New Zealand lies and Iraqis die

Press release: Peace Action Wellington

10 June, 2003



The New Zealand government has made a mockery of its own rhetoric

regarding the war on the people of Iraq and is demonstrating its self-

interested greed by offering up a team of NZDF engineering personnel to

assist in the reconstruction and a million dollars worth of aid to rebuild

the Agricultural Ministry.



Helen Clark stated that New Zealand would assist when, “the necessary

multilateral cover had been provided.” The absurdity of this action should

be countered on numerous points:



1. The resistance to US/UK occupation by the Iraqi people continues

unabated, thus it is absurd to think these people will differentiate

between NZ soldiers and the British soldiers they are working with.



2. ‘Necessary multilateral cover’ is just a nice way of saying that the

world has capitulated to United States imperialist ambitions and NZ is now

in line to feast on the spoils of war.



3. The United States and its ‘coalition of the killing’ waged this unjust

and illegal war, killing people, leaving radioactive waste and destroying

infrastructure. Now these war criminals want the world to pay for their

acts of violence.



4. New Zealand Business is keen to see that the Agricultural Ministry is

quickly reconstructed so that we might get on with selling lots of dairy

products to the Iraqi people. Our government’s greed is as obvious as Bush

and Blair’s lies about weapons of mass destruction.



A further issue with the government’s offer is the continuing support of

the so-called 'War on Terror.’ This is a brutal and senseless assault on

the people of Afghanistan in which New Zealand is taking an active role.

We have deployed SAS troops, both frigates, Te Kaha and Te Mana, and an

Orion aircraft. This so-called war has had the effect of unleashing

lawlessness throughout the country.



The United States has utterly failed in its attempts to bring members of al-

Queda to justice, but it has succeeded in murdering and terrorising

thousands of innocent civilians. Our government has made us complicit in

these acts of violence.



Peace Action Wellington is calling on the government to immediately rescind

this offer. The government must go further by renouncing the ‘War on

Terror’, recalling all New Zealand military and logistical support for

these actions, and disbanding the SAS.



Peace Action Wellington is asking people to protest the United States'

utter disregard for the freedom of the world's people on July 4 at the

residence of the US Ambassador in Lower Hutt.



For more information, please contact Peace Action Wellington

peacewellington@hotmail.com or Valerie Morse (04)383-9315

Home