no 1), circulated PMA newsletters and are about to have their banner at the Sister Gallery anniversary celebration ...

Waiwhetu-Lower Hutt Peace Group - have had a great line-up of speakers as usual, this year Dr Jim Stuart, Anne Else, and coming soon - Dr Andrew Ladley. They are collecting signatures for the Global Peace March taking place across India from 11 May to 6 August, which calls on the nuclear weapons states to immediately destroy their nuclear weapons. To get your copy, write to 64 Reynolds St, Taita, Lower Hutt or tel (04) 567 0533.

Thanks !


from Aldermaston Women Trash Trident , who report they have been flooded with Paper Hammers for Peace (initiated by PMA for 1999 International Women's Day in celebration of women's work for peace around the world);

from Rod Donald, Green Party Co-leader, to those of you who promoted and signed his petition on the SIS. "It was submitted to parliament with a grand total of 7,277 signatures. A stunning effort! Thanks for all your help."

from us to all of you who keep PMA going with your supportive messages, donations and by keeping in touch. Particular thanks to the PMA pledgers for your continued support - you should by now have received your receipt for the 1998/99 financial year, if you haven't, then please let us know and we will forward another to you immediately.

to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom for sponsoring this PMA Newsletter.

The Joy of Lobbying : Campaigning to Influence Government Decisions and Public Attitudes , Deirdre Kent

This is an extremely handy, easy to read guide to lobbying, which combines personal experience with the theory of campaigning and lobbying.

Chapters on defining and getting on with your campaign, strategising, sustaining campaigners, lobbying government officials, working in different types of groups, fundraising, getting the media interested in your campaign, and more ! There are anecdotes from the ASH campaign and appendices including a media fax list and other lobbying resources.

74 pages with 19 photographs, published by Gateway Lobbyskills, Dec 1998. $25 each or 40% discount for orders of 11 or more, + $3.25 packing and postage fee. Send your cheque made out to Gateway Lobbyskills, PO Box 24-124, Manners St, Wellington. You can order by tel (04) 802 4640, fax 802 4650, or deirdre@clear.net.nz

20 years of protest action 1979 - 1999

Te Kawariki


If you have any interest at all in Treaty issues, then do not delay, obtain your copy of this amazing resource now. Complete with colour photos, this publication includes original leaflets, letters to the editor, struggle songs; stories of some of the protests; articles and reflections on Tino Rangatiratanga, the Maori flag, the MAI, control of forestry and fisheries, connections to indigenous people's struggles around the world - a great array of material which is a crucial commentary on our recent history.

20 years of protest action is laid out chronologically, with concerns and events for the relevant years, this helps give a sense of continuity and wholeness of the story - although of course this is a story which has not ended yet. Thought provoking, moments of despair and times of courage and joy - a fascinating record.

Get yours from Te Kawariki, PO Box 546, Kaitaia, $27-50.



and soon from PMA ...

A new updated version of 'Do we need armed forces ?' which will be posted to our website in the next few weeks, if you would like a paper copy then send an SAE to PMA.

What's on where


International

The Hague Appeal for Peace finished earlier this week, 8,000 people representing more than 1,000 groups from over 100 countries took part. Reports in the next newsletter.
2000 - UN Year for the Culture of Peace; 2001 to 2010 - International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World.

National

Jose Ramos Horta, national speaking tour, has been postponed until mid July.

Ongoing - Bombing is not a solution - Add your voice to those of people around the world calling for an end to the bombing as the first step towards starting to build lasting peace in the region. 'While the bombing continues' gatherings: AUCKLAND - 12 noon every Saturday at QEII park, speakers; WELLINGTON - 5-30 to 6-30pm, every Wednesday at the Cenotaph (cnr Bowen St and Lambton Quay), candle lit vigil.
From 20 May , nationwide release of 'Punitive Damage'. The film tells the story of Kamal, a young NZ student who travelled to East Timor in 1991 to support the pro-democracy movement. Three weeks after his arrival he was shot and killed by the Indonesian armed forces. Directed by Annie Goldson, producer is Gaylene Preston. Highly recommended by PMA and East Timor Action previewers.
23 May, national demo at the Safe Air base, Woodbourne, near Blenheim, starting 10-30am, to protest the imminent export of Skyhawk jets to Indonesia. Contact Maire tel (09) 849 3890; Norm and Alison tel (03) 573 7226; or Joe tel (04) 385 7545.

29 May , all day national symposium 'War in the Balkans' in Wellington. Speakers include: Dr Rouben Azizian, Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Studies, Auckland Uni; Dr Joel Hayward, Programme Co-ordinator, Defence and Strategic Studies, Massey Uni; Dr Andrew Ladley, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Victoria Uni; Michael Gilchrist, NZ Trade Union Federation and others.

Guest speakers representing the five leading NZ political parties have been invited. 10am at Lecture Theatre 1, Law Faculty (Old Government buildings). Sponsored by Peace Council of New Zealand-Aotearoa. More info, contact PMA.

4-7 June, National Peace Workshops, 'learning about peace - peace news, views and visions' at the Riverside Community, Upper Moutere (near Nelson), $10 / $20. Reg form in this mailing, don't forget to take bedding, pillow and towel ! For more info contact PMA or the Riverside Community, tel (03) 526 7805 x33 or 40, fax (03) 526 7037, <office@riverside.org.nz>

11 June, CORSO AGM and Hui a Tau , in Otautahi / Christchurch, tel CORSO (03) 366 2803.

19-20 June , Fourth Women's Conference Against APEC, 'Beware the Miss-Leaders' , in Wellington. For info / to contribute, contact Fourth Women's Conference Against APEC, PO Box 50-216, Porirua. Tel (04) 237 5062, fax (04) 237 8157.
27 June -3 July, Belief and Expression: Human Rights and the Environment, in Otautahi / Christchurch, Student Christian Movement national conference, contact SCM Aotearoa, PO Box 22652, Christchurch, tel (03) 366 9274.

Local

Dunedin / Otepoti
24 May, activists' pot-luck dinner , 6pm, at the Friends Meeting House, 15 Park Street. Contact Barbara Frame if you need more details, tel (03)473 0109 x7853.

25 May, Murray Horton, Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, will speak on 'Who's Running the Show? : Foreign Ownership of New Zealand' 1pm at the Otago University Student Forum, and 8pm at the Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum.

Wellington / Whanganui a Tara
1 June, ' The business of growth - can economic growth address poverty and inequality ? ' 5-30pm to 8-30pm, St John's Conference Centre (cnr Willis and Dixon Sts), great line-up of speakers, organised by Capital City Forum, for more information or to register tel (04) 384 6240, just_us@ihug.co.nz

2 June , Restorative Justice Group , meets 5-30pm, Central Police Station, Victoria Street.

3 June , Revolt Against Genetic Engineering meeting, Jeanette Fitzsimmons and others, 7-30pm, St Andrews on the Terrace. Contact RAGE, ragenz@hotmail.com fax (04) 589 0229.

11-13 June , 'Creating Peaceful Pathways', advanced workshop by the Alternatives to Violence Project (Aotearoa), contact Myra tel (04) 384 8896, day; Ralph or Nikki (04) 479 7861, evening.

Lower Hutt / Te Awakairangi
15 June, 'Palestine / Israel - peace and nationhood ? ', Dr Andrew Ladley speaks at the Waiwhetu-Lower Hutt Peace Group meeting, 8pm, Epuni Baptist Hall, 108 Waiwhetu Road. Contact, Arthur Quinn, tel (04) 567 0533.

Hamilton / Kirikiriroa 31 May, Safe Food Campaign public meeting, Jeanette Fitzsimmons and others speak at 7-30pm, Location to be advised. Contact Safe Food Campaign, tel (07) 838 9942 / 025 277 8728.

Auckland / Tamaki Makaurau 12 June, Forum on Ethical Alternatives to the Global Financial Systems, Deirdre Kent is speaking , 1pm, Pioneer Women's Hall, Ellen Melville Centre, cnr Freyburg Sq and High St. Auckland Debt Crisis Network, tel David Tutty (09) 378 4380, Joan MacDonald (09) 360 8001 or Catherine Wood (09) 525 4179.

19 June Winter Solstice lunch , great food and entertainment, 12 noon, Friends Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Rd, all welcome. Reports on the Hague Appeal for Peace by WILPF members Makere Harawira and Whaitiri Mikaere. WILPF (Tamaki Makaurau), tel Joan (09) 360 8001, Celine (09) 849 3906 or Edna (09) 378 1732.


Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of all PMA members or the Working Group.


Copyright Peace Movement Aotearoa 1999. Permission is given for written material to be used by groups and individuals sharing our aims and objectives as long as sourced material is credited to its original source and unsourced material is credited to PMA. Unsourced graphics and photographs can not be reproduced unless permission is given by PMA.

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