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Issue Number 22, January 2003
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Kapatiran Issue
No. 22, January 2003
CHANGES TO THE
COMMITTEE
Farewell To Aziz Choudry; Welcome To Trish Murray
The peripatetic Aziz Choudry, who has been a key member
of the PSNA committee for six years, has gone to Montreal
for 12 months, to study at a local university. His
departure is a sad loss for PSNA - he joined the
committee in response to our plea for new members after
the tragic death of our founder, Father Mark Moesbergen,
in a 1996 car crash. PSNA was in a crisis then, one which
threatened our very existence. In those six years, Aziz
has been a central figure in PSNA - he has visited the
Philippines several times (most recently in August 2002),
building up a most impressive network of contacts in the
Philippine progressive movement. He has written regularly
for Kapatiran (including this issue) and was our regular
layout artist. He did the most recent work on New
Zealand's Bukidnon forestry scheme (Mindanao), writing a
report on it. He was involved in all our campaigns
throughout that period, such as the speaking tours by KMU
leaders Crispin Beltran and Emilia Dapulang (he left for
Canada partway through Emilia's tour), and right up until
his departure he was actively involved in Philippine
issues, such as the campaign to defend Joma Sison from
the consequences of being designated as a terrorist. And,
of course, Aziz's time on the committee coincided with
the whole saga of the court case(s) arising out of the
bungled Security Intelligence Service break-in at his
Christchurch home (which was one of our regular meeting
places). PSNA was involved in that whole campaign for
several years and we were delighted to see the good guys
win for once.
But all is not lost. Aziz has been replaced on our
committee by his longtime Corso and ARENA colleague,
Trish Murray. She has a decades-long background in
international work, including a previous stint with
Philippines Solidarity, in Wellington, back in the 1980s.
Trish is a very welcome addition.
And further afield there is a hopeful sign - there is a
new Philippines Solidarity group in Auckland, quite
independent of PSNA. This is the first time, in more than
a decade, that there has been more than one Philippines
Solidarity group in New Zealand. Things are looking up.
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